I am currently a high school sophomore student in suburban Chicago, so there isn’t a lot of film production opportunities out here. It has been my dream since 8th grade to go to USC’s film school. However, I have learned how highly competitive admissions can be. Even though USC itself is a 17-20% acceptance rate (which I believe I could make), the film school has 2-5% acceptance. Do you guys have any advice on how to stand out at admissions?
If it helps anyone, I have a 3.95 GPA after freshman year and I am involved in a couple clubs. I am also in the process of starting a film production club at my school. I am in track and field even though I am not the best runner. I am taking a college prep elective all four years of high school. I also won some minor rewards for some of my English short stories.
My resume sounds good so far, seeing that I am barely in my sophomore year. It would really be helpful to hear some more tips on what I can do to increase my chances of getting in. Any tips and advice would be appreciative. Thanks in advance!
First… the USC overall admission rate is now around 13% and likely to keep falling. But you are correct about the USC SCA admission rate. Let’s face it, it is going to be a highly selective admission process in terms of SCA itself. You will need to identify specifically what you will be bringing to USC that may set you apart from 1000s of other applicants… who are each aiming to do exact the same thing. You will also need to explain the “Why USC?” part of the equation. Do your homework and research anything and everything you can about SCA via their brochures, website, videos within their website, articles online elsewhere, youtube videos, etc. There is a lot out there… so take the time to review it all. And then ultimately it will come down to your creative expression and how you present such to them via your writing sample and other supplements. Play to your strengths.
Keep in mind that getting into USC SCA requires gaining admission to USC overall and to SCA as well. It is also possible to gain admission to USC as Undeclared, meaning you got into USC but not also SCA. And then you could still enroll and try to internally transfer into SCA. The admit rates that way are slightly better but still very competitive. My younger daughter took that route after being admitted Undeclared and is in SCA now.
And finally… persistence can pay off. Bryan Singer applied to USC and SCA and was denied admission. He applied to USC and SCA again as an external transfer from a different college and got into USC but not SCA. And then he finally got into SCA as an internal transfer on his third try. Of course, Steven Spielberg applied three times and was denied all three times… so you never know. But one thing is certain, you have to try to succeed.
If you can afford it, I would suggest attending summer workshops for production and working on that 5 minute reel. The quicker you get started on that 5 minutes the better. You can see past submissions on YouTube.
Buy the book Film School Confidential off of Amazon… it’s a good primer for looking at various film schools, even if the exact wording is mildly outdated. USC is very focused on Hollywood as is Florida State, UCLA and NYU focus on independent films, CalArts focuses on more artistic films, etc.
Take advantage of the opportunities around you. Chicago is one of the largest cities in the country and has far more opportunities than you give it credit for. Take a class at Second City, for example. Work on your local community television station. That sort of thing.