I’m a sophomore in high school in South Carolina. My stats are pretty good, and I should graduate top 7% of my class, hopefully as a NMSF, with a 1550 SAT and a 34 ACT, as well as 7 APs by time I graduate. Beyond the simple extracurriculars like leaderships in clubs offered, I will have also started an entertainment club at my school. Within this club, I hope to showcase several halftime musical shows during football games that are a part of a storyline along with accompanying short films. In addition, this club will have its own television miniseries, in which I will be head writer, producer, director, etc. (showrunner); in the end, I’d like to have a music festival. Further, I have just got my hands on my first DSLR and am hoping to produce several short films over the summer, eventually entering them into festivals. My magnet prevented me from taking honors classes freshman and sophomore year, so I’m looking to take college classes related to film to compensate. Also, I want to start a nonprofit to aid teens struggling with mental health and depression; it’s my goal to tie the two and help fundraise for my nonprofit with the club. I’m also looking to start a charity annual basketball tournament, pay-to-play type deal. I’m also volunteering at film festivals this year and hopefully interning at a production company this summer.
I’m insanely into SCA at USC. Everything about it just seems so stellar; beyond the amazing campus feel and reviews from students, I can tell the positivity the university has just through their blog posts. I know that they value their students. To study Film/TV prod or Cinema/Media studies would be my dream. SCA has the resources and the reputation, plain and simple. Their trojan family alumni network is no joke, either, which would definitely help me get internships. They’ve also got the rigor, and LA is the perfect place to live in my early 20s. I honestly don’t see myself at another school; UCLA, Notre Dame, UMiami, Columbia and NYU are all on my list, but none of them inspire me like USC. Do any other schools come close to USC in terms of what I’ve mentioned?
I know that showing passion, your supplements, and your essays are huge factor in bettering your chances for an unpredictable process. I plan to visit USC over the summer and hopefully sit down with people on the General Admissions committee, as well as SCA so that they may put a name with the face. I hope to convey my genuineness and passion for storytelling, as corroborated by my strong writing skills and track record. I also want to explain to them how our mutual relationship is potentially beneficial both ways, in helping me create my own entertainment company to challenge a new breed of actors, producers, storytellers, etc., where I would be the showrunner for several shows. I’ve been emailing a ton of personnel within the school and the university, to only a few responses. This was a month or two ago, when should I check back?
As far as essays/supplements, go, how do I find a story to write about? What if none of my experiences have enough weight to write a meaningful, distinct, and moving essay on? How do I produce a quality short film?
In talking to my counselor, I found out that as a black male from a region of the country they don’t get a high volume of applicants for, I have a better shot. Is this true?
What do I have going for me? I feel like I have nothing to distinguish me from another applicant that’ll get the rejection envelope. I know that SCA looks at the ability to tell a story, so do you think my ability to story-tell through musical performances alongside the television and short film projects will help me stand out? How do admissions choose one applicant over the other with practically ideal stats?
Thanks