Just a heads up to all with accepted kids who are interested in the Open House on April 11: My D was accepted, as were a couple of her friends, and none of them received the postcard. I called the SDA this morning to ask about it. They were very nice, apologized that she didn’t receive the postcard and said they would mail one out immediately. So if you fall into that same category, give the SDA a call at 213-821-2744.
@madbean Thanks for your incredibly helpful posts! I am trying to weigh the benefit of attending SDA for drama BA at USC v. D’s other choices, for future job prospects. What are BA grads doing for a living in the first few years after college? What are the job prospects like for your child’s classmates? I am interested in the type of jobs they are taking, not specific, personal info.
“OTOH, I’ve also seen several cases where an admitted student, for whatever mishap reason, did not receive the postcard but was still admitted.” Really glad you kept that nugget from us until admission decisions were out!
The whole postcard invitation is just filled with a lot of drama–and not the good kind. Every year, good moms and dads and applicants are at best perplexed/confused and at worst anxious when they receive them. No one wants to get up false hopes, yet, it can feel like reading bad tea leaves. How can we know if one should be elated or just keep calm. OTOH, there are many times when full-fledged admittees do not get any such invitation in the mail. Over the years, this has been a consistent aspect too. And that can drive those applicants even battier than the ones who get the card. There are so many good things about USC, and their general admissions office reads over 52,000 applications university wide every year. They have a remarkable record for not messing with notifications–it happens, but not too often. Yet, these dang SDA invite cards mailed by SDA have not been handled with perfect accuracy.
So every year, I post about these cards hoping to pass forward the inner-workings knowledge we’ve gleaned with trepidation. They do mean you’re in. Although, sometimes it’s BA instead of BFA. But each year I put in a disclaimer that all might be different THIS year. So far, it hasn’t been. In that environment (knowing I’m already stirring up anxiety and raising hopes), it’s hard for me to post more about those who did not receive an invite. I do post it–but I worry about raising hopes for those who may not be admitted.
I do wish USC was more consistent, more careful to make sure each and every SDA admit, BA and BFA, receives the same invite card mailed at the same time, and that the university would just let them send out the Schools full admission packets this one week earlier since the whole point (for them) is to invite students to come to a special admitted students open house and tour the School, see a play, meet the professors in their area, ask questions, see others who were admitted and may be their cohort, and lots of good stuff.
But USC is not making any concessions to SDA’s timetable for Open House and we get this weirdness. I did try to post that anyone admitted to SDA who did not get that postcard was INADVERTENTLY un-mailed. Or mismailed. Or the files of all BA admits may not have been readable in the mailing list they were using. I still think this is an administrative goof and wish they’d look into what’s up with that.
But, if any future applicants/parents are searching these files, I would suggest: Getting the invitation to the SDA Open House a week before admissions decisions are due is Really Great News to those who get one, and simply No News to those who don’t.
So after that outpouring of guilt (that I cause more harm than good), I’ll answer your question about what BA grads are doing in a new post. 
@curiousMom234 Sorry…I’ve been out of town…I don’t know too much about the BA program, but I have a friend who could give you some info. I’ll see if she can message you here! Congrats to your daughter! Feel free to private message me if you want!
@madbean I’m just curious…my daughter didn’t receive a postcard, but was accepted as a SPRING admit. Is it typical for spring admits to NOT get one? Is there a separate Open House for them, perhaps in the fall when they could see a show and tour the department as well?
MTkellbell–I suggest she call the SDA office and ask if she could attend this open house (if she is available to go). The School is small and I don’t know if there is any comparable event that takes place specifically for Spring admits. That said, she would certainly be welcome to visit the school and attend any play she wants in the fall. But this is a good time to meet all professors/ask all questions, and get a feel for the place.
vistajay–Re: post-grad realities–both for BFA and BA. It is daunting to start a professional acting career, no matter what school you attend, what training you get, how talented you are, and how hard you want it. Alas.
Some advantages of attending a school in NYC or Los Angeles will be getting 4 years of comfort/experience living in these cities, knowing your way around, acclimating, making friends and contacts. However, USC Theatre BAs do have interesting opportunities.
For instance, many BAs take at least 1 minor. Some do 2 minors. Some take double majors. So whether that is a minor in Musical Theatre of Popular Music, or in pre-med, or film or in some other field, like business, psychology, or poly sci, many BAs prepare for grad school or may develop back-up professional opportunities while getting their BA. Some students pop up with a sudden practical side. Many don’t–like mine 
But USC is a big university with a fabulous film school and music school trying out those other options leads to many after grad jobs. Of course, the cool thing about the BA degree is the course-elective load is wide open. A student could equally take a ton of SDA acting electives in their open time and seriously have as many Theatre units as any BFA. Or do Study Abroad. Or get involved with Greek life. Or book some jobs.
SDA is serious about finding internships for their BAs who want them. I met the woman in charge of this office and she was terrific. The School has personal relationships with top talent agencies in town, and BAs can work in casting offices, theatre management, commercial VO casting, talent development, not to mention doing script coverage (reading submitted screenplays and recommending/not recommending them to higher ups in tv and film development offices, studios, independent production companies). This is great experience working in the real Hollywood, making contacts, even driving around the city and finding their way. Many nice paying jobs may not be in front of the camera. And every opportunity to work at a studio/production office or network is a great start to building up contacts in the biz.
I mentioned before my son’s BA Theatre friends are open to building careers while in school. Many have or get agents before they graduate, and try to book work. One group of BAs wrote/acted/produced their own web series one summer and it was a huge huge hit. It’s a smoother transition to post-grad life in L.A. if one has an agent in place and has already been getting auditions.
However, BFAs (I believe) perform in the senior showcase for agents/managers/casting directors. BAs may audition for a number of spots in that showcase–but I’m just not too familiar with how that all works out.
So that’s the very long answer. The short answer is: it takes a lot of energy, and determination, and drive to get started in a professional acting career. And luck. And good bone structure. And timing. All that stuff. Maybe the biggest thing it takes is perseverance and years of hard work. But the leg up is that many of your friends from school (whether USC or NYU or Wesleyan or (fill in the blank) are trying to make it, and many of them do. And that inner circle lifts everyone up when they make it, and hangs out together sharing tips and leads during the tough times.
@madbean Thanks again for all the great info!
There are many opportunities for BA Theatre students to audition. I have a sophomore daughter. She has been in 3 independent student production (ISP) musicals, a lead in an ISP drama this semester, in the School of Dramatic Arts musical last spring as a freshman, and a lead in a musical theatre class (Experimentals) show. She has also had the opportunity to be in filmed scenes for film production students.
At the beginning of each semester the School of Dramatic Arts will email the student something called the Great Audition Memo (or something like that ) . It outlines the audition dates for the productions for that semester. There is another one called the Great ISP Audition Memo. Lots of opportunities to audition. There are some shows just for BFA’s to audition and some just for BA’s to audition and some shows take both. There are also shows that are open for anyone on campus. I believe Grease was one of those productions that all students could audition for.
She lives in a big house with other BA and BFA students. She really likes the flexibility of being a BA. She has taken classes through Thornton and can take dance classes as well. She also can take classes that interest her in SDA that would be difficult for a BFA to put into their schedule.
I recommend looking up the USC Schedule of classes for Fall 2015. It is online now. You can scroll through and get an idea by looking up the class offerings for School of Dramatic Arts. If you click on a class name you can see if it is a BFA only class or a BA class, etc. There is a lot to choose from. My daughter is very happy at USC.
There is a great program called Visions and Voices. You can look it up on the internet to see the brochure and information for the current year. They have a wonderful array of arts programs. Directors come to speak, dance companies perform, poets… SDA will have a few of their own events too. My daughter went to see David Hyde Pierce. One of her teachers (MT audition) brought in Christine Ebersole to sub and she got to sing for her. Just some really unique things that may not come up on other campuses.
Try to go to the School of Dramatic Arts Open House if you possibly can. I don’t know what they have planned for this year but when we went for my daughter we sat in on some “samples” of classes. We saw Musical Theatre audition (John Rubinstein) and Acting Shakespeare (Mary Joan Negro). We had a really nice lunch and saw a great show. It was a fantastic day. The SDA Admissions staff and well as the Dean were there to answer questions. Current students were there as well. You will also see and meet the prospective class and their parents.
Cannot say enough nice things about the program Congratulations to all of you!
Congratz to everyone who was admitted! I’m considering USC too–I heard a lot about the ISPs, and I was just wondering if anyone could speak more to the directing opportunities that might be available for BA students. Thanks!
I believe anyone can choose to direct or act in an ISP. My son acted in two ISPs this year (freshman). The actors were BFA, BA and non-theatre students. One of his directors was a non-theatre student. I believe the other was a BA student. I can find out for sure for you. As the name implies, an ISP is up to the independent student(s) to obtain funding (I believe there are grants one can apply for), reserve spaces, audition cast, schedule rehearsals, etc. Since my son is a freshman BFA, my knowledge of the program is limited, but he is very happy with his opportunities thus far.
As I understand it, each semester there is an opportunity for students to submit proposals for partial funding of an ISP to the department. It takes some work to get a proposal together. There is a review and a few are given an allotment. There are student groups in place that are experienced in reserving an on-site venue. They have experience in putting together proposals to get funding and running all aspects of a production (publicity, stage managing, directing, costuming, fundraising, etc). I would recommend that you get involved with one of the student groups. If you are a freshman you should try to help out at ISP’s to meet people and see every aspect because no one wears just one “hat”. If its a straight play try a student group like Aeneid (there are more, you can probably do an internet search), for musical theatre you can try Musical Theatre Repertory. No matter which organization (of the several available) they all require time and commitment and welcome organized and enthusiastic help. Perhaps you can apply to be on the board of one of these student organizations once you get more information. Each organization is a little different. Once you meet more people and get involved you will see where your best fit is. I may be remembering this wrong but I believe during Welcome Week or the first week of school campus organizations will set up tables and will be there to answer questions about their organizations and what shows they are planning on doing for the fall semester (and perhaps for the year). Make sure you stop by all the dramatic arts club tables, it could be one of them needs help in some way right away. That would be a great start for you. Have fun and good luck
As the weekend approaches, any of our CCers going to be at the Open House? I thought I’d post a review of Grease since that’s what you’ll be seeing when you’re there. http://www.stagescenela.com/2015/04/grease-4/
My son and I will be there.
My daughter and I will be there. Looking forward to it!!
Today at the open house I asked about numbers of BFAs & BAs. I was told that 1200 kids auditioned for BFAs. 26 acting BFAs were admitted with a hope of enrolling 18-20. Just over 200 total kids were offered admission (Acting BFAs, Technical BFAs and BAs) with a goal of admitting about 105. They plan to have 70-80 BAs, 18-20 BFAs and the balance of Technical BFAs.
Thanks for asking, RALdad. How did you and your son like USC?
MsMommy he was very impressed with the level of talent in the show. He liked all the students he met and what they had to say about USC was positive (of course they are hand picked to speak with prospective students). He loved two of the workshops he sat in on. It is his top choice as of now. The obstacle is deciding if the cost to us is worth it.
Thanks for the update, RALdad. I’m just… stunned at those numbers. 1200 audition? 26 are selected? That’s like 2%. All you BFA admits everywhere at all schools (I’m sure it’s similar at most of these desirable programs), I’m very impressed and a little freaked out at the level of competition. What a great accomplishment.
Those kind of odds are very typical at the most competive BFA programs. That is why choosing a variety of schools a reach/fit/safety is really important- and why most bfa candidates apply to more schools than the average kid. My D’s high school counselor thought she was crazy (she applied for 11 schools, a mix of BA and BFA programs)
My D had a great time at the Open House and I am very happy to say that she has decided on the BFA acting program at USC!! She absolutely loved the campus and the staff and students were so nice and informative. I did ask someone about the open house invitations and how it is hard for kids that live farther away to make those last minute plans. She admitted that there was not much that could be done about the timing.
@toowonderful I agree with applying to a lot of schools. My D’s counselor also thought she was crazy. USC was one of my D’s schools that we thought was a long shot and not even at the top of her list. Now she is on cloud 9 and can’t wait for August! You never know where that match will be made.