Anyone applying for fall 2020 Film and Television Production?
Or any of the other majors within USC SCA? Excited to hear about interviews, scholarship notifications, and fall 2020 acceptances!
Yes! I applied for Film and TV Production. You can see my film here: https://youtu.be/ChP6otGu1o8
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Yes my daughter applied for Film and TV Production. @uscscamom is your child already enrolled at SCA? or applying this year?
Nice! Good luck to you!!
My son applied for the first time this year. It’s his top choice/only choice dream school…and it is so nerve-racking! Here is his: https://vimeo.com/376601368
I applied for film production! Absolutely terrified. I heard people find out by around the 23rd this month because of the merit scholarship. Anyone know about this?
@CindyLeuWho merit notification typically come the end of January… if you look at the threads from last year the hysteria started around Jan. 25th with the announcement of a white box arriving to someone and then people starting trying to track UPS shipments, set up delivery notifications, analyze the font in their portal, etc. It really was quite crazy. I’m hoping my student forgets about the merit notifications!
@CindyLeuWho I think it’s true what @Ohdeanor is saying that IF the student is selected for merit or being in the running for merit awards, then they will learn around end of January that they were admitted to USC. However, if you do not get a notification of admission at that time, you’re still in the running for admission, just not for merit along with it. In that case, admission results come out towards end of March. I’ve seen the USC experts say that only about 1200 of the 40,000 or so who apply for admission to USC by Dec. 1 will hear that they’re admitted and under consideration for merit in January so most people get admission notices in March. Therefore, if you don’t hear something positive in January, do not panic!
To everyone on this thread: what other film programs have you or your student applied for?
Summer program wise I did LMU screen writing program and the NYU TISCH summer program. Also a couple of local film programs.
Colleges I’m applying to is Chapman, USC, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UCI, UCR, Vassar, Columbia, NYU, Syracuse, and a couple of cal states.
I got in for Fordham, LMU, cal state Humbolt and San Diego, and Emerson.
I was going to apply to Wesleyan and Flordia State (I heard it’s film prepares students), but I decided not to after I got in my first school.
As stated above, only 1000-1200 or so will be admitted during January as part of the merit scholarship announcements round. The vast majority of current and past USC students, including both of my daughters, were instead admitted in March – and not January. There are still a handful of potential SCA scholarships handed out in March I believe… plus NMF scholarships can apply if admitted then as well, but yes - most merit money is allocated to those admitted in January.
USC is rather generous with financial aid for those who qualify, but clearly the financial considerations do lead to many who are admitted to USC still ultimately committing elsewhere. In recent years, the yield rate has climbed from circa 34% up to 41.9% last year, but that still means that 58.1% (or 4,392) of those admitted to USC last year (7,558) enrolled elsewhere. Of the 3,168 who actually enrolled last cycle as the new freshman class, 629 did so with some form of merit scholarship, so clearly the yield rate is rather high for those actually admitted in January.
Let’s face it, the #s can be very intimidating, but overall, they will still likely be admitting 7500 or so again this year. Good luck to all those here on CC who have applied. Hopefully you are among those beating the odds and gaining admission.
I’m applying for the John Wells Writing for Film and Television program! Is anyone else?
Does anyone know if there are any additional interviews for the film production major regardless of the merit scholarship?
@CindyLeuWho In past years, yes. Such have occurred in February and into early March. They seem to be solely professor driven. But they are not necessarily a good or bad sign one way or the other… meaning that admits have come for applicants in both camps, those getting interviews and those not. Of course, if offered, it is an excellent extra method to impress.
Good luck…
If you scan though last year’s SCA applicants’ discussion thread, they discuss interviews in pretty good detail…
Good luck…
Thank you!
As many things changed this year for USC’s process, do you know if USC tracks visits?
A representative that came to our school said they didn’t take that into consideration for admissions, but when I called the admissions office (to decide if it was worth going to one of the school specific events as I was very busy that day and had to prioritize that event or another) they said it would be worth attending in order to demonstrate interest, and they did end up electronically keeping track of who came or not.
@CindyLeuWho As I understand it, USC overall and the individual schools do each monitor demonstrated interest. Like most colleges and universities, USC is yield conscious… but more importantly, they prefer accepting applicants who have a strong affinity for USC and a solid Why USC? reasoning. They strongly believe in the concept of Trojan Nation and want to add members who bring something unique or special to the USC community. That is easier to project when an applicant seems truly inspired about attending USC.
@WWWard When you refer to the “why USC” question are you referring to the “How you plan to explore your academic interests” question?
Probably. The various prompts can vary over time. But generally, I recall prompts in both of my daughters cycles that allow for the applicant to speak to why they see USC as the right place for them. Applicants can word it in a variety of ways, but I suggest approaching such responses by providing a well-thought out and well-researched answer as to why attending USC is truly significant and important to you specifically. And moreover, USC does want to gain a sense as to what you will be uniquely contributing to the greater USC community if admitted. So, the best approach would likely address both of those aspects.
If someone has already applied, and if they feel that their answers may have been lacking in some form, or even if you feel your answers were spot on, you can of course also email your admissions counselor and your school’s admissions email one more time… doing so in a brief manner. You could even potentially… if true… make a declaratory statement as to how USC is your dream school (or however you wish to phrase it) and how you intend to enroll and attend if admitted. USC is very much open to hearing such, if true. They are also yield conscious. Again… I would though keep such a statement rather brief and only send it once. I would do so in mid-Feb.
Good Luck…
Our son is a 1st year SCA student, who made a conscious effort to personalize every USC essay prompt with attention to detail. He made it very clear why USC was his top choice (by far), with specific word pictures articulating his affinity for Trojan culture (studying in his hammock on Mt. USC, sitting in Norris Theater with Leonard Maltin, etc.) He was already in contact with club leaders and student associations germane to his interests, and it showed.
Bottom line, they (USC admissions, both University and School) can spot regurgitated essays with the college name replaced. As previously stated, it’s easy to spot an applicant that is truly inspired about attending USC.
@CindyLeuWho We visited from TX 2-3 times, and made a point to setup a private meeting with SCA admissions the first time (even if we knew demonstrated interest wasn’t officially tracked). Did it help his admission decision? probably not, but after he stayed in email contact, we noticed the other SCA admissions people remembered him on subsequent visits.
The parents on this board are amazing! I truly believe the advice helped us tremendously! Their passion is contagious, esp after you realize how tightly knit this family is.
Good luck!