<p>I am an international student and I've applied to USC SCA Film Production.
I know it is a very hard school to get accepted to, but I still hope for the best.
I have some questions and I would really appreciate if anyone could answer them.</p>
<p>1-My SATs are low (1610-reasoning;650 chem;630 math1; 590 math2) , but how important are they? Especially for SCA, do they really care about them, or do they consider my portfolio and other factors as the most important aspects for the admission?</p>
<p>2-Does USC offer a foundation year or anything like that, and if yes, do u think that would help a lot when considered for admission?</p>
<p>3-I got 96 for my TOEFL and a 7 for IELTS is it too low for them? (The fact is that i have been studying in an english speaking school for a year only and I improved my english quite a lot ..)</p>
<p>4- When should I expect my decision, and do I get my USC letter first and then my SCA one? And, if I get accepted to USC and rejected from SCA, what do I do? Can I still go to USC or not? If yes, which major can I do then? And can I transfer to SCA after?</p>
<p>5-I was accepted to Denver university (Film major) with a very good scholarship, however if I do not get accepted to USC SCA, would it be better for me to take a gap year and get some work experience and then apply to USC again, or to go to Denver and transfer to USC SCA after?</p>
<p>Hello, I have also applied to the SCA as a Writing student This is what I know from going to a tour last monday:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Primarily, they focus on your portfolio and supplemental materials. The SCA is the first to see your application. The admissions councilor said that if they want you and the university does not, they will attempt to fight the university for your admission. This isn’t to say that the SCA will let you in if your test scores are atrocious, but it’s mostly the supplementals that matter. </p></li>
<li><p>I do not know about an official foundation year, but I was told at the tour that most students in SCA are encouraged to do the basic gen-eds first.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, supplemental materials are more important in the grand scheme of things. If they want you, they will try to make sure you’re in. </p></li>
<li><p>Rumor has it that decisions are going to be mailed out on the 22nd…that’s not at all far away. Be excited! If you’re rejected to SCA but don’t get into USC, you can call and ask about internal transferring. I don’t know how it works quite yet, but I know it’s possible. As a freshman, you can be undeclared until you figure out what you want to do concerning the SCA.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re dead-set on USC, it might be better to take a gap year or go to a community college than transfer from one university to another. This I do not know for sure however.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>With all of them, I’d call admissions with your questions as soon as you get your decision be is good or bad. I only knew a few of these and that’s because I took the tour recently. If you can, I suggest you do the same.</p>
<p>Hi. I was a writing BFA, graduated in May 2010.</p>
<p>Luckily, SCA has a lot of international students across all divisions. Unfortunately, because the program is so competitive in general, it makes it more difficult for international students to be accepted.</p>
<p>The way USC works is that USC must accept you before your program can accept you. (Meaning, USC says “OK” and then passes your materials along to SCA for approval/acceptance.) I think your SATs are a bit too low to make the USC cutoff. You are up against thousands of other international students with much higher scores. In rare occasions – yes, the school will fight for you, but that’s usually if you’re borderline. I think you’re too far below the borderline, sadly.</p>
<p>I don’t know what country you live in, but if there are additional classes you can take to enrich your profile, that may help. If you’re set on USC, I may take the gap year to raise your TOEFL and SAT scores. Keep in mind, though, that you don’t need a degree in film to make movies! Why not look into more traditional degrees that would expose you to a lot of writing and art and do film projects on the side?</p>
<p>Also, the poster above me who applied to WST — I would actually seriously consider only minoring in screenwriting. Trust me. You can PM me for questions.</p>
<p>According to the online session I watched a few months ago put on by the SCA, Sydneyral is correct. We were told then that SCA reviews the portfolios and apps first, and then goes to the University admissions to tell them who they want to have in SCA. If you are far below University standards, it may not work out well for you in spite of SCA’s efforts, but if you are marginal, then SCA’s voice may make it happen for you. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>It’s true that SCA highly regards the supplements, but when the SCA reviews the applicant’s supplement, the also see his/her SATs and GPA and take note when there is a red flag there. for those with low stats for USC, SCA will look at the supplement with that in mind. Basically, if your talent shines through, you have some other attributes that really appeal to the SCA (gender/diversity/background), and/or you have won major awards or film festivals, SCA <em>may</em> go to USC admissions and have a conversation about how to get you accepted. They may or may not prevail. </p>
<p>No one knows for sure, but I’ve heard that an applicant with a SAT score of 1900 and up would not sound off the alarms, but below that mark will make things dicey. </p>
<p>SCA wants all their students to thrive at the university and will only risk bringing in a very few with lower stats so the majority of their admits will have competitive GPA/SAT stats. BTW, those with below norm scores get admitted into the Structured Curriculum to help them survive USC’s rigorous academics. </p>
<p>this was uber helpful for me, even though I’m not an international applicant! does anyone know the average SAT/GPA for SCA majors? It would be interesting if there was a trend…</p>
<p>Those numbers aren’t released by school. The only information the university releases is the test score range for the entire admitted freshman class.</p>
<p>Adding a bit more information: For those applying to SCA, Thornton, School of Theatre, and Roski, having a superior GPA/SAT scores, high rigor in HS, etc, does not seem to pull you up in admissions probability as it certainly might with CLAS, Viterbi, etc. The talent-based schools do not give a lot of weight for your high academic achievement over another nice mid-range stat applicant, considering anyone over a certain threshold to be academically OK–and at that point, the portfolio or audition will become very important to the final decision.</p>
<p>OTOH, having extremely high academic stats PLUS having an outstanding portfolio/ECs, honors, internships whatever can help at the point one’s file gets into the accept pool as those may be the ones invited to interview for merit scholarships. </p>
<p>topgun321, SCA does not publish the stats of admitted students. My S1 is friends with several who are NMF as well as a couple who are in Structured Curriculum (an indication they may have been admitted with a concern they receive some academic support). </p>
<p>Assuming they really really like your creative work, and you fall within the mid-range 25%-75% of general admits, you have less to worry about. If lower stats, you will be more reliant on how they view your supplement and past experiences, and how many others this year fall into the lowest ranges–as they can only take in a lesser number in this range. If higher stats, and fabulous supplement (in their eyes), you may be in line for merit money.</p>
<p>I applied for Viterbi but also really like the idea of SCA, but I don’t have tons of cinematography experience. The news that Viterbi might consider my academic more is welcome! (Hopefully they pull through.)</p>
<p>Now, if I do get accepted and do go, I’ll definitely see if I can make a joint Viterbi-SCA dual major or major-minor work out, but that would be insanely fun!</p>
<p>Son has SATs well over 2000 and a 4.0 GPA (unweighted). He applied for Interactive Media and Entertainment. His portfolio is good enough for 6 other schools to accept him, offer him honors and very generous merit scholarships. His dad and I both got graduate degrees from USC. USC is one of his top 2 choices, but not necessarily his first choice.</p>
<p>It sounds as though his chances are ok, but I know that even if he is not among the 4 - 6 percent accepted by SCA, he has very good options at other schools and it will probably cost us a lot less! </p>
<p>@Zelda: I will see what the decision is before I think about minoring in screenwriting. I am probably the most dedicated person I know and when attending USC will have no other commitments other than writing (no plans on joining sports teams, greek life, etc) My concern about the minoring would be not having the resources that the SCA has to offer. I want the full packages of opportunities that come with the film school.</p>
<p>bubblemom, your S’s perfect GPA is above the average admitted USC student from past years (average SAT score is around 2100), so even if he doesn’t get into SCA, he could very well be admitted to USC as an undeclared major. Not sure this would be what he wants, but for high stat SCA applicants, this has happened in the past. It is sometimes possible to transfer into one of these highly selective majors when at USC if there is attrition, but it’s not a given. Sounds like your S has many wonderful choices already, but I’ll keep fingers crossed he gets good news.</p>
<p>My older son is an Interactive Media major (loves it!) and there were only 12 IM kids in his incoming class in 2008. Crazy odds, but someone has to be accepted, right? My S2 is now applying to 2 very hard to get into majors at USC, so we are back to square one–biting our nails. And now that we truly know from the inside how awesome USC is, the stakes seem so much higher. !!!</p>
<p>Hope we all survive the next few days in tact.</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouraging words, but even if he is admitted as undeclared, I believe he will go elsewhere where he is assured of his major. The major is more important to him than the name of the school, so going to USC as undeclared with the slight chance of being able to gain admission to his program will probably not appeal to him.</p>
<p>I also applied to screenwriting and I was wondering if anyone has found out already, or has any idea when they are sent. I know it says by April first, but was hoping that it would be closer than that! </p>
<p>Out of the 23 students in my BFA year, only ONE was in a sorority. Another ONE student was in the marching band. The rest of us? No sports teams, no greek life, etc. The program makes you VERY unable to do anything outside of writing.</p>
<p>You don’t think all 23 of us were dedicated? I’m slightly insulted that, because I ultimately reflect upon my decision to enroll in SCA negatively, you interpreted that as a lack of interest or dedication to the craft of writing. That assumptive attitude would make you a lot of enemies in the film program.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re familiar with the minor program. You would get the same exact resources all the major students get. What you won’t have to do is all the classes the film school forces you to take that, in no way, shape or form, improve your skills as a storyteller. Those classes ALL of us agreed were a complete waste of time and were used to pad out credits. When you minor, you take the SAME set of writing classes as the majors with the SAME professors. Sometimes, they’re segregated between majors/minors, but many of my upper level WST classes had screenwriting minors in them. When you enroll in a less credit-heavy major, you’d be able to take as many film electives as you’d like.</p>
<p>I’ll leave you with this: Out of the 23 students who graduated in my year (May 2010) only ONE is working in a writing-related job as a Writer’s PA on a television show. A handful (maybe 4? 5?) are working in non-creative entertainment industry positions (such as agent or producer assistants – doesn’t get you writing jobs, BTW) while another handful are working in general “writing related” jobs outside of the industry (journalism, marketing, etc.). The rest are unemployed, many living back home with their families. </p>
<p>The class before ours? (2009) ONE girl has made it as a professional screenwriter. Otherwise, the stats are generally the same.</p>
<p>Like I said, it’s your choice – but these are all things I wish someone had told me before I enrolled in SCA. I loved USC as a school, but the writing program killed my chances at a well-rounded education. The general consensus amongst my peers was that we weren’t allowed to explore classes that would enrich our writing outside of the film school, and as such, we didn’t emerge the best writers we could be.</p>
<p>Production students kind of get the same cards dealt to them. Really competitive, really based on professor favoritism.</p>
<p>Actually, the most successful SCA students I know are Critical Studies or Interactive majors. All of my friends from these concentrations ended up with fabulous jobs or fellowships after graduation.</p>
<p>Getting a job in any major is tough these days. That is why graduate schools have record number applications. Majoring in screenwriting as an undergraduate may be too narrow, your idea of getting a minor makes sense.</p>
<p>You say your friends who majored in interactive media and crit studies got the best jobs. I get interactive media but what jobs does a crit studies major get over production major?</p>
<p>You go to USC SCA to network and to get a good education. That is what usc offers over other schools. </p>
<p>Thank you for being honest! it’s a dog-eat-dog world.</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying Zelda Fitzgerald. I’m sure that you tried your hardest, and that you have the unique experience of having already been down the path, and are simply giving your two cents. It is good to know that you think that a broader education would have benefited you not just as a person, but would have improved your writing as well. That is good to know for the people making a decision soon to basically devote four years to perfecting their craft. </p>
<p>But at the same time it’s a little discouraging. The truth of the matter is, if you have the talent, and you have a story to tell, you will make it. So, here are some uplifting words for those of you who aspire to become screenwriters.</p>
<p>“By the 1990s script development in Hollywood climbed to over $500 million per year. 3/4 of this is paid to writers for options and rewrites on films that will never be made… With a rare exceptions, unrecognized genius is a myth. First-rate screenplays are at least optioned if not made. For writers who can tell a quality story, it’s a seller’s market–always has been, always will be.”-Robert McKee</p>
<p>P.S. I personally know three people that graduated in the class of 2009 who are all working as writers on Television shows. Those are the only three people I know that graduated from the the SW program. They all graduated in the same year, and they are all working in the field… I also know a couple creative writing students who are either PAs or Television writers, so I don’t believe it too difficult to find a job while you are waiting for your own big break. But between the CW majors and SW majors, who do you think has a better chance of having a big break considering that they dedicated themselves to it for four + years?</p>
This is what I know from going to a tour last monday:</p>