USC School for the Dramatic Arts

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey! I’m a rising senior at my performing arts high school, and I am considering multiple colleges in the southern California area. USC is my “reach” school because I went through a lot of hardship during my sophomore year of high school that set me back to a (weighted) GPA of 3.7. My test scores are okay; I got a 1850 on my SAT (first try) and 24 on my ACT (Also, first try- planning to take again)
I read on USC’s website that the average GPA for students of the Dramatic Arts is 3.9, and the average SAT is 1900 (or 1950?)
Beside academics, I that that USC would be a great school for me to learn and enhance my art while still being in the epicenter of the entertainment business. I started acting when I was 4. I’ve been involved in every show in my school career, and have been given section leader and outstanding choral awards. I am a part of the International Thespians Association, the select drama ensemble of my school, and was a finalist in my schools extremely selective arts-based competition (the competition was all "majors (visual, vocal, creative writing, etc), and I have been taking voice/acting lessons are 7 years. I have been involved in many festivals, shows, honor choirs and concerts ranging from Disney shows to harp concerts and local drama festivals. I also have been a competitive figure skating and regionals a few years ago. I am fairly well rounded in the art realm; I did marching band and drumline and participated in musical theatre. My GPA isn’t the best because through my entire life I have been juggling all kinds of extracurricular activities and suffered through severe depression sophomore, but I ended up redeeming myself. I not only like to exercise my passion for performing arts, but I also love helping people and animals. I’ve worked with Alzheimer’s patients and volunteered with multiple rescue shelters/animal hospitals. I founded my schools environmental club, so the environment is extremely import to me as well.

Does USC judge students who intend to study drama less harshly than the engineering students?
Does USC go by the UC GPA (which to me is hard to grasp)?
What should I work on?

2

Any BFA Acting/Theater program will base most of its decision on your talent review/audition. If USC is similar to NYU/Tisch, they expect students to meet some basic academic standards, but a perfect 4.0 GPA and 2400 SAT won’t compensate for a lackluster audition.

3

I second what woogzmama said, your audition is the single most important part of the decision process.
USC is an excellent choice for your BFA. If you do get in, make sure to do as much with the extremely talented film students that you’ll meet there as possible.

Since your auditions are in a few months, I would immediately start looking for monologues (In your age range, something relatable perhaps to your own life and especially something that fits your type) now. A lot of prospective students probably don’t have the luxury of doing this, but if it’s an option for you, consider getting a private acting coach specifically to work with you for your college auditions.

I’m about to start my safety degree at Wharton (I’m a wuss, I know) but I have a great interest in going into the performing arts as well.

Good luck!

4

Thank you to the both of you! I was scared I was going to get some rude comments, but yours were very helpful! I’ll keep my grades up and I’ll start practing with an acting coach! Congrats on Wharton, by the way! That’s awesome!! Thank you:)

5

I also recommend joining the discussion forum on Theater/Drama majors. I found it immensely helpful when my son was looking at theater schools.