Hey everyone! Yesterday was the deadline for SCA and I am so nervous/excited/hopeful/scared! How is everyone doing? What did you all apply for? I felt like we deserved our own thread (instead of annoying people in the USC thread with our panicking lol)
also if any alumni would like to join in, please do! come one, come all!
Hey! I applied for Film Production but not really hopeful with a like 5% acceptance:( what did you apply for?
Same! @bcnbound I kinda wish i had applied to another area too but oh well. I’ve read that the personal statement is like the end all, be all in the decision process, so fingers crossed that they like ours!
I applied for Cinema & Media Studies! I have a lot of confidence in my personal statement but not as much in my critical essay lol. Hopefully both are good enough…
My younger daughter applied for SCA… 1st Choice: Film/TV Production, 2nd Choice: Cinema and Media Studies. She was so utterly obsessive about it that she started the process back in February. Her personal statement must have went thru 50+ drafts. Her 3 page writing assignment scene evolved into a 50+ page full one-hour pilot script. She worked on her video submission first in March, then in June and then edited and tweaked it throughout the summer.
The earliest that an SCA submission could be made was Aug 2nd, and so she naturally submitted everything that very day. Since she had until Dec 1st, I am not sure why she did everything so soon… but then again, she is super-busy during the school year with theatre, etc and did not want to be burdened worrying about college applications then too.
The hard part will be the long wait now until March for decisions.
Good luck to all SCA applicants this cycle. While the common notion is an acceptance rate of 4-6%, making it harder to get into SCA than even Harvard Law School, I have also seen posts indicating a rate as low as 2% at times for certain majors. Some claim an acceptance rate as high as 11%. Of course, if you end up getting that golden envelope packet in the mail, what does it really matter. You will have made it in.
It will be daunting of course and almost certainly come down to subjective opinions related to creative supplements. So if rejection comes, do not take it too hard. Creative expression cannot please everyone. At least I keep telling my daughter that. But alas, she has her heart set on USC. Her older sister is there already.
Yes…SCA is the oldest and most well-respected film school in the world, but just leave yourself with some good fall back options…
I suppose I’m in the same boat everyone else is! Made the Dec.1 deadline for merit scholarships and SCA nos I’m just hoping for a letter at the end of January to ease some anxiety but won’t be settled until the real decisions come out
The wait is agony…I wish USC had EA! I might’ve even done ED had it been an option.
I applied to the screenwriting program; the application was pretty rigorous! You can tell they’re trying to weed out the people who aren’t really dedicated. How is everyone who applied feeling? This wait is quite egregious.
Hi everyone! I am the parent of a Tv film production applicant. It seems getting in is a real long shot huh?
Does anyone know someone who actually got into the BFA production program? Is it possible without connections or perfect scores? My son is hopeful and I just don’t know if it is a realistic option. Any info would be greatly appreciated. 
@TheatreGoddess I have a bunch of friends in BFA production, and it is indeed possible to get in without connections and perfect scores. One of my best friends had an SAT score in the 1800s (old SAT) and got in just fine, SCA doesn’t really care about those things, it’s more about the portfolio. In the case of connections, there are many people who do have the connections (Steven Spielberg’s daughter was in BFA production, but then she left USC), but there are even more who don’t. Just don’t believe the rumors.
@LayraSparks Thanks for replying! Yay, that is so good to hear!
Hey guys!
I’m super excited yet super nervous!
I applied to SCA’s Animation and Digital Arts Program about 2 days before the deadline and I can’t wait till January. I’ve been constantly checking back to see if anything has changed. I super excited. Good luck to you all!
I applied to Animation and Digital Arts!
My daughter applied to the animation and digital arts program, and though she has some nice EA acceptances and scholarship offers already, California calls. She got a FA envelope in the mail today and she had a heart attack. Then realized it was a form letter, LOL! This program is amazing, and anyone who gets in is extremely talented and lucky!
I applied the day of the deadline but I’m not expecting to get in. I had one weak supplement in my portfolio and I know it will make the difference. I should have written it sooner though, so nobody to blame but myself. Good luck to everyone else!
I applied to the interactive entertainment and animation/digital arts program! Really, REALLY hoping I can get in but good luck to everyone!
Does any one know how many students get merit scholarships (and get notified in January)? Looking into it, it seems like the number is virtually zero, but there are a few people here and there. I was thinking it could be because they don’t have time to look through all of the applications in a month and a half, but I would love some actual information.
USC’s merit scholarships seem to be portioned out by major, so smaller majors get less scholarships to distribute. Every year there are several Trustee and even more Presidential and Deans that are awarded by SCA. For tiny majors–like IMGD–there may only be 1 of each. For larger majors, a few more. Of course, not everyone who gets a scholarship ends up coming to USC, so some years a given class may have less Presidentials than others. Even with this impressive merit awards, USC is very expensive and even a 1/2 tuition scholarship may put USC out of reach for some. As for how they can possibly select award winners when there isn’t time to go through all the applications, I will guess (only my suggestion after watching this process at SCA for many years), there is time between the Dec 1 app deadline and early January (by which decisions need to be made to put admissions packages together) to do a quick review of all candidates. Trustee and Pres candidates are taken from the top of the academic pool of applicants, so I’d surmise they pull up their top score/GPA applicants and give their portfolios serious review first–in order to select interviewees in time. A great GPA will not (NOT) earn admission to SCA on its own. And a medium GPA could be fine (FINE) for a great creative candidate. But when it comes to the largest merit awards USC gives, GPA/SAT do matter, and among those, only the most worthy creative candidates get selected each year. Best of luck.
@madbean From what you are describing, a merit scholarship invitation seems to also automatically imply both admission to USC generally and also acceptance into the first choice major program. Is that accurate, in your opinion?