Yes, @WWWard. The admission packet (USC and major) arrives in late January along with invitation to attend an ExploreUSC 2-day session. At that time, student interviews for the merit scholarship.
@madbean Thanks! Fingers-crossed…
To be totally accurate, there have been a few (very very few) cases where the admissions packet arrives at the end of January and there is, alas, no invitation to interview for Presidential, Trustee, Stamps, et al. It has caused a flutter of concern here on CC and in past years, those admitted students did end up at the end of admissions cycle (end of March) receiving a Deans scholarship, for which there is no interview. Getting this admission letter early can be oddly disappointing and it certainly has caused confusion and worry for a couple more months. When a top student does not get the larger awards, they may feel deflated as getting the higher awards may mean the difference between affording to attend USC or not, yet the message isn’t quite clear. OTOH, there have been a very very few admissions at the end of January, with invitation to interview for Presidential (or above) withOUT a major listed. If I remember correctly (please correct me if you know for sure), these students have been admitted as an Undeclared Majors (this can occur when student’s first choice major is portfolio/talent based for those Schools, often when students have applied for BFAs). It’s tricky, since they will not know for SURE what’s going on until they attend ExploreUSC, if they choose to do so. But those are the real outlier outcomes. Let’s see what happens this year. Best of luck.
@madbean Thanks again. Well, I guess that time will tell…
If an applicant does learn that they are admitted in January and attend ExploreUSC, is that similar to orientation, where classes can be registered for, etc. - or is attending orientation later still needed…?
No, Explore is different from Orientation mainly because students aren’t committed to USC at that point. And more. Importantly, students have only been nominated for the scholarship and won’t be notified of the final decision until a week or two later . You register for classes during orientation in summer.
OK… Thanks, @jmek15
@WWWard Explore is more like an admitted students day. They have a pretty packed schedule for both parents and kids, but there is also time to attend a class (DD also met with someone from her minor) and buy swag at the bookstore. Many also do overnights so they see a dorm & cafeteria. The biggest part is the interview, which will take place the morning of the 2nd day.
@jmek15 Thanks! Sounds great for those selected…
Just a question and maybe a bit of an insight but what about SCA’s scholarships? Like the Cohen Scholarships and the George Lucas Family Foundation (Diversity) Scholarships?
How many students get those scholarships/ How competitive is it?
When do students find out if they receive these scholarships?
How much are they?
I realize it might vary from major to major but these are the ones that I am aware of.
I’ve applied for the Animation/Digital Arts Program and I have almost no information about this program.
I’m an international student and applied just because I had ACT scores, USC is known to be a great school and I heard they give out lots of scholarships(compared to most art schools).
I’m clueless weather I’m nowhere close to being qualified or good enough to expect scholarships.
Is the Animation/Digital Arts program very competitive?
@ChocolatePotato @madbean posted this info previously on the #s accepted and acceptance rate generally at USC SCA… so yes - Animation/Digital Arts is ultra competitive, with roughly only 24 gaining admission per year…
“My info came from conversations with SCA Admissions some years ago when they said they aimed for class size (translation: they admitted slightly more to allow for yield) of 75 Crit Studies (Cinema and Media Studies now), 50 production, 12 IMGD, 15 Screenwriting, and 24 animation majors. The quote of 4-6% admitted also came from the SCA director of Admissions back then, when they emphasized that production was much tougher than Critical Studies for admission. At the opening ceremonies of SCA (or whatever they call it–they take a nice group shot in the courtyard) a few years back, IMGD said they had admitted 20 out of 1000 applications that year. So… 2%. But I imagine the applicant pool was skewed toward males and female applicants would have a better shot in order to comprise a balanced class. Sobering, if true. Even if not, each applicant must realize that of 100 applicants to SCA, about 95 will not be admitted. My advice is to give it your best shot, take special care writing your supplemental essays to really stand out as an individual and to express your vision as an artist. Best of luck.”
@WWWard Thank you for your kind reply!
I knew the School of Cinematic Arts in general is very competitive, but wasn’t sure about Animation/Digital Arts.
@ChocolatePotato You’re welcome. Indeed… many people cite how it is harder to get into than Harvard Law School. But you never know unless you apply and try. Good Luck
Did anyone get a letter yet? I can’t wait any longer!!!
AH just made an account to express how nervous I am about this
Welcome to the club of nervous waiting @yungalien
Got an email today with the subject line “admissions”. It was about transfer students but my heart skipped a beat lol
Hey everyone! I’m a fall 2017 applicant to SCA. I wish everyone luck as we wait for acceptance letters. I personally applied to the Cinema and Media Studies program!
Does anyone applying to SCA get a merit scholarship with admission directly into their major at SCA?
@cgb2017, yes, they do invite a few SCA admits (portioned out through the various SCA majors)
to the interviews for merit scholarships (Pres/Trustee) around this time, and they let them know what major they got into. But the majority won’t hear until late March.