<p>Received my acceptance letter and admission to the BA program today!!! Very ecstatic. I went in with the intent of getting a bfa and have been accepted for one at another school, but if we can figure out how to pay for USC I don’t think I will be able to pass up the school. Great opportunity. Congrats to everyone else who is accepted!!</p>
<p>Been lurking on this thread for some time now. Also accepted to the BA here! Also wondering about the relationship between the BA/BFA students. Does anyone know how many kids are accepted to the BA?
Opinions between that and NYU Tisch? I know it’s actually more selective, but looking for a rigorous PRACTICAL acting program. Would USC BA give that to me?
What do you do if you aren’t selected for the showcase? (I thought only 9 were). Thank you and congrats to everyone!</p>
<p>My D got the invitation last week, but no acceptance yet. Has anyone received the invite then not been accepted? I haven’t told her about the invite. A few kids at her school received acceptances today-different majors though.</p>
<p>S got accepted to BFA today! Hoping for some decent aid…</p>
<p>D received her BA Theatre Arts acceptance today. We are about 1.5 hours from campus so people back east may be able to see results online before results come in the regular mail. She is over the moon. It will allow her to do an MT minor. Now let’s see if we can actually afford it… We’ll be at the Open House :)</p>
<p>@madbean, you said that USC tried to help with financial aid? Is there a thread on this somewhere?</p>
<p>@casadelewis
That makes me feel better. The vagaries of USPS. At this moment my D is in tears because she is certain she isn’t in. She said her other friends found out “on line”. How can this be true? She is certain they won’t admit more than 2 kids ( although different majors) from the same school. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. My Recommendation to USC, do it all on line. The Yellow packet can’t possibly make up for the stress.</p>
<p>My D received her BA in Theater acceptance today as well. Very happy,about it. She also received the “invitation” last week.</p>
<p>I got in and I got the invite last Thursday! USC BA!</p>
<p>Congratulations emilyym5!</p>
<p>I wish the timing of the event/acceptance notice was a little better…Airfare last week was $360 and now it’s $630. And we still can’t really commit to the expense of attending the event because we won’t receive financial aid info until next week or the week after. :(</p>
<p>We might not be able to make the event either. My son was accepted into BFA program. He is beyond excited! Hopefully our plans will allow us to attend the event.</p>
<p>Just got email with USC aid - $5500 loan… not an option for us at $62K.</p>
<p>Congrats to all! S at BFA program and loves it!</p>
<p>Flying out to LA for accepted students day. Also received an NYU Tisch acceptance today, so lots of great options, it seems! Any idea on how feasible it is to audition in LA while in USC’s BA program? Thanks so much and congrats, again, to everyone!</p>
<p>acting17,</p>
<pre><code>Please check your financial aid letter. At this time financial aid packages for USC are not complete unless it states all aid is included. There should be work study, etc. on the list.
Town & Gown, Topping, and alumni scholarship donors are just in the process of notifying students.
On the USC forum look for posts from alamemom. She gives candid advice on understanding the financial aid process.
</code></pre>
<p>answering an earlier question:</p>
<p>The students in USC’s School of Dramatic Arts are a great group and, whether BA or BFA, they take many classes together and hang out and there is mutual respect. This is due, in part, to the fact that all theatre majors can audition for just about every show–with the exception of 1 BFA only production/semester. As I mentioned in other posts, there are many students who prefer the BA so they can minor in Musical Theatre, or so they can work professionally if they get cast in a pilot or film or commercial. I think this levels the field in a way, since those BAs are very professionally focused, too, and clearly a talented group. That being said, the BFAs do see a lot more of each other and get the full conservatory-style training so it seems to work well.</p>
<p>FinAid is alamemom’s territory, but I believe USC has a calculator at their FinAid site and if you plug in the numbers it can give you a rough idea of how it should work out for your family. On the plus side–they do not gap, they meet “demonstrated” need (but, you know how that goes–what any school says you need, and what you actually need may be very different numbers). When they determine a family’s “need,” they account for it by always giving the student fed loans (freshmen often get $5500 in subsidized and/or unsub loans) plus work study (that amount is what they expect the student to earn during the school year–so isn’t exactly money in the pocket until they work, but they do qualify for most on-campus jobs. The best is USC grant aid (free money). If the student is NMF, that is 1/2 tuition plus $1000/year but if you are lucky enough to have this merit aid, it cuts down need-based aid. </p>
<p>Those are some brief ideas of how they calculate it. Families with other kids in college get a massive break (I think) but then once the older sib graduates, it can be a shock. </p>
<p>In all honesty, USC is among the better universities for FinAid. If you don’t think your package makes sense, you have the right to appeal and many families do and receive more. </p>
<p>@burnbrighter, many Theatre BAs have agents and go on auditions. BFAs cannot.</p>
<p>Madbean, thank you SO much! Your information has been extremely helpful to me. Being from NYC, (and never having gone to LA), is it very hard to get around to these auditions without a car? I’ve only heard rumors about the public transportation system, so I’m definitely curious to hear more about this.</p>
<p>@bb…I am a So Cal native and although it is a great place to live in many ways, public transportation is not one of them. There is none… You would definitely need a car if you want to get around if you went to USC. The bus system is ridiculous and just not going to work. That would be a question maybe madbean can also answer, as her son is at USC and maybe she has some ideas as he gets around. My S who is a junior is probably going ot apply to USC, but really prefers a place like NYC where he doesn’t need a car. He has only had his license for 6 months and he is already sick of driving:)</p>
<p>My S is about to graduate from USC and my D is about to start at NYU/Tisch. We are also from the NYC area and were surprised at the difficulty of getting around to auditions, etc. without a car. There are solutions, however, besides buying a car. My S used Zipcar and it met all his needs. We still do love the convenience of walking or taking the subway in Manhattan and my D is looking forward to that.</p>
<p>It may not be ideal for a parent who worries, but I do think freshman can have a car at USC.</p>