USC School of Cinematic Arts SCA MFA Film & TV Production Fall 2020

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially regarding to “where” I am going to live. I’ve talked with a few current students at USC and they all suggested living a little bit further away from campus as the area is a little sketchy, especially for a girl and when you have to work until late at night. I’ve been looking into Hollywood area, WeHo is personally my favorite but it’s really far, especially without a car. I think I’ll start looking up things online a few weeks before the start of the program and then arrive in LA about 10 days earlier so that I have enough time to check out a few options.
I’d love to chat with future classmates that are also looking for roommates tho!
Want to ask international students. How are you guys feeling about moving to LA? What do you think about housing? Do you plan to arrive ahead of the studying?

I'm really excited to move to LA and planning on arriving a few days early but at this point, I'm not sure how things will be due to the lockdown. I initially planned on staying on campus but after yesterday's meeting, I am looking at other options. Anybody else looking for housing? But really hoping to meet you all in person in August. :)
 
Hi! I hope everyone is doing well right now. i just wanted to let you guys know something my friend told me today that might quell some people's financial worries (like it did for me): "you have the right to appeal financial aid decisions for this year and next year if family finances have changed because of the virus since financial aid was applied."

And these are the links she sent me:
1. How To Ask For More College Financial Aid Due To The Coronavirus
2. http://kantrowitz.com/books/appeal/how-to-appeal-for-more-financial-aid-for-college.pdf

I'd also like to say that I finally committed to USC! Who all has committed and would like to be roommates with me? 😂

Hey! I also committed to USC a few days ago. Really excited to meet everyone here in person. :)
 
I'm really excited to move to LA and planning on arriving a few days early but at this point, I'm not sure how things will be due to the lockdown. I initially planned on staying on campus but after yesterday's meeting, I am looking at other options. Anybody else looking for housing? But really hoping to meet you all in person in August. :)
I’ll search for some options somewhere near campus first. Actually I don’t know anything about the price range and availability of the apartments in this district so I’ll do some research today
 
I’ll search for some options somewhere near campus first. Actually I don’t know anything about the price range and availability of the apartments in this district so some research should be done first I guess

I am inclining towards USC housing as it's cheaper than what I saw on housing websites. It's a dorm so you will be sharing a room but I guess that will be okay for me if it is reducing my living expenses by a huge amount. The average USC room charges are $800-900 and I saw off-campus housing from $1000-1200 but I will still look for a better off-campus housing situation if I get one.
 
Hi guys! Zoom meeting just got concluded and I'm now even more stoked to start the semester (and yeah, hopefully the world will be a lot healthier by then).

To anyone who didn't make it and is wondering about the Covid-19 situation: apparently they'll take deferral (due to Covid-19-related issues) on a case-to-case basis, but you generally can't defer your slot to another semester. No concrete plan has been made regarding fall, but an idea floated by Barnett is that we start taking theory classes first online, and start production once the pandemic has died down.

In any case, I'm so happy that I finally got to meet some/all of you and I can't wait to work with you guys!

Hey, just chiming in here from someone who has been admitted to other programs, so just very curious how other universities are approaching this. Did they say anything at all about cutting the tuition if beginning of the term is online? Or are they just expecting people to pay the same fees? That's one of the things that is an issue to me going forward. If part of the semester is online, I'd be open to that, but I don't think it's fair to charge the same kind of fees in that case..
 
Hey, just chiming in here from someone who has been admitted to other programs, so just very curious how other universities are approaching this. Did they say anything at all about cutting the tuition if beginning of the term is online? Or are they just expecting people to pay the same fees? That's one of the things that is an issue to me going forward. If part of the semester is online, I'd be open to that, but I don't think it's fair to charge the same kind of fees in that case..

Someone did raise that up in the chat during the Zoom meeting, but it wasn't addressed, but the general vibe I got from them is that nothing else is decided yet, and I imagine they'll just wait it out and see if the covid situation improves or worsens in California/LA before making a firm decision.

I am inclining towards USC housing as it's cheaper than what I saw on housing websites. It's a dorm so you will be sharing a room but I guess that will be okay for me if it is reducing my living expenses by a huge amount. The average USC room charges are $800-900 and I saw off-campus housing from $1000-1200 but I will still look for a better off-campus housing situation if I get one.

Same here! I think on top of that, it's also trying to get used to LA and getting to know the city more. This wouldn't be my first time being in LA, but it would certainly be my first time living in it, so I'm not too familiar with the areas. Plus, if the first year of classes will really be tough, I'd rather stay closer to campus so that I can focus on my classes. There's also that free Lyft that you get at night which was what sealed the deal for me.
 
Y'all, not gonna lie I have so much anxiety right now probably mostly because of how I have to spend my last semester of college at home and most of my plans for this semester have been changed. But then also I'm been waitlisted to USC which is just an added layer of uncertainty. And then I will definitely be taking out hella loans which would give anyone anxiety I feel like. 😥 Who can relate 🙋‍♀️

Also can't tell if I have allergies or sumthin else 👀😬
 
USC implied they weren't going to change the tuition fees if we had to go online for the fall semester, which I found disappointing. They tried to justify it, though, by saying they'll focus on theory than production. But it seems a majority of schools are doing this, too, which is wack. Look at NYU, they're facing a major controversy right now because the dean sent students a video of herself dancing when they inquired about refunds. Moral of the story, these schools have huge endowments, but they're either too greedy or financially inept to give refunds for other than housing, dining, or parking.
 
Y'all, not gonna lie I have so much anxiety right now probably mostly because of how I have to spend my last semester of college at home and most of my plans for this semester have been changed. But then also I'm been waitlisted to USC which is just an added layer of uncertainty. And then I will definitely be taking out hella loans which would give anyone anxiety I feel like. 😥 Who can relate 🙋‍♀️

Also can't tell if I have allergies or sumthin else 👀😬
There is a whole generation of young people sharing in your grief right now, so take heart that you are far from alone in that. If it's any consolation, a lot of students and even older folks have been joining https://www.facebook.com/groups/zoommemes to share in the collective misery and find a little therapeutic humor in what we're going through, particularly us graduating seniors who are suddenly robbed of closure with our friends and our college years, really one of the most transformative periods of our lives. Not that all grief isn't valid, because it definitely is and should be respected, but it's also important to keep perspective of what others are losing or have lost, up to and including their lives. And while being on the Fall waitlist isn't ideal per se, a guaranteed Spring 2021 admission means that you might be legitimately the youngest or one of the youngest students ever admitted to the MFA in Production, so be proud of that. As for federal student loans, if you're a US citizen (maybe Permanent Residents as well?) you're eligible for PAYE (pay as you earn) repayment of government loans (i.e. Grad PLUS loans). If I recall correctly, this means you'd never have to pay more than 10% of your income per month so that it won't debilitate you while you're trying to get your feet on the ground post-graduation. There's a loan forgiveness portion to that after 10 or 20 years, but I hear mixed things about the success rate in getting that to go through. Hopefully after 10 or 20 years though we'll be in a financial position to make regular payments anyway, or with some luck pay the whole thing off.
 
I am inclining towards USC housing as it's cheaper than what I saw on housing websites. It's a dorm so you will be sharing a room but I guess that will be okay for me if it is reducing my living expenses by a huge amount. The average USC room charges are $800-900 and I saw off-campus housing from $1000-1200 but I will still look for a better off-campus housing situation if I get one.

I feel that however I lived in LA for a bit and basically areas around schools force students to room together and jack up the prices. I'd suggest looking a few neighborhoods away where you can get cheaper rates & more room like K-Town. I'm moving in with my partner so sharing a room is kinda off the table haha.
 
Y'all, not gonna lie I have so much anxiety right now probably mostly because of how I have to spend my last semester of college at home and most of my plans for this semester have been changed. But then also I'm been waitlisted to USC which is just an added layer of uncertainty. And then I will definitely be taking out hella loans which would give anyone anxiety I feel like. 😥 Who can relate 🙋‍♀️

Also can't tell if I have allergies or sumthin else 👀😬

I'm in the same boat! You're not alone. I've also been waitlisted for Fall and the whole uncertainty really stresses me out because I'm a planner lol. I'm just a little nervous about being admitted off the waitlist super last minute then having to move within a few weeks or days to LA. Thankfully, I'm in Arizona, so it's not a huge move. I got an offer at another university with scholarship aid but my heart is with USC. 😓 It feels like my head and heart are being pulled in opposite directions. Anyways, if you need anyone to share in your anxiety feel free to reach out!

On another note, I hope everything works out for everyone come Fall! It was nice to see everyone in the zoom! Hope I get to meet you all.
 
Wow guys... this is on track to one of the most replied to threads in a while. Keep it going! :)

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