USC MFA Screenwriting Scholarship Writing Prompts/Questions

[amichan]

Hey guys! There are 3 questions in the application if you choose to be considered for scholarships:

Please describe your academic, professional and personal goals, and how additional funding might support these endeavors.

Please answer the following essay prompt to be considered for scholarships funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity: Please describe how you plan to further the interests of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry.

Please answer the following essay prompt if you wish to be considered for scholarships funded by the Shriram Family Graduate Student Support Fund: This award is for students with dire financial need for whom educational costs present an obstacle to attend USC. Therefore, please provide a brief description of your background and personal history, detailing any personal struggles or challenges that you have had, or will have, to overcome in pursuit of paying for your higher education goals.

It seems like all three of these require us to discuss our background and future goals relating to screenwriting. Is it acceptable if I repeat some phrases and information in all 3 questions, or would that look lazy to the one reviewing my application? I just don't see how I can change my background and goals for each question. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the dumb question haha. look forward to hearing how your application prompts are doing!

 

[Asar]

Hey guys! There are 3 questions in the application if you choose to be considered for scholarships:

Please describe your academic, professional and personal goals, and how additional funding might support these endeavors.

Please answer the following essay prompt to be considered for scholarships funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity: Please describe how you plan to further the interests of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry.

Please answer the following essay prompt if you wish to be considered for scholarships funded by the Shriram Family Graduate Student Support Fund: This award is for students with dire financial need for whom educational costs present an obstacle to attend USC. Therefore, please provide a brief description of your background and personal history, detailing any personal struggles or challenges that you have had, or will have, to overcome in pursuit of paying for your higher education goals.

It seems like all three of these require us to discuss our background and future goals relating to screenwriting. Is it acceptable if I repeat some phrases and information in all 3 questions, or would that look lazy to the one reviewing my application? I just don't see how I can change my background and goals for each question. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the dumb question haha. look forward to hearing how your application prompts are doing!

So I think it's important for you to dissect the language used for each prompt and you'll see that they are actually asking for different things. The only prompt that asks for your background is prompt #3 and the only prompt that asks for your personal goals is prompt #1. Therefore, you shouldn't be in a position where you have to repeat yourself.

However, say you want to speak about your background and personal goals regardless of if the prompt ask for it or not (although I'm a proponent of answering what is asked of you), then think about the aspects of your background and personal goals that are RELEVANT for that prompt.

For example, prompt #2 is asking how you plan to further the interests of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry. Maybe one of your personal goals is this exact thing... so here's a perfect place to really elaborate on that personal goal. Whereas, prompt #1, while it asks for your personal goals as well, it also asks for your academic and professional goals. So you don't have as much space to elaborate on JUST your personal goal(s). Prompt #1 also wants you to explain how additional funding will help these endeavors. So both are scenarios where you MIGHT speak about the same thing (your personal goals) but with different purposes. That should help you decide WHAT to say.

I think as long as you approach each prompt as the individual prompts they are, analyze what is being asked of you, and remember that as you're writing, you'll probably find the solution to your frustration will come to you.

 

[amichan]

So I think it's important for you to dissect the language used for each prompt and you'll see that they are actually asking for different things. The only prompt that asks for your background is prompt #3 and the only prompt that asks for your personal goals is prompt #1. Therefore, you shouldn't be in a position where you have to repeat yourself.

However, say you want to speak about your background and personal goals regardless of if the prompt ask for it or not (although I'm a proponent of answering what is asked of you), then think about the aspects of your background and personal goals that is RELEVANT for that prompt.

For example, prompt #2 is asking how you plan to further the interests of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry. Maybe one of your personal goals is this exact thing... so here's a perfect place to really elaborate on that personal goal. Whereas, prompt #1, while it asks for your personal goals as well, it also asks for your academic and professional goals. So you don't have as much space to elaborate on JUST your personal goal(s). Prompt #1 also wants you to explain how additional funding will help these endeavors. So both are scenarios where you MIGHT speak about the same thing (your personal goals) but with different purposes. That should help you decide WHAT to say.

I think as long as you approach each prompt as the individual prompts they are, analyze what is being asked of you, and remember that as you're writing, you'll probably find the solution to your frustration will come to you.

Thank you so much for this! Really helped put things into perspective for me. Burning all my answers and rebuilding them from the ground up. Another normal day...

 

[Asar]

Thank you so much for this! Really helped put things into perspective for me. Burning all my answers and rebuilding them from the ground up. Another normal day...

Another normal day indeed haha. Yeah, at the end of each rewrite, read the prompt again and then read your answer and see if it answers all of what's asked of you. Likewise, try to find all the ways to make the answers unique to YOU. Using prompt #2, someone who is a part of an underrepresented community might instinctually talk about their mere presence being a factor in this endeavor but that's still general. Perhaps you talk about how the types of stories you want to write will employ more of a particular community (that's also another thing, maybe say what communities you specifically have in mind). Maybe you have an idea of how to change access to the industry that would allow particular communities to gain opportunities. For this prompt, aim to make them believe that YOU and only YOU could fulfill that goal.

But even if your ideas, to you, don't seem super unique, don't beat yourself up and think it's not a good answer. Just do your best to make your answers something that could only/for the most part be connected to you.

 

[amichan]

Another normal day indeed haha. Yeah, at the end of each rewrite, read the prompt again and then read your answer and see if it answers all of what's asked of you. Likewise, try to find all the ways to make the answers unique to YOU. Using prompt #2, someone who is a part of an underrepresented community might instinctually talk about their mere presence being a factor in this endeavor but that's still general. Perhaps you talk about how the types of stories you want to write will employ more of a particular community (that's also another thing, maybe say what communities you specifically have in mind). Maybe you have an idea of how to change access to the industry that would allow particular communities to gain opportunities. For this prompt, aim to make them believe that YOU and only YOU could fulfill that goal.

But even if your ideas, to you, don't seem super unique, don't beat yourself up and think it's not a good answer. Just do your best to make your answers something that could only/for the most part be connected to you.

Yeah I think why I got confused was because my personal and professional goals are already dedicated to promoting underrepresented communities, specifically Filipinos because of my background. So when I got around to question 2, I felt like I had already explained that in question 1.

But your answer really made me think about how to adjust the two answers to make sure I wasn't repeating myself even if they are aligned. Decided to make question 2 a little more personal to expound on the why. Thanks a lot!