Travis Leake

Well-Known Member
Haven't seen anyone start this thread this year.

I suppose I'll start us off.

Applied for the Fall 2015 semester. Everything was in and finalized (including references) before the priority date of 11/01.

First time applying. Background in music production, short fiction, couple of small international credits over the last couple years.

English BA from a normal Cal State university, good grades and such.

Hoping to hear who else has applied and what your experiences have been before applying and whatnot.

Waiting is torture.
 
Thus far, 60 views on this and no replies. Where are all the shy writers who are lurking?
 
Thus far, 60 views on this and no replies. Where are all the shy writers who are lurking?

Hey
I applied for the graduate program in screenwriting at USC and UCLA for the fall 2015 semester.
Did my bachelor in film and television in Australia. Been writing for a few years and currently working on a trilogy.

Only had 2.5 GPA, but I received some solid letters of recommendation as well as a good CV. Anyone knows how strict they are on the GPA?
 
If I were to guess, I would say that for this particular program of study they are more concerned with writing ability than classic academic performance.
 
Received this email today from USC:

Hello SCA Applicants,


Thank you for applying to the USC School of Cinematic Arts! You can expect to receive an admission decision by mid-March. In the meantime, we wanted to remind you about upcoming financial aid and scholarship deadlines.


USC Financial Aid Reminders

If you would like to apply for federal financial aid such as Stafford Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans, please submit the 2015 FAFSA. You may find more information about applying for Financial Aid at USC here. Please contact the USC Office of Financial Aid at 213-740-4444 for more information. Only domestic students, U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, are eligible for federal financial aid.

School of Cinematic Arts Scholarships – Deadline: February 13th

The School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) maintains a number of scholarships for incoming graduate students, and a number of incoming students in each graduate program will be selected to receive SCA scholarships. The online scholarship application is available here; it is due on February 13, 2015. Please visit the website for instructions, eligibility criteria and application requirements.

Student Aid Webinars

We also recommend that you attend one of our online student aid webinars for prospective students to get a better idea of how scholarships work here at USC. Please click below to sign up for one of the following online sessions. You must RSVP by 5pm on the day before your chosen session:

Tuesday, January 20 @ 3pm PST:
http://cinema.usc.edu/events/reservation.cfm?id=14766&rid=2732

Thursday, February 5 @ 2pm PST:
http://cinema.usc.edu/events/reservation.cfm?id=14766&rid=2733

We hope these reminders are helpful to you. If you have any questions, please contact SCA’s Office of Student Services at studentservices@cinema.usc.edu.

Best of luck with your candidacy,
-------------------------------------------
Office of Student Services
University of Southern California
Telephone: 213.740.8358
Fax: 213.740.4013

So from this, just keep in mind that your decision will probably come AFTER certain critical FINANCIAL AID deadlines, so do not miss them.

DEADLINES:

January 19th/February 4th - Register for Webinar (links above)
January 20th/February 5th - Attend Financial Aid Webinar (links above)
February 13th - Cinematic Arts School Aid
February 13th - FAFSA (Per the USC Website, reference: http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/graduates2/newstudents.html
 
Last edited:
Yeah, in years past, first notifications went out to writers right around Valentine's Day, so the timeline seems to be congruent with that despite the earlier applicaiton deadline this year. I got it in for priority deadline as well, so hopefully there's at least some benefit in having submitted it a couple of weeks early.

I'm signed up for the 1/20 webinar and will probably hold off on working on the financial aid packet until then. My financial need isn't as desperate as I imagine some are, and I haven't done much work in the Latin American community either. That appears to be the two main components to the big scholarships. I'll complete the packet if necessary, though, should it be required for consideration of the endowed scholarships (which look a bit like they might only apply to current students... I suppose that'll be addressed)

Thanks for the deadline summary at the bottom-- that's very useful-- however I think that link is the one for first-year undergrads. I think this link is the correct one for first-year grad students: http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/graduates2/newstudents.html
 
What's everbody working on while sweating out the waiting period? I've found it really hard to go back to writing without a set deadline...

I'm most interested in half-hour TV, so I'm breaking the story on a Brooklyn Nine Nine Spec right now. I wrote a couple of pilots for my UCLA application, so I figure a solid spec script is a good addition to the portfolio even if showrunners are starting to lean towards only wanting to see original work.

Tormodnoreng, you mentioned you were working on a trilogy. Would you be interested sharing a logline or something?
 
Hey :)
Spent a year writing on my trilogy titled "Red" which takes place on planet Mars in the future. I can`t really go into details at the moment since I am still working on the structure and Im still jumping back and forth, but as soon as I have a decent synopsis I would love to share it with you guys :)

I just moved back home to Norway and been working for my father at home whilst waiting and waiting and waiting haha.

What type of writing are you guys interested in / want to do in the future?
 
Hi all! Still haven't heard anything apart from those financial aid reminders. I've been putting off the essay part. I'm hoping we'll start hearing back in the middle of February like you guys are predicting. I don't know if I can wait much longer!
 
I've been putting off the essay part.

If you put off the essay portion of the financial aid until after February 13th when (ostensibly) we'll find out, then you are going to forfeit all hope of receiving the SCA school financial aid and possibly several other key scholarships and fellowships/grants that the school offers because of deadlines.

Get on that.
 
Last edited:
From today's Financial Aid Webinar

Bg3Ld7V.png



eRMmFiK.png
 
I also applied to USC and UCLA. Heard back from UCLA today and it was a no. Hopefully applying by the priority deadline will make a positive difference.

Also, thanks for posting the info for financial aid. Looks like I'll be in debt if I get it!
 
Did USC start sending out Screenwriting MFA decisions? I got an e-mail from the School accepting me into another program I applied for about 8 hours ago.
While I'm thrilled about that, I'm wondering what that means for my other applications..
 
Did USC start sending out Screenwriting MFA decisions? I got an e-mail from the School accepting me into another program I applied for about 8 hours ago.
While I'm thrilled about that, I'm wondering what that means for my other applications..
I don't think USC's started sending out decisions yet. Someone on the general screenwriting thread said they got a rejection letter from USC, but I think, from the context, that they meant UCLA.

I just looked back through the website, and these are the earliest anybody's heard from USC:

2014 = 2/25
2013 = 2/18
2012 = 2/17
2011 = 2/25
2010 = 3/6

Moving the window up a month and the creation of a "priority" deadline might move up our notification date a little this year, but there's no real way to tell. This year, UCLA sent out interview emails about two weeks later than they had in the past four or five years.
 
I went to an SCA graduate info session during the application process last year and specifically asked whether the priority deadline would equate to a priority (or early) decision.

Unfortunately, the SCA admissions officer said that the "priority" deadline was created to help the faculty facilitate the large applicant pool. They also wanted the time to remind applicants to submit missing supplemental materials.

I know we're all hoping she's wrong, but I'm guessing the wait continues...
 
I went to an SCA graduate info session during the application process last year and specifically asked whether the priority deadline would equate to a priority (or early) decision.

Unfortunately, the SCA admissions officer said that the "priority" deadline was created to help the faculty facilitate the large applicant pool. They also wanted the time to remind applicants to submit missing supplemental materials.

I know we're all hoping she's wrong, but I'm guessing the wait continues...

I hope she's wrong and priority deadliners are more likely to be accepted! This waiting is killing me!
 
Hm... yeah, you'd like to think there'd be some advantage gained for forgoing a couple extra weeks of polishing. I don't think it'll have any impact on acceptance, but I did think they said we would get notified before the general deadline people. Doesn't really matter, but it'd be nice if they could throw my sanity a bone.
 
Received this email today from USC:

Hello SCA Applicants,


Thank you for applying to the USC School of Cinematic Arts! You can expect to receive an admission decision by mid-March. In the meantime, we wanted to remind you about upcoming financial aid and scholarship deadlines.


USC Financial Aid Reminders

If you would like to apply for federal financial aid such as Stafford Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans, please submit the 2015 FAFSA. You may find more information about applying for Financial Aid at USC here. Please contact the USC Office of Financial Aid at 213-740-4444 for more information. Only domestic students, U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, are eligible for federal financial aid.

School of Cinematic Arts Scholarships – Deadline: February 13th

The School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) maintains a number of scholarships for incoming graduate students, and a number of incoming students in each graduate program will be selected to receive SCA scholarships. The online scholarship application is available here; it is due on February 13, 2015. Please visit the website for instructions, eligibility criteria and application requirements.

Student Aid Webinars

We also recommend that you attend one of our online student aid webinars for prospective students to get a better idea of how scholarships work here at USC. Please click below to sign up for one of the following online sessions. You must RSVP by 5pm on the day before your chosen session:

Tuesday, January 20 @ 3pm PST:
http://cinema.usc.edu/events/reservation.cfm?id=14766&rid=2732

Thursday, February 5 @ 2pm PST:
http://cinema.usc.edu/events/reservation.cfm?id=14766&rid=2733

We hope these reminders are helpful to you. If you have any questions, please contact SCA’s Office of Student Services at studentservices@cinema.usc.edu.

Best of luck with your candidacy,
-------------------------------------------
Office of Student Services
University of Southern California
Telephone: 213.740.8358
Fax: 213.740.4013

So from this, just keep in mind that your decision will probably come AFTER certain critical FINANCIAL AID deadlines, so do not miss them.

DEADLINES:

January 19th/February 4th - Register for Webinar (links above)
January 20th/February 5th - Attend Financial Aid Webinar (links above)
February 13th - Cinematic Arts School Aid
February 13th - FAFSA (Per the USC Website, reference: http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/graduates2/newstudents.html

Hi,
Did you submit your financial aid application? The link provided in the email(the one from student services) is not working.
 
Log your film school application with our Application Database so that we can improve our admissions statistics.




Latest Accepted Applications


Acceptance Data
For up to date Film School Acceptance Rates, including Minimum GPAs, Minimum Test Scores, After Interview and Off-Waitlist Acceptance Rates, Film Experience and Undergraduate degrees of accepted applicants, Age data, and other acceptance statistics for your film program of choice simply navigate to the Acceptance Rates tab on each film school's page in our Film School Database.

For example:
Log your own Application with our application database to help improve the site's acceptance data.

Latest Film School Reviews

  • University of Colorado at Boulder (BFA)
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Alumni
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    BFA University of Colorado at Boulder BFA Film Production
    Honest review. CU Boulder is an interesting place to learn filmmaking. The University boasts some excellent professors who are actively making...
    • Anonymous
  • University of Central Florida - School of Visual Arts & Design
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film - Feature/TV Writing
    UCF Film BFA (College of Sciences - School of Communication)
    UCF's BFA program is split into 4 modalities: narrative production, documentary production, experimental production, and feature/tv writing. I...
    • Anonymous
  • Syracuse University
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film
    Syracuse Film and Media Arts - BFA Film
    I'm in my last year at Syracuse University as a member of the department of Film and Media Arts, and it's been a lot of ups and downs. There's a...
    • Anonymous
  • Fitchburg State University
    5.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Alumni
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film/Video and Theater
    A Great School with Great Professors!
    I was a student there from 2018-2022 and had a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone, especially people living within Massachusetts...
    • Anonymous
  • Florida State University - MFA in Writing
    5.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: MA/MFA
    Concentration: Screenwriting
    Hidden Gem
    Before I get into the details, it's worth mentioning that I'm in my second year at this program and have really enjoyed my time here. I will be...
    • catmom

Latest Applications

Latest questions

Latest Articles

Latest Accepted Applications

Applications
Articles
Forums
Film Schools
Scholarships
Back
Top