More on USC

[Jayimess]

Winter...I don't really hate AFI. I knew I didn't want to go there before they didn't want me, so it worked out well. Slev and me just happened to be in the AFI waiting room together...so it's kind of a commiseration thing!!

Slev....I'm not sure where I'll live. I'm heading out June 13th to get acclimated, so I know what neighborhoods I want to explore...so far, ironically, the GA at USC's writing department said Los Feliz. I have a few requirements...

Safe. Really safe. I like to rollerskate at night. Not really, but I plan on buying rollerskates, and I'd like to use them at night if I want to. Also, I'm a total suburbanite. Total. An Ohio suburbanite. My foster parents don't even lock their doors at night. I've never seen a gun in real life, and the only sirens I usually hear are ambulance and fire trucks. No USC ghetto for me.

Pets. Gotta be okay. I love my boo-boo-kitty, Roxie the Wunderkat too much to leave her in Ohio...and she's the only roommate I'm willing to have.

Gated parking. I love my car too much. I've had it for exactly five days, and my finance plan means I have to have it for exactly five years. I currently park underground in a garage now, but I've dealt with street parking during my time here in a very congested neighborhood...think 19,000 people on two suburban blocks. I want an assigned spot in a locked lot.

Bathtub. Love to take baths.

Water. I grew up on a river, I live on Lake Erie. God, I'm going to miss it if I can't afford a beach neighborhood, which I can't.

I don't care so much about a commute, even though my AFI experience might make you think otherwise...remember the 495 was completely effed up when I headed to AFI, and a ten minute drive I gave myself an hour to complete took an hour and fifty five minutes? I'll sacrifice travel time for safety.

Okay, go on and be my realtor, pal!! ;-)

Regarding the waitlist...they weren't BSing you...they do it in waves. I was in the second wave of writers, I'm assuming based on the activity on this forum...two people got off the WL over a week before I did. I had till the 21st to accept or decline, then comes the next wave, etc. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, honey. At the very least, you're in no matter what, even if not till January...rest comfortably on that, like you said...no IFs, just WHENs.

 

[mkoerbel]

Hello everyone,

Well, I really wish I had found this forum a couple of months ago .... I've read through most of the comments on this board in the last two days, and it has been super informative. At this point, I figure it is time to stop lurking and introduce myself.

I'm from Columbus, Ohio. I applied to and was interviewed at USC and AFI for directing (Jayimess, I think I posted on your OTL blog once or twice). My heart was set on AFI, and I thought the interview went great there (and dang it, I flew to LA for it), but I was rejected a few weeks later. I received both the rejection letter from AFI and the acceptance letter for USC on the same day. In the weeks following, I did quite a bit of research into USC's program (I still wasn't quite sure if it was right for me), and now I'm really excited to say that I'm headed to USC this fall for an MFA in Directing. I've found that the network of USC alums is quite tight, and the amount of opportunities if you push yourself (which I do) is endless.

My wife and I went out for a apartment searching trip last week, and while we've been to LA a ton, this trip was extra special as we realized we would soon call that bustling city "home."

Anyway, all that to say, I am excited to meet all of you in August! We've all signed up and been accepted for a wild ride over the next 3-4 years, and I personally can't wait to get started!

-Mike

 

[b4bad]

hurrah.......one more trojan......

thou are welcome to this community

see you in LA

 

[Jayimess]

MK!! Great to see you over here...you never came back to my OTL blog and told me how AFI went...I think they just hate Ohio, haha...another Ohioan, BrunoDP, got rejected after an interview and is going to Chapman instead.

I'll be a Trojan with ya, Screenwriting, of course.


Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, Ohio.

 

[surlymonkey]

Hey Mike! Congrats! See you at school! (I'll be in Screenwriting...)

 

[surlymonkey]

Jayimess--

Yay! Glad you've made your final decision!

For your housing search: If you don't mind commuting a bit and you want a slightly more "suburban" feel, I would personally recommend looking in some of the cities on the south side of the Valley, or slightly to the east. Specifically, Toluca Lake, Studio City, Valley Village, the Arts District portion of North Hollywood, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Eagle Rock.

I'm afraid gated parking is incredibly rare in most of the city, and it comes at a premium in most neighborhoods. Try the Miracle Mile area though -- it's sort of at the southern end of Hollywood near the business/museum district.

I personally love Los Feliz, but I don't know if it fits some of your requirements very well. But I would still take a look. It's a really charming area.

And don't worry too much about finding a place for Roxie! Cats are allowed in a lot of apartment buildings. (I have two cats and two dogs, and while my husband and I own a house now, it wasn't super hard to find pet-friendly places when we were renting.)

If you want any help looking when you're out here, let me know!

 

[SlevinKelevra]

Jay-
Wow, if you find that let me know, I wanna be your neighbor... Those requirements pretty much rule out the places I'm lookin', you being a woman I completely understand the safety factor, however the rollerskating at night part...I don't know if that's safe anywhere, at least not without bionic eyesight and cat-like reflexes. Everyone says you've gotta be crazy to live around USC, and I'm exactly the brand of crazy they're referring to... I grew up in the suburbs of New England (George H. Bush's birthplace to be exact, not proud of that fact just trying to paint a picture...)and spent the summers in the town that Dawson's Creek's "Capeside" was inspired by... Though I'm a country mouse at heart, not much unlike Fievel Mousekewitz I've gotten used to and have begun to appreciate city life, let me correct that..."hood" life since I've lived in the guts of D.C. the past 5 years. All I need is a warm/cool place during the LA summers, to piss, sh*t and edit (when I'm in the zone sleeping, eating and overall hygiene get moved over to the "if time permits" side of the to-do list) and I'm good. However, your description of an ideal place does sound rather enticing. If you do find something that fits that description would you mind putting in a good word for me with the landlord, to answer the age old question Mr. Rogers once posed...Yes, I would be your neighbor..

 

[Jayimess]

People go skating at night DOWNTOWN in Cleveland.

I'm such a Ohioan. Dangit.

Okay, those are the burbs...thanks, surlymonkey.

What about city living? Like a Midtown Manhattan, Lincoln Park Chicago, Georgetown, DC type of thing? More people means sorta safer, right? I had no fear in those places...I'm not afraid of the city. I just don't want to live anywhere where someone wouldn't want to walk their dog at night...is that a better example, Slev?

 

[SlevinKelevra]

Gotcha. Being a life long East Coaster, LA is weird in the sense that it is the only city where the Downtown area becomes a complete ghost town at night and on the weekends. If you're lookin' for someplace like the ones you mentioned (G'town, Lincoln Park, Mid-town) I would agree with some of the places surlymonkey suggested as well as add Venice Beach, Santa Monica and the West L.A./Century City area to that list (if you don't mind the commute at rush hour). I know everyone is bombarding you with location info, so you'll just have to try on each of these places and see how each looks on you...

 

[Jayimess]

YAY!

I just got the coolest email...well, actually, three...from GA Moira McMahon.

It has my entire class roster and lots of info.


It's all so real now, Trojans!!

I also finally found a store where I could get a USC hat and window yesterday...my goofy butt bought a sweatshirt, too, I was so excited.

 

[b4bad]

ohh that is cool....but i dint receive anything other than a big package that had my I-20(for international students). can you please tell me what was in the package.....other than class roster....

 

[Jayimess]

It was just a couple of welcome emails...FAQs...what's coming in the mail soon...parking info...orientation day...class schedules...it wasn't that interesting, I guess...but it made it all seem real.

 

[b4bad]

ok...i hope i get that soon........

 

[Jayimess]

Info is coming. I think they have to close the class first.

Mine's closed, I believe, since she called us the "roster" and spoke of all our confirmation paperwork as being received.

I don't know.

 

[aaandcut]

I didn't receive any funky roster mail. Just the same package as b4bad)
I did send my confirmation and deposit cheque (although I am still deciding Columbia vs. USC)

 

[b4bad]

great....one more person whoz torn between columbia and USC.......anyways i sent my NO to columbia few weeks back.....

 

[Jayimess]

It's awesome...when you get your roster, write to everyone.

I did, and now everyone's writing back, we already have a writer's get together scheduled for August 25th....

 

[aaandcut]

I very much torn.

Originally posted by Jayimess:
It's awesome...when you get your roster, write to everyone.

I did, and now everyone's writing back, we already have a writer's get together scheduled for August 25th....

Thats the kind of mentality I love. I can't wait to be part of it all!

Note: Ohio born Paul Newman announced his retirement from stage and screen. Really wanted a chance to work with him.

 

[mkoerbel]

I haven't received a roster e-mail yet either, but perhaps production isn't closed yet. Any production students get an e-mail yet (other than request for financial aid docs?)

 

[mkoerbel]

was it something I said? Everyone stopped talking.