USC Admissions Decision - Spring Semester 2024

[ESK]

Hello, I applied to the Film and Television Production Degree for USC's graduate school for the spring semester of 2024 in August. I was just sent an email upon me sending a question to USC about my admissions status which says "The Admissions Committee has identified you as one of the more talented applicants in this year's pool. Though we are not able to offer you an immediate spot in the Spring 2024 class, we would like to place you on the Spring 2024 waitlist.

The waitlist guarantees that you will be considered for Spring 2024 admission if any admitted students decline our offer of admission prior to the start of the semester". Does this mean that I will only be considered if any admitted student declines the offer of admission? How likely is it that students decline offers, especially given USC's film school is so prestigious? What would you recommend my next alternative be, worse case scenario?

 

[Chris W]

People give up their spot for and number of reasons... Health... Family.... Financial. Who knows? You could be offered a chance at admission. I've heard of some people being offered days before class starts. (Can't remember if it was for USC though)

Our advanced Supporting Member statistics do have the percentage of admits off of the wait-list based on applications in our database.

USC School of Cinematic Arts Acceptance Rate (All Programs/All Years)

27.6%

Admitted

231 out of 836

16.7%

Waitlisted

140 out of 836

55.6%

Not Admitted

465 out of 836

Click here for our full Admission Statistics for this program including interview and acceptance notification dates, accepted GPAs, waitlist acceptance rate, demographics of accepted applicants, $ amount of scholarship awarded, and more...

Regardless I'd consider applying for fall admission as a backup?

 

[scaldwellkerson]

Hello, I applied to the Film and Television Production Degree for USC's graduate school for the spring semester of 2024 in August. I was just sent an email upon me sending a question to USC about my admissions status which says "The Admissions Committee has identified you as one of the more talented applicants in this year's pool. Though we are not able to offer you an immediate spot in the Spring 2024 class, we would like to place you on the Spring 2024 waitlist.

The waitlist guarantees that you will be considered for Spring 2024 admission if any admitted students decline our offer of admission prior to the start of the semester". Does this mean that I will only be considered if any admitted student declines the offer of admission? How likely is it that students decline offers, especially given USC's film school is so prestigious? What would you recommend my next alternative be, worse case scenario?

Most likely you'll get a spot, and hassling/asking them about your spot can also work. It's not out of the realm of possibility at all so don't think you won't get in. It's also possible they might give you admission for fall 2024.

 

[Chris W]

FYI I reorganized the application categories in the database to remove the unnecessary Graduate and Undergraduate cateogries... BUT the most useful change is that you can now sort applications in our acceptance statistics by Application Year. This makes it much easier to see the USC Spring notification dates.

• Not enough Applications have been added to our Database to calculate Acceptance Data. Log your own application to help improve our statistics.
• Log Your Application
• 
  Become a Supporting Member to see the lowest reported GPA, SAT, GRE, and other test data.
  
  

 

[Chris W]

We're interviewing USC again. Do you have any questions for them? Post them in thread linked below.

What questions do you have for University of Southern California admissions department?

I'm excited to announce I will holding a follow-up admissions department interview with USC SCA next month! Take a look at the first interview here: I'm open to questions from undergraduate and graduate students about the application process, campus culture and student life (clubs, etc.)...

www.filmschool.org

 

[Chris W]

As a special bonus article for FilmSchool.org's Supporting Members, @Alexa P. recently followed up with a USC SCA undergraduate admissions committee advisor here:

How to Get Into USC SCA in 2024: More Tips for Applying from a Committee Member

As the oldest film school in the U.S., University of Southern California School of the Arts has helped usher exceptional talent to the forefront of the film industry. In 2023, TheWrap ranked USC SCA the #2 best film school in the country, praising its advanced filmmaking facilities, generous...

• Alexa P.
• Mar 14, 2024
• Category: Supporting Member Exclusives

This is a follow up to our original free article:

How to get Into USC SCA: Advice from an Admissions Committee Member

Considered by many to be the best film school in the world, it’s no wonder why the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) is so sought after by prospective undergraduate and graduate students alike. However, the film school’s prestige can often make the application process particularly stressful and...

• Svaja Paka
• Mar 5, 2020
• 5.00 star(s) 6 ratings
• Comments: 6
• Reviews: 4
• Category: Admissions Interviews

 

[Trinity999]

Hey does anyone know how I can get into USC MFA Screenwriting or Film Production for Fall 2024? I know it's a long shot. Thinking about applying as an undergrad film student and then transferring in the MFA program. That sounds nuts I know but I really want to get into USC, I need the network, connections and a better chance of breaking into the industry. Also, I noticed someone said they got in for Spring 2025? Is that even possible now or is it just the waitlist?

 

[scaldwellkerson]

If you haven’t applied for fall 2024 you can’t get in, the application was due last year.

You also can transfer as an undergrad into the grad program. If you want to apply for undergrad just know that they do have the same opportunities and classes but not the seniority to equipment, labs, etc. unless you’re doing an advanced project.

The reason why people are admitted for Spring 2025 is because if you apply in the fall but get waitlisted you automatically get admitted for the spring.

All you can do now though is apply for Fall 2025. Hope this helps!