USC MFA in Writing for Screen and Television 2019

Operator

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Anyone gonna apply to this? I'm accepted to Chapman for Fall 2019, but I thought I'd try my luck with USC as well.
 
Hi guys! This will be my first time apply to Screenwriting, and second time applying to Production. Anyone else hopelessly overthinking to two prompts?
 
Hi guys! This will be my first time apply to Screenwriting, and second time applying to Production. Anyone else hopelessly overthinking to two prompts?

Hey! It is my second time applying to both! And YES, YES, YES I overthink these prompts soooo much. I have so many drafts and versions of all of them. However, I ended up just writing from the heart and in my style for one of them. I stopped thinking "Is this dramatic or unique enough?" and I just wrote... I feel a lot better about that one now. Still working on the elevator one, but that would be my advice. It has been helping me this second time around to stop thinking "What does USC want?" and just be myself. Which is a no-brainer, I suppose, but it took two rejections to teach me that. So, even if I get rejected again, at least I feel like I really showed them myself! Do you need help with anything?
 
I finished one prompt a while ago but I need to clean it up a little. I'm also struggling with the elevator prompt. I keep wanting to go towards comedy which... despite hearing i'm decent at it, when I try to be funny it's cringe worthy. I also feel my elevator ideas are either overly done or over the top. I'm waiting for the right idea to spark. Good luck with both of yours! :)
 
I just realized that every prompt for usc, columbia, afi etc., said to write a "scene." One of my prompts for usc is technically more than one scene. It starts in the kitchen and ends in the living room. There's also a time jump to later that night in the same house. Has anyone whose been accepted, written more than a scene? I may be reading too into this or it can end up biting me in the butt later.
 
I was accepted to Chapman's TV Writing and Producing program for 2018 but had to turn it down. I dont know what the writing prompt is for 2019, but for 2018 is was write a treatment about your life if it was turned into a TV show.So I was all over the place with multiple locations.

As far as USC goes, I stayed in a single location.
 
Hey everyone, I'm back here again...if only temporarily.

For those who might not know, this is my third time applying to the program. My first year was admittedly a bust creativity-wise, and my second year was plagued with a bunch of (foolishly performed) last minute changes and uncorrected errors. And though my work ethic only slightly improved this year (always submitting to the deadline, this one) I was overall THRILLED with what I submitted this time around. I was confident that it was a strong look at who I was as a writer, and a creative. And I fine-toothed the damn thing like a dozen times. If there was any typos whatsoever, they sure as hell wouldn't be obvious guffaws, unlike last time around.

But my application cycle would not be complete without major error, it seemed. Surprisingly, though, it was not completely my fault! Instead, it was one of my recommenders, who failed to submit her letter on time and into the system. This is despite the fact that I sent her a fully written draft of the letter, AND answered a bunch of questions afterward to help her fill it in with more detail. The fact she was the only one of the three not to turn anything in...is a little irritating, quite honestly.

Even after applying three times, this is a new issue for me. On the Slideroom application, I was able to successfully submit everything, and all the supplemental materials seemed to be uploaded correctly. And since I did all the work on my end, and already had two other documents uploaded, I went ahead and submitted everything, hoping upon hope that the link to submit the other letter will still work even after the deadline has been reached. I know other programs let recommendations go through even after their deadlines have passed, and USC's wording about the issue is, no surprise, rather unclear (does it mean the letters THEMSELVES have to be completed by the deadline, or the recommenders just have to be in the system by that point?) I've also gone scanning through this forum for more info, and that too has been a mixed bag. I have reached out to my professor about turning in the letter so, with luck, I should know soon whether or not the system will let her do it.

OH, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. Due to the password change not working on the USC Graduate site, I was unable to submit the USC Graduate application exactly on time. Instead, it was on November 16...at exactly 12:00 AM. One minute after the deadline :/ I really don't know if that will at all disqualify me instantly from the process (once again, it let me submit everything perfectly fine, without issue), but it's certainly another thing to add to the pile of uncertainty that I have about my whole application year. Maybe one of these days, everything will go perfectly for me when I do a graduate school application. Then again, considering my past history...I'm not holding my breath.

I'm blabbering on again, though. How did the process go for the rest of you?
 
Hey everyone, I'm back here again...if only temporarily.

For those who might not know, this is my third time applying to the program. My first year was admittedly a bust creativity-wise, and my second year was plagued with a bunch of (foolishly performed) last minute changes and uncorrected errors. And though my work ethic only slightly improved this year (always submitting to the deadline, this one) I was overall THRILLED with what I submitted this time around. I was confident that it was a strong look at who I was as a writer, and a creative. And I fine-toothed the damn thing like a dozen times. If there was any typos whatsoever, they sure as hell wouldn't be obvious guffaws, unlike last time around.

But my application cycle would not be complete without major error, it seemed. Surprisingly, though, it was not completely my fault! Instead, it was one of my recommenders, who failed to submit her letter on time and into the system. This is despite the fact that I sent her a fully written draft of the letter, AND answered a bunch of questions afterward to help her fill it in with more detail. The fact she was the only one of the three not to turn anything in...is a little irritating, quite honestly.

Even after applying three times, this is a new issue for me. On the Slideroom application, I was able to successfully submit everything, and all the supplemental materials seemed to be uploaded correctly. And since I did all the work on my end, and already had two other documents uploaded, I went ahead and submitted everything, hoping upon hope that the link to submit the other letter will still work even after the deadline has been reached. I know other programs let recommendations go through even after their deadlines have passed, and USC's wording about the issue is, no surprise, rather unclear (does it mean the letters THEMSELVES have to be completed by the deadline, or the recommenders just have to be in the system by that point?) I've also gone scanning through this forum for more info, and that too has been a mixed bag. I have reached out to my professor about turning in the letter so, with luck, I should know soon whether or not the system will let her do it.

OH, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. Due to the password change not working on the USC Graduate site, I was unable to submit the USC Graduate application exactly on time. Instead, it was on November 16...at exactly 12:00 AM. One minute after the deadline :/ I really don't know if that will at all disqualify me instantly from the process (once again, it let me submit everything perfectly fine, without issue), but it's certainly another thing to add to the pile of uncertainty that I have about my whole application year. Maybe one of these days, everything will go perfectly for me when I do a graduate school application. Then again, considering my past history...I'm not holding my breath.

I'm blabbering on again, though. How did the process go for the rest of you?

I had some issues last year, so I called USC and they helped me. That's my suggestion!
 
Hey guys! It is my second year applying! I applied for Writing for Screen and Television and Film and Television Production. I feel much better about my application this year. I think last year I was thinking too hard about who they wanted to see. This year, I think I really showed them who I am without apology!
 
Hey guys! I also had issues submitting usc's application... I applied for a fee waiver, was approved but it wasn't applied to my application yet. I figured that's fine, it's my fault for waiting too late if they just didn't get it done before the deadline. I go to submit, 20 minutes before the deadline, and it wouldn't submit because my fee waiver was pending! And on top of that the instructions on how to remove the pending fee waiver was incorrect or I just didnt have that option. So today, at noon est time, I finally got the email that my fee waiver was applied. I only just now submitted my application. I did contact them, last night and this morning and I was told this.

"Hello and thank you for contacting USC Support.
The deadline date was 11/17/2018 and your application submission date is 11/16/2018. Your application will be received.
With kind regards,
Customer Service"

I'm a little bit relieved. I know I have heard once before of the seceret 17th deadline. I think maybe only the slideroom portion was due the 15th? Either way I think you will be okay if the applicaiton went through @Septopus7

Good luck to everyone who applied! I'm second guessing everything on my application, but atleast I know it represents who I am.
 
Just submitted my application last week! Kind of nervous about it but happy I got it done!
 
So I sent an email to USC about the issue I had with the letter of recommendation. Waited about a week for a response, only to get this as an answer:

"As for checking if everything in your application is submitted it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure all materials are uploaded correctly and timely before the deadline."

Literally what is written on their website. Ugh. Just tell me "yes, your fine" or "no, you're screwed," USC! It shouldn't be this hard.

For what it's worth, my professor submitted her letter on the 17th, and the system let her. And when I check the submitted application, it says 3 out of 3 letters submitted. She's also a USC alumni, and doesn't seem to concerned (said it should be "fine.")

But, still though: it would really suck if my application was instantly denied, just because one of the letters wasn't received until two days after the rest of it. Even worse, I wouldn't even know that's the reason, simply because USC doesn't tell people why they were denied admission. I would just go wondering if I ever even had a shot, or if all the work was for nothing.

I wish they would just tell me now if I was instantly disqualified, so I can withdraw my application and just submit it again next year. But if this email was any indication, they ain't going to buzz.
 
@Septopus7 I was nervous about my recommenders not uploading by the 15th as well, so I sent a recommendation request to an old email of mine so I could see what my recommenders were seeing lol. While our applications were due on the 15th, USC gave the recommenders up until the 23rd of Nov. to send their recommendation in. I applied to Peter Stark not Screenwriting, but it's probably the same thing across the board. So if your professor uploaded on the 17th, you should be good!
 
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