USC SCA 2021 - Interview Process

ShereanJ

New Member
Hi everyone

Happy New Year

I received an e-mail today about the interview process this weekend. Has anyone else received theirs?

For alumni do you have any advice on what to prepare for as far as questions goes?

If anyone wants to ban together to practice over the next few days I'm open

Have a great day
 
Hey everyone,

I'll have the interview process this weekend.

The whole process seems to be confusing. Does everybody have any idea about how to prepare for it or know about any questions would be asked?

I am very glad to meet anyone who may help me.

Good luck everybody.
 
Here are some helpful articles on the site that may help:

9 Important Tips for your Film School Interview

9 Important Tips for your Film School Interview

Got your film school interview coming up? The application and admission process for a competitive film school program can be overwhelming; our forums provide tons of experience from members spread out over the years on how their interview went, the questions they asked, and, in hindsight, the...

Film School Interview Questions

Film School Interview Questions

This is a list of ACTUAL interview questions reported from posts from our members from the thousands of posts over the years on these boards. Please leave a reply in the discussion thread with any that you've had and I'll update the article. Also WEAR NICE CLOTHES TO YOUR INTERVIEW - as an AFI...
 
Hey everyone,

I'll have the interview process this weekend.

The whole process seems to be confusing. Does everybody have any idea about how to prepare for it or know about any questions would be asked?

I am very glad to meet anyone who may help me.

Good luck everybody.
Congrats and good luck! Are you applying for the film production MFA?
 
Hey everyone,

I'll have the interview process this weekend.

The whole process seems to be confusing. Does everybody have any idea about how to prepare for it or know about any questions would be asked?

I am very glad to meet anyone who may help me.

Good luck everybody.
Hi Robin do you want to maybe chat about it? Mines is Sunday when is yours?
 
Here are some helpful articles on the site that may help:

9 Important Tips for your Film School Interview

9 Important Tips for your Film School Interview

Got your film school interview coming up? The application and admission process for a competitive film school program can be overwhelming; our forums provide tons of experience from members spread out over the years on how their interview went, the questions they asked, and, in hindsight, the...

Film School Interview Questions

Film School Interview Questions

This is a list of ACTUAL interview questions reported from posts from our members from the thousands of posts over the years on these boards. Please leave a reply in the discussion thread with any that you've had and I'll update the article. Also WEAR NICE CLOTHES TO YOUR INTERVIEW - as an AFI...
Thanks Chris !
 
When I attended a seminar held by the AACS, one student said to always think of a question to ask a professor, because when he was in the interview process, he said he was totally unprepared when a teacher asked him if he had any questions.
 
For both Sherean and Robin,

I read a piece or someone's advice somewhere that was geared towards the entire application process. He/She/They said that they approached each piece as a way to tell something different about themselves that couldn't be found anywhere else in the application. How is this useful for the interview? Well, the interviewer will certainly ask you about parts of your application so try to expand upon what they've already read/watched. If they ask about your film/photo submission, that's your chance to give them some info that you weren't able to include in the submission.

My interviewer was very relaxed, it was like a casual conversation, but not all interviewers are built the same. Also, listen to how and what they ask about. For example, if I'm the interviewer and I say "I really enjoyed your film submission. Could you tell me more about how you shot it?" Well, what sticks out is that they enjoyed it. So after you're done answering the question maybe ask them what part of it was most enjoyable for them? This creates a nice little dialogue if you're interviewer is up to it and gives you a bit of time before having to come up with an answer to the next question. I think having a dialogue with an interviewer adds to the connection, memorability.

Lastly, I sent a follow-up email the same day thanking them for their time and also making references to what we talked about such as thanking them for letting me explain such and such or that I was glad that they enjoyed such and such. I ended it by saying that I will hopefully be able to thank them in person one day. Although they say the interview isn't a guarantee of acceptance I think being grateful that someone even wants to spend a little extra time speaking with you should be shown in your enthusiasm for the interview and appreciation for the interviewer.

(Bonus: Further down the line when I did get accepted I also sent a final email again, thanking them and letting them know that I was accepted)

Hope any of this helps. I think the biggest thing that I liked about mine was that it was a dialogue. We just chatted.
 
Last edited:
For both Sherean and Robin,

I read a piece or someone's advice somewhere that was geared towards the entire application process. He/She/They said that they approached each piece as a way to tell something different about themselves that couldn't be found anywhere else in the application. How is this useful for the interview? Well, the interviewer will certainly ask you about parts of your application so try to expand upon what they've already read/watched. If they ask about your film/photo submission, that's your chance to give them some info that you weren't able to include in the submission.

My interviewer was very relaxed, it was like a casual conversation, but not all interviewers are built the same. Also, listen to how and what they ask about. For example, if I'm the interviewer and I say "I really enjoyed your film submission. Could you tell me more about how you shot it?" Well, what sticks out is that they enjoyed it. So after you're done answering the question maybe ask them what part of it was most enjoyable for them? This creates a nice little dialogue if you're interviewer is up to it and gives you a bit of time before having to come up with an answer to the next question. I think having a dialogue with an interviewer adds to the connection, memorability.

Lastly, I sent a follow-up email the same day thanking them for their time and also making references to what we talked about such as thanking them for letting me explain such and such or that I was glad that they enjoyed such and such. I ended it by saying that I will hopefully be able to thank them in person one day. Although they say the interview isn't a guarantee of acceptance I think being grateful that someone even wants to spend a little extra time speaking with you should be shown in your enthusiasm for the interview and appreciation for the interviewer.

(Bonus: Further down the line when I did get accepted I also sent a final email again, thanking them and letting them know that I was accepted)

Hope any of this helps. I think the biggest thing that I liked about mine was that it was a dialogue. We just chatted.
Thank you so much this helps so much !!
 
For both Sherean and Robin,

I read a piece or someone's advice somewhere that was geared towards the entire application process. He/She/They said that they approached each piece as a way to tell something different about themselves that couldn't be found anywhere else in the application. How is this useful for the interview? Well, the interviewer will certainly ask you about parts of your application so try to expand upon what they've already read/watched. If they ask about your film/photo submission, that's your chance to give them some info that you weren't able to include in the submission.

My interviewer was very relaxed, it was like a casual conversation, but not all interviewers are built the same. Also, listen to how and what they ask about. For example, if I'm the interviewer and I say "I really enjoyed your film submission. Could you tell me more about how you shot it?" Well, what sticks out is that they enjoyed it. So after you're done answering the question maybe ask them what part of it was most enjoyable for them? This creates a nice little dialogue if you're interviewer is up to it and gives you a bit of time before having to come up with an answer to the next question. I think having a dialogue with an interviewer adds to the connection, memorability.

Lastly, I sent a follow-up email the same day thanking them for their time and also making references to what we talked about such as thanking them for letting me explain such and such or that I was glad that they enjoyed such and such. I ended it by saying that I will hopefully be able to thank them in person one day. Although they say the interview isn't a guarantee of acceptance I think being grateful that someone even wants to spend a little extra time speaking with you should be shown in your enthusiasm for the interview and appreciation for the interviewer.

(Bonus: Further down the line when I did get accepted I also sent a final email again, thanking them and letting them know that I was accepted)

Hope any of this helps. I think the biggest thing that I liked about mine was that it was a dialogue. We just chatted.
Thanks a lot! This is pretty helpful.
 
For both Sherean and Robin,

I read a piece or someone's advice somewhere that was geared towards the entire application process. He/She/They said that they approached each piece as a way to tell something different about themselves that couldn't be found anywhere else in the application. How is this useful for the interview? Well, the interviewer will certainly ask you about parts of your application so try to expand upon what they've already read/watched. If they ask about your film/photo submission, that's your chance to give them some info that you weren't able to include in the submission.

My interviewer was very relaxed, it was like a casual conversation, but not all interviewers are built the same. Also, listen to how and what they ask about. For example, if I'm the interviewer and I say "I really enjoyed your film submission. Could you tell me more about how you shot it?" Well, what sticks out is that they enjoyed it. So after you're done answering the question maybe ask them what part of it was most enjoyable for them? This creates a nice little dialogue if you're interviewer is up to it and gives you a bit of time before having to come up with an answer to the next question. I think having a dialogue with an interviewer adds to the connection, memorability.

Lastly, I sent a follow-up email the same day thanking them for their time and also making references to what we talked about such as thanking them for letting me explain such and such or that I was glad that they enjoyed such and such. I ended it by saying that I will hopefully be able to thank them in person one day. Although they say the interview isn't a guarantee of acceptance I think being grateful that someone even wants to spend a little extra time speaking with you should be shown in your enthusiasm for the interview and appreciation for the interviewer.

(Bonus: Further down the line when I did get accepted I also sent a final email again, thanking them and letting them know that I was accepted)

Hope any of this helps. I think the biggest thing that I liked about mine was that it was a dialogue. We just chatted.

For both Sherean and Robin,

I read a piece or someone's advice somewhere that was geared towards the entire application process. He/She/They said that they approached each piece as a way to tell something different about themselves that couldn't be found anywhere else in the application. How is this useful for the interview? Well, the interviewer will certainly ask you about parts of your application so try to expand upon what they've already read/watched. If they ask about your film/photo submission, that's your chance to give them some info that you weren't able to include in the submission.

My interviewer was very relaxed, it was like a casual conversation, but not all interviewers are built the same. Also, listen to how and what they ask about. For example, if I'm the interviewer and I say "I really enjoyed your film submission. Could you tell me more about how you shot it?" Well, what sticks out is that they enjoyed it. So after you're done answering the question maybe ask them what part of it was most enjoyable for them? This creates a nice little dialogue if you're interviewer is up to it and gives you a bit of time before having to come up with an answer to the next question. I think having a dialogue with an interviewer adds to the connection, memorability.

Lastly, I sent a follow-up email the same day thanking them for their time and also making references to what we talked about such as thanking them for letting me explain such and such or that I was glad that they enjoyed such and such. I ended it by saying that I will hopefully be able to thank them in person one day. Although they say the interview isn't a guarantee of acceptance I think being grateful that someone even wants to spend a little extra time speaking with you should be shown in your enthusiasm for the interview and appreciation for the interviewer.

(Bonus: Further down the line when I did get accepted I also sent a final email again, thanking them and letting them know that I was accepted)

Hope any of this helps. I think the biggest thing that I liked about mine was that it was a dialogue. We just chatted.
Last question : Clothes for the interview ? Suggestions ? Thanks
 
Last question : Clothes for the interview ? Suggestions ? Thanks
So I wore my Navy uniform although it was my day off lol It was an easy option for me, didn't have to iron anything. Although I'm pretty sure your interviewer will be casually dressed these are older individuals so their casual maybe won't be a t-shirt lol so I'd say a nice top will suffice. But I could imagine that as long as you don't look like you've been through hell and back or don't have anything on that's distracting, obscene, or in poor taste, they won't pay too much mind to what you're wearing.
 
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