USC School of Cinematic Arts SCA MFA Film & TV Production Fall 2020

[Chris W]

I'd just like to echo what others have said and really really really encourage you to fully read and absorb the interview with @USCSCAAlumni/Faculty, particularly how the personal statement is weighed far more than the visual sample.

Here it is FYI:

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) 7 reviews
• Comments: 6
• Reviews: 5
• Category: Admissions Interviews

 

[stargirlmars]

Hi! I hope everyone is doing well right now. i just wanted to let you guys know something my friend told me today that might quell some people's financial worries (like it did for me): "you have the right to appeal financial aid decisions for this year and next year if family finances have changed because of the virus since financial aid was applied."

And these are the links she sent me:
1. How To Ask For More College Financial Aid Due To The Coronavirus
2. http://kantrowitz.com/books/appeal/how-to-appeal-for-more-financial-aid-for-college.pdf

I'd also like to say that I finally committed to USC! Who all has committed and would like to be roommates with me?

 

[addik]

Hey guys! Just got an email reminding me about the upcoming virtual admitted students' day, a glimmer of light in dark times! Anyone attending? It'll be at 5 AM here but I'll do my best to wake up before then lol

 

[OzymandiasVII]

Hey guys! Just got an email reminding me about the upcoming virtual admitted students' day, a glimmer of light in dark times! Anyone attending? It'll be at 5 AM here but I'll do my best to wake up before then lol

I have registered. Will attend! I think it’s just necessary these times

 

[stargirlmars]

I'll be tuning in as well!

 

[itsnoteasybeinggreen]

I’ll be there, too! Looking forward to it

 

[OzymandiasVII]

Want to ask international students. How are you guys feeling about moving to LA? What do you think about housing? Do you plan to arrive ahead of the studying?

 

[Ep317]

Want to ask international students. How are you guys feeling about moving to LA? What do you think about housing? Do you plan to arrive ahead of the studying?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially regarding to “where” I am going to live. I’ve talked with a few current students at USC and they all suggested living a little bit further away from campus as the area is a little sketchy, especially for a girl and when you have to work until late at night. I’ve been looking into Hollywood area, WeHo is personally my favorite but it’s really far, especially without a car. I think I’ll start looking up things online a few weeks before the start of the program and then arrive in LA about 10 days earlier so that I have enough time to check out a few options.
I’d love to chat with future classmates that are also looking for roommates tho!

 

[addik]

Want to ask international students. How are you guys feeling about moving to LA? What do you think about housing? Do you plan to arrive ahead of the studying?

I'm pretty excited about moving to LA! I'm just a bit anxious with the cost of living and getting around, but I'm all in all excited!

I'm actually almost sure about getting a dorm for my first year. I've heard of how sketchy USC and its surrounding areas are, but there's apparently a free service that takes you from one point of the campus to another at nighttime, so that sort of sold me in to the idea of getting a dorm, especially since I heard how tough the first year is. I was initially thinking about asking my aunt if I could stay at her free room in Santa Monica, but it is quite far, and I didn't want to be a bother. I'm planning to move out after my first year though and to room with someone somewhere else in LA. At least I'd have a better idea of what to expect in LA by then!

 

[akindofcloseness]

Want to ask international students. How are you guys feeling about moving to LA? What do you think about housing? Do you plan to arrive ahead of the studying?

I don't think this is what you meant but I'm mentally preparing for the very real possibility that moving to the U.S. will just not be feasible because of the Pandemic. Either because of visa / border issues or because I'm not willing to pay the huge amount of money to take online classes, which would essentially ruin most of the reason to invest so much in an education.

18 months minimum to a vaccine means that Social Isolation may have to be utilized again, that flattening the curve means being socially isolated more frequently and that international travel may be seriously impaired.

 

[sguilford]

I found this fb group for finding housing, I don't know how useful it will actually prove but it might be helpful, I joined. USC Graduate Students Looking For Housing

I'm a domestic student but I share some of the same feelings about moving that you've all mentioned.

 

[truffleshuffle]

I found this fb group for finding housing, I don't know how useful it will actually prove but it might be helpful, I joined. USC Graduate Students Looking For Housing

I'm a domestic student but I share some of the same feelings about moving that you've all mentioned.

This is another Facebook group for USC housing and sublets. USC HOUSING / SUBLETS / RENTALS

 

[green-scarf]

I don't think this is what you meant but I'm mentally preparing for the very real possibility that moving to the U.S. will just not be feasible because of the Pandemic. Either because of visa / border issues or because I'm not willing to pay the huge amount of money to take online classes, which would essentially ruin most of the reason to invest so much in an education.

18 months minimum to a vaccine means that Social Isolation may have to be utilized again, that flattening the curve means being socially isolated more frequently and that international travel may be seriously impaired.

I really don’t mean to worry anyone but I have heard that some US schools are considering asking international students to defer one year because of the evolving situation with coronavirus. My cousin goes to school in Illinois and his school’s counsellors have already started advising them that this may be a possibility they have to prepare for.

 

[truffleshuffle]

I really don’t mean to worry anyone but I have heard that some US schools are considering asking international students to defer one year because of the evolving situation with coronavirus. My cousin goes to school in Illinois and his school’s counsellors have already started advising them that this may be a possibility they have to prepare for.

Wow, I hope if that's the case then they allow us domestic students the option to defer as well. I would rather not go through a cohort completely devoid of any international students.

 

[crashpad311]

Wow, I hope if that's the case then they allow us domestic students the option to defer as well. I would rather not go through a cohort completely devoid of any international students.

Agreed! Or through a zoom screen.

 

[green-scarf]

Do you really think they would start first semester online? I just don’t know how it would be possible given the curriculum

 

[addik]

Do you really think they would start first semester online? I just don’t know how it would be possible given the curriculum

Honestly, I see the option to defer to the following semester/year more viable than online classes. What's the point of Production classes if you can't even work with people from your cohort? I wouldn't be surprised if it happened too (my brother who got in to Concordia University was already offered to defer to the Winter term, but Canada is different in a sense that they closed their borders and no one knows when it would open again).

Another thing that I could see happening though is that they proceed with the Fall term but they would let us take the Film studies electives. I don't know how that would work though.

--EDIT: I just want to add a glimmer of hope in by pointing out that California has seen a somewhat flattening of the curve (although there was a sharp increase of cases/deaths on the most recent numbers) and was the first state to put a shelter-in-place order. California isn't as dense as New York as well, so it has that going for it. The biggest question mark comes from the fact that California has a backlog on testing results, so they still do expect for the numbers to swell up in April and May. We might start seeing a flattening of the curve in June or earlier if all goes well.

 

[stargirlmars]

Do you guys think the quarantine will be over by the end of the summer or by December? I keep hearing rumors that we might be like this till December

 

[stargirlmars]

Also, here's some FB groups that a former USC student recommended I join to find housing:

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Also, checkout Apartments.com and Realtor.com

 

[addik]

Do you guys think the quarantine will be over by the end of the summer or by December? I keep hearing rumors that we might be like this till December

I don't want to sound Trumpian (lol), but I don't think a full-blown lockdown until December (like what we have right now in the Philippines) is feasible. At they very least, they might loosen quarantine in a few months' time but I they might still keep schools closed. I know everyone is looking for a vaccine, but I think another question we should ask if we find a viable treatment to Covid. If we do, we might return to a sense of normalcy and the quarantine might be over sooner than we think it would. But that's just me thinking wishfully, I think.

For me though, the more worrying thing about Covid (aside from loved ones contracting it, that is) is the effects it might have in the industry ). There will be some big changes for sure.