USC, was it worth it?

[Sunmin Inn]

Hey Everyone!

I'm currently a soon-to-be USC MFA student in a few months, and crazy enough, I'm still debating on whether or not I should go.

Of course I've heard from people that you don't really need film school, and since I'd been working in animated films I had plenty of resources to study film from my coworkers. The thing is that I've realized I couldn't really focus on film work 100% and most of the time my 9 to 6 job bled into very late nights and weekends giving me no time to study and make films. So I decided to take the film school route so that I could take a chunk of time to focus on film and film only. Another reason why I chose USC is because they teach you from the ground up, which is perfect for someone like me who doesn't have experience in live action film.

My question is for anyone is attending or has attended USC, have you enjoyed your experience there? I've heard so many people only talk about the connections in USC, but not much about the education you receive, the amount of exposure you get etc. I'd love to hear the pros and cons of your experience so far.

Thank you so much for reading through!
Looking forward to hearing your comments.

 

[Chris W]

Did you message members from last year's application thread? Also check the reviews on this sure as well.

 

[Operator]

Hey Everyone!

I'm currently a soon-to-be USC MFA student in a few months, and crazy enough, I'm still debating on whether or not I should go.

Of course I've heard from people that you don't really need film school, and since I'd been working in animated films I had plenty of resources to study film from my coworkers. The thing is that I've realized I couldn't really focus on film work 100% and most of the time my 9 to 6 job bled into very late nights and weekends giving me no time to study and make films. So I decided to take the film school route so that I could take a chunk of time to focus on film and film only. Another reason why I chose USC is because they teach you from the ground up, which is perfect for someone like me who doesn't have experience in live action film.

My question is for anyone is attending or has attended USC, have you enjoyed your experience there? I've heard so many people only talk about the connections in USC, but not much about the education you receive, the amount of exposure you get etc. I'd love to hear the pros and cons of your experience so far.

Thank you so much for reading through!
Looking forward to hearing your comments.

Look into DePaul University. They have several MFA programs in film (production, producing, writing) and all the classes are in the evening so you can actually hold a day job and focus on film making. Also costs a lot less than USC would. DePaul also has an option LA quarter as well. If you pick screenwriting and actually graduate, you can submit your scripts to them and they send them to agents/managers on your behalf so you don't have to end up living in LA after you graduate.

MFA in Screenwriting | DePaul CDM
https://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MFA-in-Film-and-Television.aspx
https://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MFA-in-Creative-Producing.aspx