Here is some real information on USC's School of Cinematic Arts (SCA).
I'm in my last semester of the MFA Production program here, not the BFA, but I have come to know the School very well having gone through all the curriculum, been a teaching assistant, and worked in the equipment centers and the post-production labs. Here's what I can tell you about how USC's film school really works....
Getting Accepted
Scroll up and read killr_b's post. She is correct about nearly everything she wrote. Ignore the others who disagreed with her, none of their arguments hold water in my opinion. I find it sad that the one poster who had genuine information was dealt with the harshest by those who have no idea what they're talking about.
It is extremely competitive to get in, and getting more so every year. If you want to be accepted you will have to work hard and show real dedication. Read her post and pay attention to what she wrote:
1) Stellar Grades & SATs
This is more for the University than for the SCA. Your scores will have to be a lot better than good Im sorry but theres just no substitute for hard work.
2) Killer Personal Statement and Written Submissions
This is the big one here, this is what the SCA cares about the most. Don't dash them off the night before they're due. Write and re-write and polish them until they shine. Grammar and spelling had better be perfect (so make sure you have a teacher or a tutor look them over) but even so, the content is what matters.
3) Excellent Letters of Recommendation
No need to panic here. The best letters come from people who know you well, who have obtained some stature or success. The theater director that killr_b mentioned, or a local councilman, or some other local luminary. The point is, you need to think ahead and cultivate a relationship with someone like that. One of my letters was written by the President of the New York chapter of the Film Editors Guild. I had interviewed him for a class, kept in touch with him, and when the time came that I needed a letter from him he was happy to do it.
4) Extra-curricular Activities
The point of these is to show that you are a collaborator and a leader, that you have a demonstrated ability to successfully contribute to a group endeavor. Having done a lot of film-related stuff prior to school isn't that big a deal. They are not looking for that.
The most important thing to remember is that everything you give them needs to demonstrate that you have a distinct point of view about the world in general and filmmaking in particular.
Easier said than done, right? If youre a transgender person who has always struggled to find your place in society or some other sad hack story, then youre in good shape write about that and as long as you dont misspell your own name, youre probably in. But if youre like most people youre probably wondering whats so special about me? How can I convince anyone Im unique?
The good news is that everyone is unique. You just need to figure out how to get who you are out of your head and into your Personal Statement.
My Grades Suck, Now What?
So you read all that above and your heart sank as you realized that your grades arent good enough, you didnt do any extracurriculars, and you dont know anyone who can write you a good LoR.
Again, killr_b has the answer: Get an AA at a smaller college, work your butt off and do everything you need to do to lay the groundwork. That speaks very loudly to admissions people because you have proven to them that you can do well in college. Anyone whos been there can tell you that college is not high school, not everyone who does great in HS does well in college and vice versa. And this gives you the opportunity to discover if you even like being in college before you start racking up USC-sized debt.
An AA degree doesnt have to be boring. You can concentrate on film studies, communication and media, stuff that you can use in filmmaking later, and having a goal youre really invested in makes it a lot easier to work hard. Let your counselors and teachers know what your goals are and they will help you.
You might even consider getting a Bachelors degree first thats what I did. Study writing, communications, history, science, business, heck, even art history will be of benefit in film school (actually art history is of huge benefit in film school). Take a year off and travel Europe or get a job and experience life a little bit and then apply to an MFA film production program.
Why USC?
Ok, so there has been a lot written here trashing USC, almost all of it from people who dont really know what theyre talking about. In the three years that Ive been studying here I can say that USC has only one real drawback: it is effing expensive!
When I was choosing schools I did a lot of research. I visited NYU, Columbia, Florida States conservatory, UT-Austin, USC, and a couple of smaller places. USC had a great program that rivaled all the others, but what impressed me the most were the students. Of all the places I had been, they were the most open, friendly, and supportive.
Let me say something about size. Now that Im here I realize that you dont want to go to a small school. What you want what you need is a big school with a large variety of students. You need students to crew on your film and you need students who are simpatico with you. However strange and unusual you think you are, you will find a group of like-minded friends here at USC. And classes themselves are small, thats what counts. Except for very few crit studies or script analysis classes, there are no large lecture classes where youre lost in a sea of seats. All production classes are workshop classes where you will bond with the instructor and the other students.
USC is an industry school. When you are here you will learn to do things the industry way. Ties between the school and the industry are so tight that being here feels like you are already in the film industry. You quickly realize that your fellow students are your future peers in the industry they will be hiring you or you will be hiring them for the rest of your careers. I have never heard of any student sabotaging another students film. If it has ever happened it must be rare in the extreme.
What you learn here is the real deal. Everything they teach you here is real-world practical.
Let me digress for a moment to address the whole digital vs. film thing. Yes, film is cool and every student should be exposed (pardon the pun) to film (and you will be at USC). But USCs focus on digital equipment is definitely NOT a bad thing. The industry is moving to digital and USC is always on the cutting edge. A few years ago it was non-linear editing: graduating students were sought after because they knew it well and working pros often lagged behind. A couple years ago it was HD: the Red camera, the Genesis, etc. USC shooters were conversant in HD and were very much in demand. Coming up its going to be MoCap I took the Motion Capture class last semester and am enrolled in Performance Capture this semester. Robert Zemeckis co-teaches it with USC faculty!
So what you learn here is the real deal. Last year I took a sequence of classes in which we made a TV pilot. Students take on different roles over the course of the year. I was one of the writers, one of the editors, and the post-production supervisor. It was an incredible learning experience.
Last week I had the good fortune to be invited to spend the day shadowing the post-supe of a major network show (this is a CBS show thats been on for five years). I spent the day on the Universal lot sitting in on sound mixing sessions, production meetings, spotting sessions, pre-vis meetings, etc. During that day every single thing I saw was already familiar to me because either I had done it or supervised it during our TV pilot class. My role as a student post-supervisor in the TV pilot class had taught me what it was really like to be post-supervisor in professional television.
At the end of the spotting session the professional post-supe asked me what my notes where. I was stunned that they would care what a student thought. But my experiences in class had prepared me so well that I actually had some educated opinions about it, I even spotted one mistake that no one else had seen. They corrected the mistake and took some of my recommendations, and those changes are going to show up when CBS broadcasts the show in a couple of weeks.
Will you get that kind of experience at Chapman, Columbia College Hollywood, or ASU?
I could write a lot more but will leave off here. If anyone has more questions about USC's School of Cinematic Arts, either the application process or the program itself, feel free to send me an email.
-- Dennis Castello
