Hello and congrats,

My letter says "If space does not become available for Fall 2011 we will offer you admission for the following term, Spring 2012."

Please humor me and tell me that this means I am guaranteed a spot.

I'm wondering, has anyone here been waitlisted with these same circumstances?

Hey Teddy,
My letter says the same thing, and yes, we're admitted for Spring 2012 if we don't get off this fall's waitlist.

Congrats, btw. Are you going to the Admitted Graduate Student Day in April?

Taylor

quote:

Originally posted by teddykennedy:
Hello and congrats,

My letter says "If space does not become available for Fall 2011 we will offer you admission for the following term, Spring 2012."

Please humor me and tell me that this means I am guaranteed a spot.

I'm wondering, has anyone here been waitlisted with these same circumstances?

Hey teddykennedy,

Yes, that means you are guaranteed a spot in Spring and are officially a USC student if you choose to accept .

I plan on attending Admitted Graduate Student day, so looking forward to seeing everyone there! I know in the past, people have started Facebook groups, but just curious if anyone has started one yet for 2011-2012 USC MFA's?

I thought about starting one today but didn't get around to it before I went to work. I did a search and couldn't find one. I saw that the Starkies have already started their group. Feel free to start one up jamesc!

And congrats to Teddy and Taylor!

http://www.facebook.com/home.p...roup_200339129985101

I was bored today so I had nothing better to do. Have never created a Facebook group anyway, so I figured I'd learn something new. You have to add someone else to the group to make it official, and since I don't know any of your guys' names, I had to add my friend in order to create it.

I sent in my request to join. :-)

I just requested to join as well

Sent my request to join!

Hi guys! First off congrats on getting accepted to USC! I haven't been on this site in months, but I was just thinking that acceptances should be going out soon and thought I'd check in and say hi. I'm finishing up my second semester at USC and it's been a wild, but awesome first year. Anyway, feel free to PM me with any questions you might have about the program or area etc.

I see a lot of you wondering about housing. I live on Franklin between Hollywood/West Hollywood, it's about a 30-40 minute drive in traffic, so probably further than most people want to live. I like it though and don't mind driving. Los Feliz, Silverlake and Echo Park are all pretty popular. The sketchier areas tend to be close to the school, especially south, but there is a lot of student housing just north of campus. Not run by the school, but lots of houses and apartments that cater to students. Also, you can get grad housing if you want. However, it's not really cheaper and you are assigned a roommate, so it's up to you if you want that or not. I used Westsiderentals.com when I moved down here from Seattle and it was really helpful, so look into that. I think it's like $60 for two months if memory serves.... Anyway, hope that helps a bit and like I said feel free to PM me with any other queries

Thanks TaylorIrene and jamesc.
Marisah, that's a big help with the housing info too.
Look forward to meeting you all at the Admitted Grad Student Day!
I'm in San Diego planning to move up to LA this summer.
Cheers all, congrats, and let's make some great films.

is it true that only a small fraction (about 20%) of USC graduate film students will have the opportunity to write/direct a thesis film at the school?

AFI insists that ALL graduate students in the MFA directing program will direct a thesis film, but somehow each year their thesis showcase only shows about 7-9 movies though there are 25 directing fellows.

the book "Film School Confidential" (though the information in it sometimes seems motivated by agenda) suggests that most kids at USC never get the chance to make a thesis film at all.

this is definitely the issue that is scaring the most about attending USC

Hi Anomen,

First off, let me just say that since my emphases are editing and sound my intimate knowledge of writing/directing a thesis is limited. That being said, I do know that any USC production grad student can complete the prerequisites and then write/direct a thesis film. I have heard this rumor floating around before, but it definitely isn't true. There isn't like a faculty selection of who gets to direct a thesis and who doesn't, you simply have to take the classes. However, there are a couple of main reasons I think this rumor still spreads and they may help you understand the USC program better.

Firstly, during your time at USC you choose to specialize in certain areas. If you aren't emphasizing in directing you probably don't want to write/direct a thesis film. So, there is a smaller percentage of each class that even wants to write/direct a thesis. (This is me )

Secondly, the intermediate directing class (which is a prerequisite for directing a thesis) has a limited number of seats per semester (usually 3 sections with 16 per section). So, if you don't get in it early on, completing a thesis can extend your graduation date. That being said, if all you are taking the last couple of semesters is the thesis class it generally isn't that big of a deal. Additionally, once you start the thesis sequence it is a big time/money commitment. So, some people simply don't think it's worth it to do a thesis and want to graduate and work full-time sooner. Honestly, it's the same as in the industry, the people who really want to write/direct do, but it's a lot of hard work and time so those who aren't as passionate don't. There isn't anything in the school itself, however, that prevents you from completing a thesis film.

Finally, I should note that it is possible to graduate with an emphasis in directing without directing a thesis. Not everyone can take this option, however, because the class that allows it is competitive. It's a bit complicated to explain, but basically you can complete 2 "Production III's" instead of a thesis in order to graduate. So, you could be an editor/producer/sound designer etc. on one Production III and then apply to direct one after that. Every semester 3 documentaries and 3 fiction projects are selected to be produced and it is very competitive to get to direct one of the fiction projects (546). However, if you are chosen then you get to direct a larger project without having to take the whole thesis sequence. Of course, you still can complete a thesis even if you do direct a Production III.

Another related thing to keep in mind is that the emphasis tracks at USC aren't different degrees. Everyone takes pretty much the same classes. You take an intermediate and advanced class in whatever you want to focus on, but the majority of your emphasis credits come from what crew positions you fill on Production III's and thesis films. Soooo, that's a much longer post than I anticipated, but hopefully it sheds some light on the whole thesis and graduation process at USC.

Hey Marisah - thank you SO MUCH for your response! This clarifies things A LOT. There's a book called "Film School Confidential" which looked incredibly cheesybut I couldn't resist and bought it.

It was published back in 2005, and this is where I got the misinformation about not being allowed to make a thesis film. I'm very glad it is not true!

I'm sorry to bug you about more stuff - but I was curious about your thoughts on the new campus (how accessible are all the cool, advertised areas to students? is a lot of it still under construction/closed off to students?)

and how do you feel about USC's Industry relations/internships/job placement... I went to NYU Film for undergraduate, and there were a lot of really great things about the program, but there was never any sort of emphasis whatsoever on getting employed once we got out...

also - I noticed in an earlier post you mentioned there were some people who had made shorts already - so there is a range in terms of experience in the incoming class?

Thanks again for your response and please don't feel obligated to respond to all my random questions from above.

Your answer about the whole thesis film business was actually a huge relief and has made my decision a bit easier I think...

I'm sorry if this post was extremely disorganized and/or rambling!

Glad to help! USC is constantly revising their program, so it isn't surprising that the information was a bit out of date.

The new campus is great! I believe the construction is completely finished (if it isn't I have no idea what they are still working on). Everything is very centralized, which is really nice. I don't know what they advertise these days, but there really isn't any area that isn't open for students to use. Obviously, you have to take classes to learn to use the more advanced technology (mixing stages etc.), but it's all available to use sometime while you are there.

I haven't taken as much advantage of the career placement/industry things as I probably should have this year. I will say that the USC name opens doors to internships in general though. Also, the professors definitely want you to think about long-term career path and short term job placements. Especially for Directors. They really emphasize developing marketable skills while in school.

There is definitely a range in experience in the incoming class. I hadn't touched a camera before USC and some people had been making movies and working in the industry for years. It was something that really worried me going in, but we all have such different skills and interests anyway, that the knowledge gap is not very obvious after the first couple of weeks.

Thanks again Marisah. Your message combined with feedback from some other friends who are already living out in Los Angeles have me pretty much convinced that I will be attending USC! I'm really, really, really excited!

Have a great weekend, and thanks again!

Hey Rooza-

You asked about registering a page back.

Here's the answer:

They will register you. And you won't get that information probably until August. You will have class 3-4 days a week. One night class, but that's only for the first 8 weeks.

So as far as a job, I would say hold off a little while, just to get accustomed to LA and school, your classmates, the workload, etc.

hello USC students! I was wondering if any of you applied for any scholarships or fellowships at USC, such as the Lionsgate Fellows program, for instance. And also, have any of you heard back?

Marisah, thank you for all the information you've posted. I was wondering if you know anything about foreign exchange programs at the school. I'm rather keen on spending a summer in Paris. Have you heard of any such program?

Thanks in advance for your reply, and thanks to everyone for their posts. This is my first posting but I've been reading avidly since first getting my application ready!