Decision: Accepted
**Date applied: ** 08/25/17
**Date decision postmarked/received: ** March 25, 2018 via portal
**Which school/major at USC: ** School of Dramatic Arts, BFA Theatre (#1), BA Theatre (#2)
Scholarships: none
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1400 (690 R, 710 M, 22 E)
ACT (breakdown): did not submit
SAT II (place score in parentheses): US History (730)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.71 (guess)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank (possibly top 20%)
AP (place score in parentheses): US History (5), Spanish Language (5), Government & Politics: United States (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): school does not offer
Senior Year Course Load: English IV H (British Literature), Theology/Philosophy, Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP World History, DE Arts
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Holy Cross College Book Award
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): very heavy involvement in secondary high school regarding school theatre in freshman and sophomore year, math club, Spanish club (rep), school choir, NHS, and Spanish NHS. (Something to note: In my sophomore year I wanted to take my art deeper and spend time with artists who value the work and process. I dual-enrolled at an arts school and spent my junior and senior years there.)
Job/Work Experience: just received a part-time job at a self-serve salad bar—USC did not know about my job.
Volunteer/Community Service: 100 hours school required; small effort outside of that amount.
Summer Activities: summer arts conservatories for acting / performing arts. In 2016 I attended NYU for the summer. Last summer was dedicated to college audition prep.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 10/10 - talked about a personal issue and how it fundamentally changed me. I spent months drafting this one.
Challenged Beliefs Prompt: 9/10 - showed how I have changed my views of others. A bit similar to my common app but showed a different side of me—the way I interact with my friends, specifically.
Academic Interests: 7/10 - I stated what I value and how USC would help me achieve my goals, although my goals do not line up with USC’s BFA program. My goals, however, do line up with the BA program, which I was accepted to.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
AP Spanish Language Teacher: 10/10 - I cried reading it—beautiful.
AP Government Teacher: 7/10 - generic and short but descriptive with lots of adjectives.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): did not read. I gave him much information, and he thinks highly of me, I presume.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):
Ballet / Jazz / Modern dance teacher: 7/10 - could have been generic or lovely. I did not read.
Acting Teacher: 7/10 - could have been generic or lovely. I did not read.
Interview: I had an interview with a USC arts faculty member after my audition. The interview was very short but allowed him to ask questions about my arts supplemental application. I did not have a alumni interview or anything of that sort.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
State (if domestic applicant): Louisiana
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: religiously-affiliated
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: essays, commitment to arts, work load (explanation below)
Weaknesses: UW GPA, “C” on transcript, and test scores.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Essays are the biggest reason. My honesty is another reason, I think. My clear, pointed idea of what I want to do and what I value is another reason that I think shined in my application. Another big reason is that I attend two high schools—one arts and one academics. I miss much school and maintain my excellence in academics. Managing two academic workloads and a part-time job is much work. If you would like to know more, please message me.
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
I committed to the typical BFA artist vibe and applied to twenty-one schools. I will not list all of them. If you would like to know more about all of my applications and acceptances / deferrals / waitlists / rejections, please personal message me. I am happy to explain.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Admissions is anyone’s guess. Seriously. I got rejected from Northwestern and demonstrated way too much interest and was constantly in contact with my admissions counselor. I did nothing for USC and just auditioned and got in. Yes, Northwestern’s acceptance rate is lower, but I hope you catch my vibe that this process is wild.
If you have any specific questions regarding my situation or circumstances or want any input or advice, feel free to message me. Always remember that colleges are placing you in context of your school / region; they are not looking for perfection. Challenge yourself as you see fit.