Curious if any parents/students are following what’s happening at the SCA and if this concerns anyone? Also read about the new attendance policy in the Screenwriting program and the student response as reported in the Trojan.
http://dailytrojan.com/2019/12/04/letter-to-the-editor-the-cost-of-scas-culture-of-competition/
That article says that production majors don’t get the chance to film till later but all of SCA’s advertising and panels say the first day?
@CindyLeuWho The USC website describes it like this… (in the FAQ section of the SCA page)
How is the Undergraduate curriculum organized for Cinematic Arts students?
The curriculum varies according to program, but is generally broken down as follows:
BFA Production students use their first three semesters to complete their General Education (GE) and Cinema & Media Studies requirements. Beginning the first semester sophomore year, they commence the production sequence: four sets of courses that concentrate intensively on writing, producing, and editing short films. Students transferring to the BA program in Production will begin the Production sequence in their first semester.
The Screenwriting students start immediately into their core screenwriting curriculum.
The death of 3 students in what is a relatively small program certainly gives me pause, as a parent.
The deaths of course rocked my daughter and her circle of friends, but no one seemed to tie any of them to program-centric factors. Any death on a college campus is dramatic and causes quite an uproar for a week or two or three, especially until the reason or contributing factors are identified and possibly discussed in detail. People then always discuss the possible missed signs, etc.
But USC really does go the extra mile in terms of all of the support and counseling available… academic, health generally and mental health specifically. Of course the students themselves or their peers need to play an active role in those processes. Resources can only serve those who choose to engage in or with them.
But thankfully even the number of deaths occurring in such a short time span did not seem to negatively impact the culture there. Things seemed to return to the status quo fairly quickly. Such is life on or near a college campus. The world just seems to keep on moving. But hopefully it also still lingers in the back of people’s minds, so that everyone can be more on alert for signs of trouble or desperation… should they emerge or be seen.
Both of my daughters were really involved with SCA (one remains there) but neither really attributed any undue stress or pressures to the programs themselves. Certainly, some students apply their own pressures, especially if they are in a time-crunch of sorts. But I take it as very isolated and more attributable to individuals versus anything systemic within the programs at SCA.
SCA has after all been an ongoing program for 91 years and counting, and such has never occurred before in its long and storied history. Hopefully it will also never surface again in the future…
@WWWard The SCA students in both production and screenwriting definitely are raising program specific concerns. Most recently with regard to the newly announced attendance policy for screenwriting majors. It does not sound like things have returned to status quo but rather than students are speaking up and demanding more from the SCA leadership. That’s the only positive news is that it seems like the issues have risen to the surface and students are addressing the concerns with petitions and meetings with department heads. With the rising rates of young adult mental health concerns every college campus struggles to meet the demand and USC is no different. There are some well documented reports of SCA students reaching our for mental health services and waiting months to be seen. I just think parents of applicants need to be aware. I’ve been on these forums for a year and never saw one mention of the student deaths or film production/screenwriting students raising concerns about the programs. Meanwhile the Trojan student newspaper has been covering it extensively.
I would just be a little cautious about any speculation on a public forum such as this that hints at concerns being truly significant or even pervasive or widespread. It is of course accurate that “some” SCA students in both production and screenwriting have raised program specific concerns. But I would not then characterize it as “The SCA students”. That implies unanimity or at least that the majority share such concerns, but that is clearly not the case.
My older daughter was an SDA major / SCA minor who performed in 10+ SCA productions and took production courses too. My younger daughter is a CAMS major within SCA taking a production course currently. She also has many friends in both production and screenwriting. Neither are aware of any sort of past or current pervasive or systemic angst or undue stress among the vast majority of their fellow students. To be clear, USC students across all majors deal with deadlines, difficult assignments and the routine forms of angst and stress that simply come with trying to do well in each of their current courses.
And professors across many majors and in many disciplines have attendance policies and mark you down for skipping or missing classes without a proper pre-approved or excused absence. In fact, the majority of my daughters’ classes have had such attendance policies. Those included GEs and many non-SCA courses.
While some SCA students may be speaking up, I still would argue that it is business as usual for most within SCA. Clearly, there are some students at each and every college and university campus across America that are dealing with certain issues or even coping with more complex mental health or substance abuse problems, etc. But during my last six years of involvement as a Trojan parent, who has been there at USC multiple times, and had two daughters in attendance there (one remains) – and with each active within the SCA sphere of influence – I have not witnessed nor heard about these rather new issues other than just some brief and isolated occurrences affecting just a small number of students.
There was of course the brief time frame around the deaths where clearly the discourse and concern was elevated, but there is simply not the sort of widespread SCA-centric program concerns that you seem to be projecting on them in totality from afar. It is instead far less ominous or concerning from within. Clearly, a # of students would rather there not be an attendance policy for writing courses… even though 100s of courses across USC have such policies. And, as expected as a result, there is discourse going on about the changes, and they are working on the terms of such.
As you stated… you’ve been on these forums for a year and never saw one mention of the student deaths or film production/screenwriting students raising concerns about the programs. I can extend that from my own perspective back seven years, to 2013. It just has not taken root on these forums exactly because it has not been pervasive or a concern to many. The deaths of course were tragic, and those were in fact briefly mentioned here on CC. But SCA program concerns have not really been mentioned because the vast majority of program participants and those who interact with them routinely have yet to share those same concerns.
If you are an SCA applicant or the parent of one, I would simply suggest looking more to direct interaction or discourse with past and current SCA students and to SCA faculty… and on a larger scale if possible… versus simply assuming that the opinions of a few, as detailed within The Daily Trojan or elsewhere, then automatically must be representative of the majority.
If admitted, visit the campus and tour SCA before committing. Speak to those you encounter. Camp out at the coffee shop within SCA and observe and overhear. And if truly concerned, ask questions. But base your analysis on the overall feel you gain or the results of many conversations. SCA is a great film school, but it also may not be right for everyone. Endeavor to determine if it is truly right for you.
Good luck to those awaiting admission decisions in March…
Sorry @WWWard , when 3 students kill themselves in a major that only accepts 15 people a year, all in one semester, its kind of a big deal
From August 2019 through October 2019, there were a total of five student deaths across all undergraduate and graduate programs at USC. Each and every one of them was tragic. Three of the five students were within the School of Cinematic Arts. One was reported to be suicide. The remaining two were attributed to undisclosed causes. And of course, each and every death - regardless of the cause - is highly significant.
To be correct, the SCA students were not all in the same major. And combined, the majors involved admit many more than just 15 people per year. But your point is still well taken. These young people are admitted to highly competitive programs. Once there, it remains a competitive environment. It can also at times be a pressure cooker. When I was at Johns Hopkins, it was that way in many highly competitive programs… pre-med and STEM programs especially. Across America and at many colleges and universities, it can be that way in a number of highly competitive programs… performance based programs, STEM programs, Pre-Med programs, Pre-Law programs, business programs, etc. And yes - of course it can be that way in film schools too. It has likely been that way for most of SCA’s 91 year history. It is likely that way at most highly competitive film schools too. I have certainly heard it described as such at NYU, FSU, UCLA and others.
So what has changed at USC SCA specifically? The programs themselves at SCA did not fundamentally change in the Fall of 2019. But the deaths that occurred during that semester do of course force everyone affiliated with the programs to evaluate the full spectrum of potential causes and contributing factors. Clearly, signs related to the individuals involved may have been missed or not given the proper attention. Everyone reacts differently to pressure, deadlines, depression, life on their own in college - including relationships & potentially alcohol or drug use, loneliness, break-ups, and all of the other factors that may face a young person while away at university. Mental health issues or the potential lack of the proper resources for such could also be contributing factors. If you combine such a potential combination of factors with the reality of also being in a competitive, pressure-cooker program of study, the results can unfortunately be tragic. We are not all equally equipped or prepared to handle what life throws at us. And certain individuals face significant challenges or circumstances that far too often go unnoticed or insufficiently dealt with over time.
Some are excited to gain admission into SCA or an equivalent highly rated film school but then start to feel inadequate or unprepared, especially in terms of some of their peers, once they are there and fully involved in their program of study. That was my own daughter’s reaction. She still feels inadequate when comparing herself to others there. The production and screenwriting programs especially are inherently competitive. Soon, you are also being compared to your peers and evaluated against each other. That added stress can potentially be a bit much for certain individuals.
As a result, some have suggested making these highly competitive and successful programs less rigorous or challenging, trying to diminish their inherent competitiveness. But that approach has seldom worked. Certain programs, whether you are talking about Harvard law school or Hopkins medical school or USC’s or NYU’s film schools, simply self-generate their own form of competitiveness. These programs are among the very best exactly because they attract and then train some of the very best candidates for each discipline. But these type of programs are not necessarily a good fit for every applicant who dreams of taking on such challenges and learning in such environments.
I personally communicate and engage with my daughter a few times each week. I ask her about her classes and friends. I try to gauge her mood and gain a sense of her stress level as it relates to her daily and weekly routine. And before she even embarked on the challenge that is SCA, we discussed the program’s pro’s and con’s extensively. Families do need to remain engaged - before, during and after. Friendships and healthy social circles are extremely important too. To me, the focus needs to be primarily on awareness (involving self-awareness, friends and family, and peers) and expanded resources, especially related to substance abuse, depression counseling and metal health initiatives.
God willing, these tragedies will not be repeated. But it takes more than just wishful thinking. It takes involvement and interaction.
If you are an applicant for SCA or any comparable film school, think about what you are endeavoring to take on. Is such a program really right for you? Discuss it with your friends and family - those who know you best. Only you and they can adequately judge your temperament and readiness for such a challenge. SCA has been and remains a great educational program. Even a cursory look at its storied alumni suggest the possibilities that potentially await a select few future alum. But many others have attended SCA and not found equal success long term. Some still are content and happy that they chose to attend. Some likely wish they had chosen a different path. Hopefully you each make the right decision for you…
Good Luck with that decision.
There were 9 students deaths at USC during the Fall semester. This was reported extensively by well known news outlets like Time magazine, CNN, CBS, US News and World Report, and the LA Times. 4 were drug overdoses, 3 were confirmed as suicides by USC Chief Health Officer Sarah Van Orman on November 11, 2019 , 1 was a pedestrian hit-and-run… This is not speculation. For perspective, USC reported they normally have between 5 and 15 student deaths per year–12 students in 2016-2017, only 4 in 2015-2016. Based on these numbers 9 deaths in one semester concerned a lot of people at USC from the top down. As parents we should see that concern as a good thing. I would be much more concerned if everything was “business as usual.”
The Vice-President of Student Affairs authored a letter to students warning of opioid use… a new mental health clinic was opened…80 students held a town hall to discuss issues with student mental health services. The SCA lost 3 students during this time–a Senior in production, a junior in screenwriting, and another junior. Only 2 have been confirmed as suicides. It has resurfaced similar concerns raised following the suicide of a screenwriting student in April, 2018.
This is not to suggest that USC is not an outstanding institution. But these forums lean toward constant cheerleading rather than an unbiased sharing of information. For parents reading, researching, and helping an 18 year old decide which school serves their needs best, this information is important. We shouldn’t be afraid to have these conversations.
Back to regularly scheduled programming… Interview requests have been coming out over the past week to production applicants.
If I remember, interviews are offered when the professor feels like it right? There is no system or indication if it is good or bad.
Correct. Historically, many applicants have been admitted who were never even afforded the opportunity to interview, and many applicants who did interview were still unsuccessful even after interviewing. And of course, many applicants were also admitted who were in fact interviewed. Basically, it is not a definitive sign. There has never been enough info posted by large enough #s to determine percentages one way or the other. Clearly, not everyone posts. But it has seemed to many to primarily be one of two things… 1) either an individual professor is seeking certain clarifications from an applicant or 2) a professor on your side may be trying to gather new info to potentially sway others to admit you. Either way, if offered, it is certainly one more opportunity to shine. But, if not offered, do not take it badly. You might have already shined enough 
Good luck with the decision…
I was lucky enough to have a phone call last week-- I’m very scared that I might have come off as a little too political in my application but I think I showed I’m able to reign it in in my phone call… my politics are a very big part of my identity and it’s true to who I am as a person so…
@lgh123 did they ask you a lot of questions regarding your political stand? What made you think that?
I just got an email from a professor. Does anyone have any advice on the interview? Like what kind of questions they ask… I’m so nervous.
There is other threads which discuss that stuff
Yes… I think last year’s SCA thread had a post listing all the questions asked in one interview at least.
Very happy to hear that interviews are starting to happen! Even though whether you are asked or not asked for an interview has no bearing on receiving an admission offer- it’s still very exciting to get any kind of communication from them! So congrats to those who are!!
I looked at the calendar and its exactly 30 days until the first packages were received last year. I wonder if it will be the same Friday in March again this year…
WOW! I just found this in the USC SCA Fall 2020 MFA thread on Filmschool.org. A USC SCA alumni/faculty member was extremely prolific with their posts and gave some great information over 3 pages! The comments are meant for those applying to the MFA Program, but it’s still great info.
It starts at post #225
@cindyleuwho I just personally think I came off as political due to the nature of my writing and my video supplement. The questions my professor asked weren’t about my political stance at all.