Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. I walked into a dark room. A paralyzed girl was lying still in bed. It was hard to see inside the Sub-Acute Children’s hospital, and the only sound was the faint drum of medical machinery. She held an expression of despair as she fought...

This was my long essay in the slide-room section for the School of Dramatic Arts Students at USC. The University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts is the perfect fit for me. As a reputable university in the heart of the cultured city of Los Angeles, USC offers the wide range of academic opportunities of a large, well-funded university while still maintaining a strikingly low student-faculty ratio, giving students personal attention. Comprised of beautiful, modernized facilities, USC offers...

My school community spanned across the entire state. Serving as president, and later as chairman, for California Connections Academy’s National Honors Society (NHS) was a job unlike any other. I spent time getting to know ambitious students from across California. Some trained for the Olympics, while others helped organize their church volunteer groups. All the students that were part of NHS seemed to have a determination to accomplish their goals and serve the community. Through NHS, I wanted to...

I am infatuated with the elation of wearing hundreds of hats to run my theatre company. With this single organization, I am able to follow my heart's many desires to perform on stage, direct a masterful work, make a small budget create profit for charity, and work with friends to pull a show together--but most of all, I've fallen in love with the smiles of my audience. Witnessing my hard work transform someone's life for the better, even if it...

Since freshman year, Vassar College has been on my top list of schools. As a reputable college in the heart of the cultured city of Poughkeepsie in New York, Vassar College offers the wide range of academic opportunities of a large, well-funded institution while still giving students personal attention. Comprised of beautiful, modernized facilities, Vassar offers a strong theatre arts education while allowing flexibility to explore different interests. In the modern world, jobs demand many skills in a wide variety...

My world mandates success. Living in a community of high expectations, I was judged by adults and peers on how many different things I could do to place myself in the high esteem of others. My community instructed this respect would make or break my success in life. I joined in my culture's bandwagon of attempting to climb the well-worn ladder of traditional success. I sought to impress by strengthening my grades, increasing my number of leadership positions, and enhancing...

Carnegie Mellon University seems like the perfect fit for me. Part of a diverse, cultured university, CMU offers hundreds of different programs and clubs that can meet all of my interests, from community service to technology to business to theatre. I love how CMU offers all the benefits of a reputable, well-funded university while still maintaining a strikingly low student-faculty ratio, giving students personal attention. Comprised of beautiful, modernized facilities, CMU offers a strong arts education while allowing flexibility to...

Directing Statement Theater grants a power no other medium does. With theater, one can make people laugh, cry, and learn. Theater lets one bring people together as a community, moving them to accept valuable morals and gain wisdom from the stage. When directing a production, I am able to control how a character’s story is told, and place emphasis on the emotions I believe will transform an audience most. Through directing theater, I can shape others' worldviews by presenting...

Describe the career goals you are considering. In my career, I hope to gain experience in all aspects of theater, including acting, designing, and directing. I aspire to find long term success as a director or producer of a large theater company. Through my craft, I will bring people together as a community, moving them to accept valuable morals and gain wisdom from the stage. I hope to give an audience an emotional experience the may not have otherwise. Ultimately,...

Above all else, SCU’s vision of compassion strikes a chord with me. Raised in a family with a strong Roman Catholic faith, I am well familiar with the feeling of compassion, the virtue which calls us to care for others. I most vividly remember compassion at work when I participated in the VIP soccer program, which helps special education students play soccer. I worked with one boy, Adi, who had an especially difficult time remaining focused and in control...

I applied to 27 different schools, and thus had to write a lot of different essays. Art slide-room submissions for theater also usually required them. I focused on trying to highlight my strengths and accomplishments in ways that made me appear to be a good fit for the school, while avoiding sounding arrogant, uncertain, or unfocused. I tried to detail my accomplishments and include as much information about myself that could resonate with the school. Looking at the school's mission statement...

Everyone is way too friendly, nice, and helpful! The first week I could...

Get a teacher from the sciences and the humanities for your primary two recommenders. Many schools also accept a supplement recommender or an additional recommendation. If you are interested in the arts or some specific field, it’s...

I wouldn't have applied to so many schools--I would have looked at them closer, and done more research to see which programs I actually really liked. I'm glad I ended up with a lot of...

I surprised myself by running for Residential Student Government, but am actually enjoying it even though it's something I thought I would never do. Mostly, at first, I wanted a leadership position right away in college. After I looked into it more, I saw...

There are too many good things to go on and on about, so I'll just make a quick list: -Location of LA: multi-cultural, so much...

I did. I actually used a few--one for general college info, and then an audition coach for college audition process for arts schools....

Engaged, Passionate,...

I'd give the School of Dramatic Arts college more funding, but I'm a little biased that way. I would hold more conferences...

Auditioned for: Syracuse (Interview for BS Theater Management, audition for BFA Acting. Acting audition was great, he was really nice and got me to have a better performance by the time I walked out. Theater management interviewer let me mostly just flip through my portfolio and talk about things; was very helpful in answering all of my questions and seemed to like me. Gave me her contact info and the contact info of the head of their department afterwards, and stayed to talk to me a lot about the school) UCLA (directing interview only, they were really pushy about time...

The top things in order of what I think their importance was: 1) I started my own organization...

People usually wonder why I denied BFA programs and better ranked academic schools. Honestly, I still wonder sometimes myself. I almost went to Michigan's 4-person international BFA in directing, and almost went to UC Berkeley or Northwestern. Here's why I didn't: 1) Why not Michigan (aka why not BFA)? In short: lack of flexibility, job insecurity, money It would have been a great choice, but ultimately I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a director for the rest of my life--I also still really liked other things including business management and other aspects of theater. I also wanted to double...

In short: Great connections, well-ranked for my prospective majors, great flexibility and ability to double major, huge alumni and available connections, full ride scholarship, and Thematic Option. It seemed to be the best of both worlds--although not the best drama school I got into and not the best academic...