jackmac401
jackmac401,
USC
B.A., Acting
Theater/business double major from traditional & online highschool background. Can help cut essays & navigate audition/business interview process! On full tuition merit scholarship
Features Included
11
Essays
27
Schools
13
Scores
12
Advice
9
ECs
0
Sports

Background

Hometown San Jose, California
GenderMale
EthnicityHispanic
AdmissionRegular Decision
Class of2019
First Gen College StudentNo
English First Language Yes

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
  • University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)
  • Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
  • University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • University of California - Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
  • Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • New York University (New York, NY)
  • Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
  • Reed College (Portland, OR)
  • Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
  • University of California - Davis (Davis, CA)
  • Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
  • Boston University (Boston, MA)
  • Fordham University (New York, NY)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
  • Brown University (Providence, RI)
  • Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
  • California State University - Northridge (Los Angeles, CA)
  • California State University - Chico (Chico, CA)
  • California State University - Fullerton (Fullerton, CA)
  • University of California - Riverside (Riverside, CA)
  • University of California - Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • University of California - Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Yale University (New Haven, CT)
  • Bard College (Annandale on Hudson, NY)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

Applied for a B.A. in Acting

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

School Specific Advice

More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

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...
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Supplemental Essay “Why us” school essay
738 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Unique question posed by school
255 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Amusing anecdote
99 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay “Why us” school essay
319 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Issue of personal significance
401 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay “Why us” school essay
619 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Unique question posed by school
1369 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Scholarship application
396 Words
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,...
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Supplemental Essay Unique question posed by school
303 Words
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...
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Supplemental Essay Other
111 Words
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...
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General Admissions Advice

What I now know about my school that I never would have known prior to enrolling
42 Words
Everyone is way too friendly, nice, and helpful! The first week I could...
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My advice about getting recommenders
126 Words
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...
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What I’d change about my application process
119 Words
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...
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My extracurricular activities in college, and why I chose them
147 Words
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...
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What might make for a good “Why Us” essay topic at my school
89 Words
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...
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Whether I used a private admissions counselor, and advice I received
77 Words
I did. I actually used a few--one for general college info, and then an audition coach for college audition process for arts schools....
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5 adjectives that describe a typical student at my school (Feel free to elaborate!)
5 Words
Engaged, Passionate,...
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What I’d change about my school if I were student body president
74 Words
I'd give the School of Dramatic Arts college more funding, but I'm a little biased that way. I would hold more conferences...
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List of schools I interviewed with and my interview experience
830 Words
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...
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What set me apart from other applicants
61 Words
The top things in order of what I think their importance was: 1) I started my own organization...
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Why I declined other schools
416 Words
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...
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Why I ultimately chose my school
165 Words
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...
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High School Performance

Weighted GPA
4.35
 
Rank
Top 1%
 
High School TypePublic
Academic Performance in High School Steady
Explanation of Low Grades

Test Scores

Highest ACT
32
 
ACT Score Details
 
Other ACT Scores
ACT Prep
Highest SAT
1490
on 1600 scale
Highest SAT
2150
 
SAT Score Details
 
Original SAT Score2150
Other SAT Scores
SAT Prep

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details11 classes and scores

Sports

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesChurch, Community or summer theater/plays, Drama Production Crew, Hospital Volunteer, Improv club/team, National Honor Society, Nonprofit, NGO or Charitable Organization, Nursing Home Volunteer, School Theater/Plays
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work

Experience & Awards

How Spent Summers
Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received
Application Additional Materials

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