23 y.o. dropout needs film school advice....(US & UK)

<p>bears and dogs; the author is not who you think it is. I do happen to know who it is, and I know he is a great friend of this site. I will let him id himself if he likes, but he does not promote a certain school. He speaks for film education in general. He is not a an obvious fan of NYU, Chapman, LMU, USC, Emerson,UT, FSU or any of the schools I happen to think are great.You have not seen him take a position here, except for advocating for the kids, and for using all the resources available available to him. He has not posted on this thread. I have not seen him recommend his own book. I recommended the book because I like it, and my son is using it for his essays. I am NOT the author, if you were referring to me: I am female- not him. So the plug was from me, not him. An unbiased rec, but supported by a review on this site in the ask the dean section. And am I a fan of his: YES. He has given me some great advice for my son. Both on this site and in PM. So I stand by my recommendation.</p>

<p>Meant to say advocating for the kids using all the resources available to THEM.</p>

<p>Bears and Dogs; I hope you DON:T skip the film posts… I really do like reading what you have to say… I appreciate your perspective… so hope you still tune in, and drop a word.</p>

<p>Stereotypea,</p>

<p>All right, this is good! I’ll guarantee you that if you stay on this track, getting A’s and B’s, that your options will be 10x in one year and 30x in 2 years.</p>

<p>I really want you to buddy up with a counselor at school. I want that failed 2nd semester cleaned up because that will mess up your GPA and make it tougher for you. Appeal, beg, then beg some more. (By the way, being unmotivated won’t work as a compelling reason for them to erase this semester. You need something more compelling than that.) In addition, a good counselor can help with financial aid and transfer questions. Summer might be the best time to find this person and ask for help.</p>

<p>I also want to encourage you to not feel like you have to ‘make up for lost time’. You don’t have to double up on your course load. Start with 2 or 3 classes in the fall depending on your job and other distractions. I know you can get A’s and I want you to prove it to yourself.</p>

<p>Start streamlining your life to get ready for the Fall. Eliminate as many distractions as you can so you can focus on your work.</p>

<p>There are no articulation agreements between MN and CA schools. But we can use the Cal CC to Cal 4-year agreements as a useful tool to help with class selection. Work with your MN counselor to make sure that all classes you take in MN would transfer to Santa Monica CC. You may, or may not, ever go to SMCC but by doing this you will increase your chances of all of your MN classes being accepted at 4-year colleges. SMCC is really good at moving their students on to 4-year schools and especially so with film majors. So when in doubt look at SMCC as a guide. You can use their counselors too if you have questions.</p>

<p>Yep, get your AA degree (in film if MN CC offers that) first and then transfer to a 4-year for your BFA/BA in film. And yes, good grades will open many financial aid doors. </p>

<p>So this summer your objectives are:

  • Meet with your counselor
  • Try really hard to erase that 2nd semester
  • Write, write, write
  • Film, edit, upload
  • start eliminating distractions
  • How about taking one summer session film class?</p>

<p>Best of luck,
Wheaty</p>

<p>Wheaty - I love your advice. I know some young people who would really benefit from your guidance, but alas they are not on CC.</p>

<p>OP - you are lucky to have someone take the alternatives and make it logical and actionable.</p>

<p>Mom4art,</p>

<p>Thank you. I got a lot of help from others when it was my D1’s turn to apply to colleges and it’s nice to try to return those favors. I know most parents here feel the same way.</p>

<p>Best,
Wheaty</p>

<p>Stereotypea,</p>

<p>After randomly reading through some of the posts here, you should feel very lucky to have this many parents offering advices to you. Wheaty made a very good point. With your situation, you should be thinking of transferring to a public university rather than a private university due to a financial stand point unless you able to pull-up your GPA real high and get some sort of scholarships to a private school. Otherwise, there are Cal States schools with relatively decent film programs you may want to consider such as CSULB, CSULA, and CSUF (with CSULB being the better of the three and probably the hardest one to get in). However, in order to have a higher chance of getting admitted to these schools, it be wise to contact these schools directly to find out which community colleges are in their district area. Also, according to the Senate Bill 1440, the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (STAR Act) signed into legislation on September 29, 2010, “a California Community College student who has earned the Associates in Arts degree for Transfer (AA-T) or the Associate in Science degree for Transfer (AS-T) will be granted priority admission to the CSU into a similar baccalaureate (BA) degree program with a guarantee of junior standing as long as the student meets all prescribed admission requirements. Once admitted, the student will only be required to complete 60 additional prescribed units to qualify for the similar baccalaureate degree.” In order for you to go this route, you would need to attend a California Community College.</p>