<p>Thanks for your opinions. That link to stateuniversity.com was especially helpful.</p>
<p>Hey I just wanted to know whether it is possible to do a dual major in both the college of letters and college of social studies? Because I read some people doing CSS and Italian studies so I wanted to know whether it was possible to do a major in both?
Thanks</p>
<p>BGapplicant: I was accepted to Wesleyan undecided (as are the majority of students, I’m guessing) but I think I plan on eventually going into business (I have no idea what else I would do…). Obviously there is no business program to speak of at Wesleyan. My question is… how well does Wesleyan prepare students to get jobs after graduation? I am not interested in becoming a teacher and I don’t know anything about law school. I’ve heard that LACs pretty much prepare you for one of those two options or for med school. I would have substantial debt upon graduation from Wesleyan but will debt be manageable to pay back after graduation?</p>
<p>-BGapplicant, you would definitely be well-prepared for grad school in Business. If you major in Economics, like madjoy and smartalic said, you’ll be well-equipped to go out and work in places like New York City.</p>
<p>norolimasfaloth: Hey I just wanted to know whether it is possible to do a dual major in both the college of letters and college of social studies? Because I read some people doing CSS and Italian studies so I wanted to know whether it was possible to do a major in both? Thanks</p>
<p>-norolimasfaloth, quite honestly, I think doing both would be incredibly hard, as both programs are rather time-consuming. Of course, I think that CSS and Italian Studies are maneagable, mainly because you’re not taking a bunch of classes in different areas that meet at different times, have different requirements, etc. I know someone who’s planning on majoring in Music and COL, though I don’t know anyone who’s doing both CSS and COL. Nevertheless, anything is possible in this world. Just out of curiosity, do you know what you’d like to study?</p>
<p>I’ve never met someone who is doing COL and CSS. it sounds like it would be incredibly difficult, but I suppose you could do it if you wanted to spend your 4 years working nonstop. I wouldnt recommend it- you wouldnt have a life. Much better to pick one of them and maybe something else…</p>
<p>about CSS, I’ve heard that it’s really intense and your entire sophomore year is laid out for you, which kind of sucks, since it sounds exactly like what I’d be interested in. would it be impossible to double major in, for example, film, if you’re in CSS?</p>
<p>jarsilver: Actually, there’s a guy doubling in CSS and Film right now. You’d definitely have to plan ahead (and get a jump start on film, for sure), but it is doable. It is really intense, but for people who are into it, CSS is an amazing program.</p>
<p>You actually cannot double major in CSS and COL. If you are a COL major, you have to go abroad during your sophomore spring. The CSS sophomore year program is divided into trimesters, and you can’t miss any of it. So it’s impossible to do them both.</p>
<p>COL really appealed to me initially because I’m really into foreign language and English and then I saw CSS which had courses in government and history, 2 subjects I’m also into. In an indeal world, I suppose I would do COL with history and government and I doubt I can do a triple major so I wanted to see if it was possible to do COL and CSS. Can I by any chance do COL and a university major, whereby I can create my own major from history and govt courses?
In the long run, I really want to go to law school. But for all I know I could go to Wes and decide to do film or something a I’m keeping my options open</p>
<p>jarsilver, it’s definitely possible to double-major in Film and CSS. I don’t know anyone who’s doing a double-major with CSS, but I’m sure there are people. </p>
<p>norolimasfaloth, you can definitely double-major in COL and the University major. I’m consult with someone once you get here–probably your academic dean and/or advisor–about how to work that out.</p>
<p>Question about the Film program:
I’m starting to, possibly/maybe considering Film as a major and I know I want to take the intro class (Film Analysis, right?). I’ve heard major is very competitive to get in to (top-notch) and I was wondering how much of a chance I would have if I’ve never taken a formal Film class during high school (not room in schedule after IB and band). Would it be possible to do Film with basically no formal outside experience? </p>
<p>I mean, I don’t know of this counts for anything, but this summer I’m going to be a cinematographer and webcaster for a traveling lacrosse club, but it’s not exactly artsy or anything, and I’m going to be mostly teaching myself on the job.</p>
<p>Perhaps totally unrelated, but I’m also considering COL with French and I’m having trouble figuring out how to be advanced enough in French (I’ve been taking Spanish since elementary school, and now sick of it, but no formal French classes), in order to meet the requirements and be ready to study abroad spring of sophomore year.</p>
<p>Errg, I’m seeing a pattern in myself of being unprepared.</p>
<p>halcyon: You can 100% get in to the film major with no formal film training. They don’t expect you to know anything going in, that’s what the intro classes are for. It’s competitive because you have to get a B+ in both intro classes (Analysis AND History, actually), which are hard, and have a B overall GPA. But as long as you work your butt off in the intro classes it is possible to get the required grades (I got an A in both intro classes having never taken film before).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that this is a film STUDIES major, so even kids who have had lots of experience making film might not know much more than you about analysis and history going in.</p>
<p>Okay, can I ask possibly the most ignorant question ever?
What exactly <em>is</em> Film Studies? Like, I know it’s movies and films and stuff, but like, what kinds of questions do they ask and what do they write their papers on and what is the major in general? Do people graduate from it to be a professor in Film Studies or to be a critic or a director or a producer or an actor (okay, I know it’s not an actor) or what?
I don’t mean to mock the major or anything, I just honestly don’t know, haha, and if it’s a huge thing at Wesleyan I feel like I should be more informed.
I looked at some classes on WesMaps and they were about like, light and sound in film or something? I still don’t get it. 
Sorry</p>
<p>Hey halcyon–</p>
<p>I don’t think most high schools offer film studies classes, at least not in the way Wesleyan teaches film, so I really wouldn’t worry about being unprepared on that front. They don’t assume you have any sort of in-depth background (besides loving movies and watching them), so the intro classes really are there to give you a firm foundation in film studies. There are two intro classes that you have to take–Intro to Film Analysis and History of World Cinema–to get into the major (you need a B+ or above in both). If you do that, you’re automatically in the major. I would say definitely, definitely take these classes at the earliest opportunity (freshman year, fall of sophomore year at the latest) and work hard in them, and then you’ll be good to go. If you don’t get the two B+'s or don’t take both classes before it’s time to declare in the beginning of spring semester sophomore year, you can arbitrate. This means you talk to the chair of the department, go over your papers and things and discuss why you didn’t get the B+. And if you haven’t taken an intro course, you can take it at that time. If you really put the time and effort in, you can get B+. The profs are helpful and available, and there are film TAs and writing tutors available to help you out. (Also, the film program here is mostly focused on theory/history and less so on production. You don’t take a production class until junior year when you take Sight & Sound. Beyond that, there’s an advanced production class, or you can make a short film for your thesis.)</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on the French stuff, but here’s as much as I know. To study abroad in France, the programs that Wesleyan has approved all want you to have taken at least French 112 (the fourth semester of French offered). The Wesleyan program in Paris requires French 215 (the advanced class after 112). You would probably have to take a summer course in French to get ahead at some point, either before freshman or sophomore year, to have enough French to study abroad. But I could be wrong. You could contact the study abroad office specifically and tell them your situation; they might have had students with similar predicaments in the past.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you guys. That’s really helpful (and a relief too) about the Film program. I don’t know if this is irrational, but I’m just worried about going to college and not being able to do completely new things because I didn’t have the chance to do them in high school. It’s nice to know that it’s not completely the case (although the French seems to be a slightly different situation)</p>
<p>Great quick replies, too. I go to lunch and <em>BAM</em> I have answers waiting for me, along with my chicken sandwich.</p>
<p>I’d look at it like film studies is to movies as English (as a major) is to novels/poetry.</p>
<p>Ah, thank you!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t quite look at it like that. In an English class, you spend a lot of time “interpreting” and discussing themes, the meaning of a work, etc. In film, when you look at a movie it’s sort of more technical. You learn how a film functions, how different features of a film work to communicate a story, a tone, etc. I guess that’s sort of akin to poetry in that you take apart the structure and try to understand why certain choices were made. In the film major, you study history, theory, genre, the film industry, etc., and it’s all very inter-connected. Someone could probably explain this more, but I’ve found that there isn’t much of a parallel between my English courses and my film courses.</p>
<p>I guess it’s subjective to the professor, but literary structures like style, theme, character development, conflict are addressed in lit classes as well (at least, my AP Lit teacher stressed this a lot) and these are vaguely analogous to stuff like mise en scene and camera angles/systems of differences. though I guess poetry might be a better example.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken a college-level film course, but I have researched it and I see film theory as somewhat comparable to literary theory. I guess film studies is a lot more broad than English because there are a lot of different ways to look at it, beyond the critical perspective.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the Film Studies major is really popular/competitive, but is it possible for students not majoring in Film Studies to take a course or two? I plan to be an English major, but I’m seriously interested in screenwriting and would like to get some exposure to film studies while I’m at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>gg: It is possible for a non-major to take the intro classes, and some of the classes that count towards the major but are in a different department (we have some Russian and German cinema classes that are quite good). If you take both intro classes you might also be able to get into some upper level film classes, but not many, as most are for majors only (untrue of most non-Film upper-level classes, BTW). Screenwriting, as well as any other production course, is strictly majors only. </p>
<p>Jarsilver: while some film theory is quite like lit theory, I quite agree with eurydiced that that is not really the approach the Wes department takes. Certainly my lit classes and my film classes have felt very different. (Actually, apparently the English department here doesn’t like the film department because we aren’t post modern enough 
). </p>
<p>Of any other department I’ve heard about, I think film studies is most like art history, actually. It’s a whole new language/way of looking at things that one has to learn (which is part of why the intro classes, esp. Analysis, are so hard for some people). There is a huge focus on and legitimization of genre (something lit classes don’t have enough on, at least in my experience), and, as eurydiced says, I very specific kind of formal analysis. </p>
<p>So, for instance, flying_pig, in one of my film classes this semester I’ve A) taken a test where we had to write an essay examining one film in relationship to the definition of “adventure film” this one writer put forth and B) had to do a paper that was a formal analysis of an action sequence, where we had to explain why the sequence worked (ie. was suspenseful) in terms of composition, editing, narration, etc. </p>
<p>Wes film majors go on to do all sorts of things in the industry. Although the major doesn’t focus on production, we still have TONS of people working in the industry (the Wesleyan Mafia).</p>