<p>all my life i had a passion for film, and i always wanted to pursue a career in it. i am a senior in high school right now and my grades are not looking so good. i have a 2.2 gpa right now and im pretty sure that's final. my mom thinks i should apply to some school in the south and major in communications other than film (not the same). i want to enlist in the air force as a photographer for 4 years(minimum). durring those 4 years get my general education out of the way and get my gpa up as well. after that hopefully that will better my chances of getting accepted to usc or nyu for film</p>
<p>pros: better gpa, nice portfolio as a photographer, great topic for college essay, college is paid for, money, benefits</p>
<p>cons: graduate 6 years after high school </p>
<p>in my high school transcript i have credits for, intro to film, film/TV production, advanced film, and journalism </p>
<p>also i have a relative that teaches at usc (if that helps)</p>
<p>is this a good choice??? any other way you would handle this situation??</p>
<p>Are you absolutely sure that if you enlist in the Air Force, that you will be able to get that job? Most of the time you are not guaranteed a particular job upon a first enlistment unless you are looking at an underfilled position (a job where there are more slots than people interested. Have you talked to a recruiter yet? Make sure you get all “deals” in writing, and even then, be careful.</p>
<p>Let me add a +1 to Redbug’s comment above. I don’t know too much about the Air Force but I would want all of that in writing before I signed on the dotted line. Recruitment guys have on occasion been known to stretch the truth a bit.</p>
<p>Regardless, you have at least 2 other paths that I can think of: Junior college, and maybe Colorado Film School.</p>
<p>You could enroll at a JC, take a light load and work toward straight A’s. Get all of the requirements out of the way and then transfer to a 4-year film school. Thousands of kids do it this way and it can work if you create a plan and work toward your goals. Some JC’s also offer very good film departments.</p>
<p>A fairly new film school with a growing reputation. I don’t know what their stats requirements are but they seem pretty loose. I think they are more concerned with potential creative talent and not so concerned about GPA. Worth checking out I think.</p>
<p>Right this moment, admissions to CFS is open enrollment, meaning that almost anyone can apply and get in. It might not be that way forever though because the school seems dedicated to building a solid program. You also have the advantage of paying Community College rates with a BFA program from Regis university.</p>
<p>We’ve done an in-depth look at the school and it seems to be a solid film education, with several film-related majors. I’m not sure how this will all pan out, but they seem to be determined to make it a film school that matters. Besides, truition for all four years will be about the same as tuition for ONE year at NYU or USC.</p>
<p>Of course it won’t have the resources of an NYU or USC or Chapman, but the facilities and opportunities seem adequate for learning the craft of filmmaking.</p>
<p>If you have a commitment to serving in the US military, I don’t want to discourage you. But if you don’t, and this is something you’ve come up with because the 2.2 is limiting in terms of your college & film school choices, there are a number of things you could do. Digmedia’s suggestions are always great. Also, I wonder about your SAT’s. The film school at North Carolina School for the Arts is well thought of, and if you google their admissions standards, you’ll find that your artistic talent/portfolio/interview are going to be the most heavily weighted aspect of your application. 2.2 is still low for them, but they do accept students with 2.8’s at the lower end. See if your SAT’s are higher than their medians, and you might consider talking with them to see what your numbers would have to look like if they wanted you based on your artistic merit. I know of people who have gone to a cc to get requirements out of the way (and bring up GPA) and transferred there. Also, if bringing up your GPA at a CC seems like a realistic possibility, there are CC’s with excellent film programs. Students transfer into top film schools from CC’s and state colleges on a regular basis. (And there are some film programs, such as UCLA, that you can’t even be accepted into until junior year, although for that to work, you would need superb CC grades to meet UCLA’s transfer standards.)</p>