How do I get into my top schools?

Applying to College
1

<p>I just graduated a top high school within NY. I finished with a 72.62 weighed average along with a 440 on reading, 450 on math, and 450 on writing on my SAT's. I understand that the grades are quite pathetic and pointless but stick with me. I will be attending my local community college in the fall with hopes to transfer after a semester (continue to stick with me.) My plan is to attend the CC as a fallback on everything, at the same time while applying around October and November for universities for the 2015 spring term as a freshman and not provide my college grades to the school. I know I will be wasting the tuition money of the CC if I do get into one the schools (praying) but thats a risk that I've discussed and has been dealt with. I know people have done this before, so why can't it happen again? The reason I'm eager to get out is because of my film major interest, which most colleges expressed to me that the major requires four years of building blocks that are a necessity. So if I transferred out of the CC after two years, I would be graduating college for film during 2020 and I can't grasp that. I understand I screwed up and it has been more than a couple months that I've been trying to plan this out, but I thought what better than to ask the people on here!!! The film schools for undergraduate programs that I'm interested in are the following:</p>

<p>-University of Southern California
-University of California at Los Angeles
-Stanford University
-University of Texas at Austin
-Emerson College
-Chapman University
-Loyola Marymount University
-New York University
-Columbia University </p>

<p>Again, I understand to even the kids who are workaholics these schools are a stretch, but its a plus that film school is a huge motivating factor to get to where I got to go. Let me get to the point, what will increase my chances of getting in at any one of these schools?
I'm most likely going to retake a standardized test since I don't have much to go on but I'm stuck as to which one to take (ACT or SAT). The SAT was a horrible experience because when I did manage to sit down and study and attend test prep, I just wouldn't understand the information. But the ACT's are a lot more manageable because of the familiarization with the material. The problem is that especially on Long Island, I have never heard of anyone taking the ACT's and I'm worried that If I decide to put all my time and effort into that test, the admissions people would be unimpressed by my already unimpressive application. Is there any other way I could win over a college/university by doing anything else at the moment?
Im currently:
-Finishing up my 100 hour volunteer work at the local hospital branch
-Work as a cashier at a local supermarket chain</p>

<p>I finished as:
-A student member of a program that specialized in the arts at my H.S. (not much to go on I know)</p>

<p>Should I call frequently to let them know I'm interested? Should I study the SAT's or the ACT's or both since I'm in pretty bad shape? What else can I do to bump up my chances since my GPA will be viewed as my high school average of a 72? Please help me out!!! This is a huge opportunity for me to work up to something and get even more motivated than I already am!!! ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

2

<p>This is a very confusing post. You didn’t really do any research so let me try to summarize. </p>

<p>So you plan on going to a CC this fall, but you plan on applying to those listed schools for Spring 2015 admission, in November 2014? You want to be admitted in less than a semester? So, the schools in your area can prepare students in less than a semester to attend highly ranked schools, but the rest of the country takes 2 years to prepare. Stick with me:</p>

<p>Based on your current grades, and SAT scores, I don’t see any of those schools listed as admitting you. (How can you get accepted and increase your chances? For UCLA and USC you need above a 2200 SAT score, above 4.0, that’s how my son was accepted.)</p>

<p>And then you don’t intend on providing the receiving schools with grades? Stick with me:</p>

<p>If you take any classes, at a CC, you are considered a transfer student. If you don’t report the grades, and they always find out, the schools expel you.</p>

<p>Did you research any of the schools to see if they take mid year transfers?<br>
Many Spring 2015 admissions, at the different colleges, were already admitted in April of this year-2014 for Spring 2015. </p>

<p>Don’t call the schools to let them know you’re interested. They have enough on their plates with the students who do have the grades and test scores. </p>

<p>Talk to several guidance counselors at the CC’s, they will let you know what you have to do to even attempt to apply to these schools. Oh and by the way, the fees to go to these schools are not cheap; tuition to go to these schools, $60,000 per year. </p>

3

<p>He has posted this like 5 times - KNOCK IT OFF</p>

4

<p>This might be the least realistic plan I have ever seen posted here… completely improbable, no chance at success. It might be possible to attend CC for two years and then apply to transfer to Emerson College, Chapman University, or Loyola Marymount University IF you do a remarkable job of improving your academics during CC. But you have a very long ways to go to bring your skills up to a level for even those three colleges and prove you belong there. Regarding the long major sequence, I guess I would target the school of these three with the shortest sequence and where you could knock off the most credits in a CC environment.</p>

5

<p>Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if you are in the least bit prepared to attend any of these schools. If your WEIGHTED GPA is high school was in the 70s, none of these schools are for you. They will look at your HS transcript and unless you have some remarkable increase to at least a 3.9 in CC, forget about getting in.</p>

6

<p>Your real chance is to do well in CC and then apply to transfer. For transfer students, colleges may pay less attention to your HS GPA and sometimes not even requires test scores. Your plan does not really help with these poor GPA and test scores.</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>I hate to burst your bubble, but that major does ** not ** require four years of building blocks. You don’t even need to go to college for film. This may be an unpopular (and harsh) opinion, but nowadays elite film schools are for suckers who think spending 45k-60k a year will give them a leg up in an already near-impossible career choice (I’m not saying it’s totally impossible - it’s possible if you take smart, calculated risks). I can see the reasoning in attending a less expensive school with a film program (assuming it won’t put you in debt!) for the sole purpose of having friends to collaborate and work with, but forget Stanford or USC. When you’re a young filmmaker, you need * at least * a good two or three years to devote to your craft fulltime, living below your means. If you have debt to pay off, that won’t be possible. If you graduate with debt, you’ll need to find a job - any job - right out of the gate, and that job will very likely be stable but non-film related, and a big time killer. </p>

<p>Think of this as a good thing however. By busting your back trying to get into any of these schools, you’re basically selling your soul (for better or for worse). If you quit worrying about getting into any of those long-shot universities though, you can put all your extra free time towards the thing that actually matters- filmmaking. </p>

<p>See if your CC has a film program, and start shooting short films with the people in your classes. With the recent boom in cheap DSLR technology, you can make an * amazing * looking film for very little money. The only thing people care about once you enter the film industry is your reel. ** The college you go to means very little. The thing that matters the most is a reel - the first thing people will ask to see from you is a reel **. You don’t have to attend an elite college to start working on that reel.</p>

<p>Good luck. </p>