<p>Hey everyone, I'm having an aweful time with this decision. Right now I have it narrowed to two schools, Upenn (potentially with Uscholars) and USC (with a full scholarship, thematic option, honors program). I have two main interests, archaeology and cinema. In general, I like UPenn more then USC, I like the student body more, the campus more, the distance from home more, etc. UPenn has an excellent anthropology/archaeology program, truly world class, however, their cinema program is very small and just started and is only theory/history oriented, not production oriented. USC on the other hand has the number one cinema school in the world. I did not apply to be in the cinema school (chicken :-P) but would be in the college of arts and sciences and would do cinema as a minor or try to get a dual major with it being one of my majors. However, their archaeology program seems to be quite small and new. So I'm kind of stuck in a pickle where each school seems to only have one or the other. In general I realllllly liked Penn and liked it a whole lot better then USC, but on the other hand, it has been a lifelong dream to be involved in cinema and USC + LA is the perfect place for that.
HELP!</p>
<p>Penn's cinema studies program is relatively new but has a lot of great courses and is a very popular major/minor. The program was intended to be interdisciplinary and theoretical and therefore most classes are cross-listed with English, Comparative Literature, Regional Studies etc. The more "hands-on" film classes are offered in the Fine Arts department and these include a lot of production related courses. Here is the link for these
<a href="http://www.design.upenn.edu/ugfnar/undergrad/coursessubject.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.design.upenn.edu/ugfnar/undergrad/coursessubject.html</a> </p>
<p>The University Scholars Program is very prestigious, has great advising, research opportunities and access to honors classes. I am a current University Scholar so if you have any specific questions about the program feel free to PM me. </p>
<p>As far as Archealogy is concerned, as you know, Penn has arguably one of the best programs in the country (and one of the most renowned archealogy/anthropology museums in the world).</p>
<p>I am not very familiar with USC, but do know that it is a great place to study film. Penn's cinema studies and film programs may not have the resources to compete with USC but are also great and very respectable. As a University Scholar you will have access to funds which you can use for research in film/cinema. Also, you are not exactly in the film school at USC, so you need to think about whether the benefits of being in the CAS there and the more limited access that you will have to their film dept. really outweighs Penn. Also, obviously there is that matter of the full scholarship at USC so you need to factor in how much the cost matters.</p>
<p>A friend of the family just transferred out of USC. She was a top student in HS, national merit, etc., very interested in broadcast journalism. She really liked her courses, but discovered that, while she had friends, she was much more serious and focused than her classmates. She was looking for a more vibrant intellectual atmosphere than what she found there. This is just one person's experience, and USC does have a premiere film program. I throw it out there for investigation.</p>
<p>As far as Penn goes--it does have some very interesting grads who have made a name for themselves in the entertainment/film industry. Google "Marc Platt". He used his Wharton undergraduate education and broke into the film industry from the business end. This led to a stint as the head of Orion, to his own production company (producing "Legally Blonde" among others), and even to producing on Broadway (Wicked). Your interests do not necessarily converge, but the point is that he is just one of the many performers (Paul Provenza), hollywood writers (Craig Hoffman), and business people who went to Penn with the intention of landing on the west coast no matter what their major. Again, just more food for thought.</p>
<p>Yeah, pick Penn.</p>
<p>yeah, or else some dumb lazy affirmative action kid is gonna get your spot</p>