SMC to UCLA TRANSFER

<p>hellooo =D. I am going into my junior year in high school. I know its a little early to start REALLY getting into the whole college thing, but I am worried about me getting into colleges and what not. I am really into movie editing and want to do film production or something in that field. I have a plan but I am very INEXPERIENCED in the college field. MY PLAN is to graduate after 11th grade(because i hate high school) and go to SMC. So i guess my first question is if I can get into SMC as an out of stater (New York) and coming out of 11th grade. After SMC I'd like to transfer to UCLA. So my second question is how hard is it to get into UCLA from SMC as an out of stater? While in UCLA I would like to get an internship with MTV in santa monica. There is a whole entire other option though which is going to NYU. But to get into NYU I would most likely have to wait until after 12th grade. I will post my questions again and give you some of my information to help answer my questions. I am going to be a junior in high school in New York. Most of my grades are 85-90, but i do have the occasional 79 or low 90's. Although I am a VERY poor test taker. So my SAT scores could be bad which could skim my chances of getting into SMC. </p>

<p>QUESTIONS 1: How hard would it be to get into SMC (santa Monica College) as an out of staters AND graduating after 11th grade?
2: How hard is it to get accepted to UCLA from SMC? I may become a resident though while I'm at SMC, I havnt decided yet.
3: What should i do? I want to get into film production or somewhere in that field with MTV <3 So what would be my best option?</p>

<p>Thank You guys so much for you opinionss!!!</p>

<ol>
<li>I’ve heard that the transfer rates from SMC to UCLA are very high. I have two friends who are transferring from SMC to UCLA this year. I also have a teacher that did this and has always strongly recommended it for any of her students who have the dream of going to UCLA, but don’t quite have the stats senior year in high school to get accepted.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
<li>It shouldn’t be hard, it is a community college after all.</li>
<li>I live in Los Angeles and I can confirm that it is not difficult to transfer to UCLA from SMC. I know plenty of students who have done so.</li>
<li>You should consider USC - it is slightly easier to get into than UCLA, and the connections you will gain there will be much more useful for getting into the entertainment industry. The only downside is that it is much more expensive, unless if you dont become a resident; then you will have to pay similar fees at UCLA.</li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you guys for your help =D</p>

<ol>
<li>SMC has open admissions- which means you get accepted right after you apply.</li>
<li>SMC does have the best transfer rate to UCLA but you also gotta do your part- obviously you wouldn’t get into UCLA with a 1.9 GPA even if you come from SMC. About becoming a resident, make sure you look carefully at the the UCLA’s residency requirements. UCLA is not easy on giving out residency unless you have factual proof of being a legit California resident. Never, I repeat, NEVER mention that you came to California to go to school- this is about the easiest way to lose any shot at residency.</li>
<li>I agree with Shammy, USC is a bit easier to get into. UCLA won’t be easy and you gotta break your back for the Film School (but it’d be worth it if you get there). Do well in classes and get some experience- join film clubs, try and get some gigs under your belt (even if you don’t get paid for them), or maybe an internship. </li>
</ol>

<p>-Match</p>

<p>people just assume that SMC will get them to UCLA automatically…i think smc is a real pain in the azz just because its so hard to get the classes you need.</p>

<p>i know by going to SMC it doesnt give me my FREE ticket in to UCLA. But i WILL work hard for it. But do I have to do 2 years at UCLA to before i can apply for the film school at UCLA??? Like 2 years at SMC then 2 years at UCLA before I can get into the film school? Or after the 2 years at SMC can I apply for the Film School?</p>

<p>SMC has the highest transfer rates to UCLA, but it also has the most applicants. my school, had 200 applicants, of which 50 got into ucla (an acceptance rate of 25%) and of which like 40 attended. SMC has around 1,700 applicants, of which maybe 700 get in which is around 40% , but other schools have higher percentage admit rates than that. At the end it all comes down to you. </p>

<p>I’m just telling you this because i met many people who go to santa monica (which is very far from them) specifically to get into UCLA, when they can do it from anywhere. i think it’s a waste.</p>

<p>lastly, if you want to do film, i think USC has a better film school. so even though, in general, USC might be easier to get into than UCLA, USC’s film school is probably harder to get into than UCLA’s.</p>

<p>and you just apply to the School of Theater, Film, and Television. Most people apply to the College of Letters and Science, but you should be able to apply to any of them.</p>

<p>I didn’t mean in no sense that you wouldn’t work for it… SMC has a great curriculum and it’s intended to act just as a four-year college would, that’s why when you apply to UCLA, they know that you are coming well prepared. But that all depends, if the classes you take are all considered to be easy, then that will weight on your admission.</p>

<p>You do 2 at SMC the you transfer as a junior to UCLA and if all goes well, you graduate from UCLA within 2 years. I hope that is clear.</p>

<p>-Match</p>

<p>Does SMC have TAP? I highly recommend you go to a community college that has TAP. TAP stands for Transfer Alliance Program. Being part of the TAP gives you “priority consideration for admission to UCLA.” In other words, as long as you have over a 3.0 (I would say over a 3.3 to be safe) then you will be accepted to UCLA as long as you’ve taken the correct classes (pre-reqs and other requirements). I was accepted into UCLA’s pre-business economics major with only a 3.46 from City College of San Francisco.</p>

<p>The TAP is offered by SOME California community colleges. It is offered at City College of San Francisco. The requirements of the program are simply that 15 of your units are honors units and that you fill out some paperwork with your community college’s honors coordinator.</p>

<p>For the record, SAT and ACT scores are meaningless in the whole community college to UC transfer process. Letters of recommendation are also of no use and the UCs will not look at them. </p>

<p>You don’t necessarily need to spend 2 years at a community college. If you have enough units and credit from AP tests or however that works (I never took an AP class or AP tests) then you can apply right away and go to UCLA only after 1 year at SMC. It took me 4 years at a community college because I was focusing on dance.</p>

<ol>
<li> Community colleges have open admissions.</li>
<li> Easy if you take the right classes and have a high enough GPA. With TAP, you can get in with a below average GPA like I did.</li>
<li> No idea.</li>
</ol>

<p>SMC does have TAP- it’s known by the Honors Program.</p>

<p>

Don’t bother; you won’t be one for UC tuition purposes anyway

Do what’s called “informational interviewing”. Find someone at MTV who is in a position to know, such as an intern coordinator, and start emailing or calling them to find out what they suggest and what previous successful interns have done. When you explain you’re currently in 11th grade they’ll realize you’re not pestering them for a position but instead seeking guidance on how to prepare.</p>

<p>Thank you guys for your help!!! =D</p>

<p>Whoa! First off it doesn’t matter what school you go to to be accepted to UCLA’s film program. UCLA students don’t even get first dibs over transfers into the film program and they don’t have any formal agreements either. SMC offers only a limited number of film studies classes (previously Cinema) but more importantly realize SMC has their own specialized Academy. That program is not yoked to UCLA nor does it need to be since is high quality but it is not a Film Production program still.
If you want an AA in Film/TV Production (not Film Studies) then you want to consider SBCC or De Anza College. Core classes for F/TV Production are Introduction to Film, Screenwriting I, F/TV Production I (single camera), Lighting (Cinematography I), Audio Production, Directing I, Non-Linear Editing I, Video Studio Production (multi camera) plus a film history course and electives.
Residency requirements in California is a year and a day. California was also the first public education system for anyone and even someone who didn’t graduate from high school can attend a community college and/or finish their high school there. The California Community College system is yoked to the K-12 system and California tends to not transfer very many classes from out of state. </p>

<p>An SAT is only useful to apply to USC since transfers are chosen based more upon GPA, unit and course completion, extracurricular activities and understanding how the system works. USC has one of the best film programs but it isn’t a traditional Film Production program realize. NYU and UCLA are the top public institution undergraduate Film/TV Production schools but are extremely competitive to get into without a comprehensive reel, F/TV AA, and/or a few years experience. If you are talking straight up Film School and money is of no concern then NY Film School and Vancouver Film School are where you want to attend but will run you an average of 50 grand a year. Loyola and other expensive institutions also have great semi specialized film programs as well but if and when you became a California resident could easily acquire a quality F/TV AA for roughly a grand.</p>