<p>OOOdep: your portfolio is wonderful! you are an incredible animator! Did you do “Degenerate” at a summer program as well? </p>
<p>I wish I had copies online of my portfolio, but the uploading times always sidetrack me…</p>
<p>maryxmoo: which summer program did you do? I went to RISD Pre-College as well as a shorter program offered by a nearby high school.</p>
<p>radio rabbit: Thanks! But no, Degenerate was done independently. It was lit with lights I bought at the Home Depot, and shot with a borrowed camera. I built the sets by moving all of the furniture out of a section of my house and replacing it with… Well, sets. The crew consisted of four people, including me and the actors.</p>
<p>I’m hoping that this sort of initiative impresses them enough to admit me, regardless of my spotty academic record. But I’m not counting on it.</p>
<p>Dear other fellow hopeful ED Tischites, I have yet to receive any sort of letter but for the mean time could you look at my dramatic essay and tell me what you think.
The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Depression caused my life to hit its lowest point during my junior year of high school. I felt that I was a failure and alone. Inexplicably my life turned around that same year. I overcame my depression and I also gained something that I had been desperately longing for.
My depression began my sophomore year. I had high anxiety that wore me down over time. The resulting depression was so severe that I contemplated suicide as my only way out. My depression began in the fall, but I didn’t get help until May. I was in denial over my depression and stayed that way until I told my parents. They immediately took me to therapy at a clinic near my school. My therapist and I determined my confidence relied entirely on my grades at school and on my performance on the rowing team. I did not have anyone to turn to for strength when I faltered in school or at crew. By the end of summer my therapist and I thought I was cured of my depression and that I should start decreasing the intensity of treatment. As a result, I thought my junior year was going to be a typical high school year. Little did I know how wrong I was.
The beginning of the school year played out like I thought it would. However, I quickly became overwhelmed with school and was not doing well in crew. I realized that I was falling into a downward spiral and I alerted my therapist. Then the tipping point happened. I failed a massive project in debate class and failed a large test in history. I had a mental breakdown that day and as soon as school was over I immediately saw my therapist. This was the lowest point of my life where I felt nothing I did was working and that there was nothing I could do about it. I stayed home the next day and saw my therapist that afternoon. In conjunction with school, my therapist, and my parents, we decided that I needed to drop my honors trigonometry class to lessen my load. In addition, I had to increase the intensity of my treatment by going to intensive outpatient group therapy (IOP). IOP sessions were held for three hours after school, three days a week. The purpose of this program is to help serious at risk teens avoid inpatient hospital treatment while teaching coping skills and other depression related therapy in a group setting. At this point I was willing to try anything to help get better. I had no idea how life altering these sessions would be.
When I first joined IOP I felt that I was the odd man out. I wore a shirt and tie every day, because I came straight from school, while mostly everyone else wore baggy dark clothes. Most of my group members had problems with anger and or with their parents while I had none of these issues. Most of them smoked outside the clinic during break. The biggest difference was I kept trying at a maddening rate to still do well in school while most of them had trouble with just getting to school. However despite these differences I still connected with my group members. I could understand them and they understood me. I actually enjoyed getting to know these people and I looked forward to my IOP sessions. Although I liked all of the group members there was someone in particular I began to know and really like.
Although most of the group members were very different from me there was one person who I shared a lot in common with. Her name was Erin and like me she came everyday in her school uniform and also was on a rowing team. We grew to be fast friends. When I heard she was leaving IOP before I would, I knew I had to do something before we fell out of contact. Even though I never asked a girl out before, I asked her if she would to come see a movie with me at the Pittsburgh Film Festival. I made up a story that all of my friends were busy and was looking for someone to go with me to cover for the fact that I was extremely nervous about asking her out. During the movie I barely worked up the courage to put my arm around her. Despite my nervousness, I told her at the end of the night that if she needed someone in her life that I would be there for her. The next weekend we went to see another movie and it was at the end of that night that I got my first kiss. Since that night about eleven months ago, Erin and I have been boyfriend and girlfriend. We have become each other’s source of strength to get through our depression. We have laughed and cried through the past eleven months but have always been there for each other when we needed it. I no longer need the superficial confidence boosters I got from my grades at school or my performance at crew. I have someone who will always love me for who I am. Even if we went our separate ways, I now know what brings me true fulfillment.
It seems that only by losing everything I could get what I really needed. I now am free from depression and have the love of someone else to boost me to new heights. I look to the future with optimism and hope, because no matter what I do I already have the only thing that I need. The darkest hour is just before the dawn.</p>
<p>hey radio rabbit, I did the School of Cinema and Performing Arts program (SOCAPA) in Vermont in 2008 and in New York in 2009.</p>
<p>That was excellent sleepinggiant. The ending was really heartwarming, and the whole thing kept me hooked. I think you’ll do fine :)</p>
<p>thank you very much nysurf that means a lot to me</p>
<p>Does anyone know if studio assignments are emailed or sent via snail mail?</p>
<p>ugh i just looked over a bunch of people’s portfolios.
there is no way i’m getting in, haha.</p>
<p>Accepted into Tisch Drama! Will post my stats soon.</p>
<p>Congrats mukula! I really hope some Tisch film letters come out today, or the anxiety might kill me.</p>
<p>I did Clive Davis, haven’t heard anything yet.</p>
<p>I did the summer high school program. Soo nervous hopefully my letter awaits me at home now…or tmrw.</p>
<p>@ j.m.j, the summer program is a big advantage! If your grades, SAT scores, audition etc were decent; I’d say you have a good chance.</p>
<p>it’s the scariest thought for me because</p>
<p>only 32 kids are accepted to Recorded Music which makes it around 10% 
goodness.</p>
<p>Accepted Tisch Film!
3.65W GPA
2050 SAT
Great Portfolio (I thought!)</p>
<p>Accepted to Tisch - Drama!
uw gpa - 3.5
w gpa 3.7
2040</p>
<p>Hahaha got in XD tisch photo 
gpa 3.95 lol uw
sat… Lol low… 1850 :P</p>
<p>3 aps.
Um did bad on sat ; only took it once got lazy
wow essay ( according to many ppl)
good protfolio:)
really good letters ( teachesr told me the spend few hrs on it :))<br>
tons of leadership
gl to every cuz I had a meltdown over the weekend … At first ups told me it was a small letter and I had to pick on Monday lol so I cried but when I picked it up today and opened it I saw purple:) soo happy </p>
<p>Gl to every1
hope to see ya all there ^~^</p>
<p>rejected today.</p>
<p>Its ok, I was accepted to Emerson EA for film. Emerson and NYU were tied for first in my eyes. So I’m very happy right now :)</p>
<p>for those who applied for film, what did you submit for your portfolio? i.e) script, film, artwork/photography etc.</p>