Hi all,
I’m a current freshman at the University of Georgia, and I’ve really been trying to like it here. Unfortunately, I haven’t found much to like. Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t made a single friend during my entire semester and a half here (besides my roommate, who is a close friend from high school) and I’ve never been more miserable and depressed in my life. I’ve really been trying to make UGA to work out, but I’m just not feeling it. The only real reason I’ve considered staying here is the Mass Media Arts program in the Grady College of Journalism. It’s basically film school- I plan to work in film and/or TV after college. But you don’t have to go to film school to work in the film industry, so it’s not really a big deal to me. Anyway, I applied to W&M in my senior year of high school and was rejected. It was my top choice. Two questions: would the fact that I got my IB diploma raise my chances of transfer acceptance? And is there much of a filmmaking community at William and Mary? Also, my grades have been good so far, I got a 3.48 gpa last semester and have A’s and B’s so far this semester. Thanks everybody.
I heard several years ago that it was somewhat easier to transfer into W&M than to be admitted as a fresh person. I don’t know if that’s still true. Still, even if you are able to transfer to W&M you will be at UGA for another semester at least. It should not be impossible to make some friends, even at a school where you are not in sync with the dominant culture. UGA is a big school and there must be subcultures of people more like you.
Hey there! Don’t be so down on yourself. Sometimes there are just things you can’t control and its important to just take some time to yourself. I don’t know about your specific situation but the counseling center and joining at least one club that you can really find a home in can help you relieve and hopefully face those feelings.
Anyhow, I am currently a student at the Willliam and Mary. The transfer acceptance rate is higher than the regular admissions acceptance rate, however this may be muddled by the fact that many virginia community colleges have a guaranteed admissions agreement with the college, therefore inflating some of the transfer acceptances. On their website, they have stated that typically students with 3.5 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
As for filmmaking, William and Mary does have many resources to support student made productions. There is the Swem media lab which lets you check out cameras, videocameras, tripods, mics, and anything else you might need for free and up to 3 days. It also has Adobe programs that students can access for this purpose. However, in terms of a filmmaking community, I can’t say that there is a particularly large presence (or at least not one that I have witnessed in my two semesters here).
The large filmmaking events largely center around the Global Film Festival and their corresponding contests such as the 24 Speed, where students make a film in 24 hours (I did it this year and it was alot of fun). I love William and Mary, but you might want to consider other schools if filmmaking is your end goal. Other schools may have more technical classes and alumni connections. For the film courses here, many of them lean towards the theoretical and analysis of film techniques than outright filmmaking. You can check out some of the courses offered in the course catalog (courselist.wm.edu) however it is called “film studies” for a reason.
I do recommend though, wherever you end up going, to talk to someone about the things you are going through. It can be anyone, but dealing with those personal feelings comes first and health comes before even academics.