JacksonFilms
Well-Known Member
Applying to go to grad school is a time consuming process that can take longer than a year to complete. I didn't see this subject covered on the Forum, so I'm taking a few minutes to share my experience and hopefully shed some light on the process. I have been out of school for a few years, so technically, I am “returning” to school and this is written from that perspective.
April 2009: The idea of returning to college to earn a MFA degree had been banging around in my head for a few years. I am a career photographer and had explored the option of getting a Masters in that field, but ultimately decided that I would like to expand my horizons and take on a new challenge in visual arts. I had a few discussions with close friends and family and came up with a list of four objectives for this next adventure:
First, I'd like to be qualified to teach at the college level.
Second, I'd like to improve my skill set in film & video production.
Third, I'd like to explore web-based distribution.
Fourth, I'd like to be creative on my own terms (a change from my current employment situation.)
I decided to pursue a MFA in Film/Video Production, Cinematography or something along those lines. I'm really interested in producing content for the web and feel that direction has a lot of potential.
Most importantly, I wrote these things down. I am a big fan of project notebooks (and am writing this from the notes I have collected). I use art sketch books with blank pages, but anything will do.
June 2009: I started doing research on schools by first identifying how I wanted to live the next 3-4 years. I tend to gravitate to mid-sized college towns (I've lived in Boulder, CO, Nashville and South Bend, IN). I enjoy living in more liberal towns with good open-minded art communities. And to stay true to my objectives (I'm not aiming to be a “Hollywood” director). In the end, I'm not a “big city” type of person, so NYC and LA were off the list.
So that left me with somewhere between the coasts. Ohio University, University of Iowa, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, University of Utah, Columbia College in Chicago, University of Arizona and Savannah College of Art & Design. I did a lot of internet research over the course of six weeks. I found it amazing on how FEW colleges post student films on the internet. I picked up a copy of “Film School Confidential, 2nd ed.” and read that cover to cover.
Financially, Columbia College (big city), Arizona (not quite the right program) and Savannah (private college) weren't going to work out for me. I did my undergrad work at Southern Illinois University and had a wonderful four years there, but was looking for a new experience. So scratch that one too. (Go Salukis!)
August 2009: That left me with four colleges. I went back to my notebook and started to make checklists & make notes about application deadlines. Every school is slightly different in their application materials and deadlines, and right now in the process, those are the most important facts you need to keep track of. School calendars are also handy, so you are aware of when students and faculty will be available (and more importantly, when they are on break).
September 2009: It was time to start making connections and getting some additional information. I made a list of 5 questions about the department and 2-3 questions about the community that weren't covered on the websites. Film stock or digital? Class size? Total students in department? Teaching opportunities? Older students (I'm over 30)? Bike friendly community? Arts in the community? Material like this is best covered in phone conversations. It is a great way to introduce yourself (if you are prepared) and start the process of getting accepted.
I emailed the directors of the departments on my list and arranged to call two of them, with the intention of speaking to the other two a few weeks later. The conversations happened over the next 2-3 weeks with a few additional calls to instructors and administrative assistants (great resources) in the department.
After getting some positive feedback, I started into the application paperwork for Ohio University and the University of Iowa. The deadline for Iowa was first on January 1st, followed by Ohio on February 1st. To make everything easier on my side, I set a personal deadline of December 15th for both. And due to my employment, I was only able to work on the paperwork in the evenings and on the weekends. And as much as I had hoped, it wasn't an every evening project.
Both schools asked for on-line applications and copies of school transcripts. Both asked for a resume, which I updated and printed out in short order. Both asked for a Statement of Purpose, which took me about three weeks to write, rewrite, run by some friends & family and revise (four times). There are some decent resources on-line to find out what a Statement of Purpose is and what to cover in one. Both asked for a Writing Sample (or Research Paper). I used a 2000 word editorial piece that I had written for a local magazine, since I hadn't done a formal academic paper in nearly 20 years. Both asked for a sample of film work. Since I had been doing some small projects on the side, I was able to select four short pieces and put those onto a DVD. I had also been adding my photography website address and a video website address to every email, so they had other opportunities to look at my work. I set all of this aside as I collected it.
On the video website”¦ I have an account with YouTube and with Vimeo. My YouTube account has about 40 videos on it”¦ some good, some not so good. Even though you might spend hours on the internet, it's important to limit what you show and be considerate of other people's time. My Vimeo site had 5 videos on it, ranging from a 30 sec. commercial to an 8 min. promotional documentary.
April 2009: The idea of returning to college to earn a MFA degree had been banging around in my head for a few years. I am a career photographer and had explored the option of getting a Masters in that field, but ultimately decided that I would like to expand my horizons and take on a new challenge in visual arts. I had a few discussions with close friends and family and came up with a list of four objectives for this next adventure:
First, I'd like to be qualified to teach at the college level.
Second, I'd like to improve my skill set in film & video production.
Third, I'd like to explore web-based distribution.
Fourth, I'd like to be creative on my own terms (a change from my current employment situation.)
I decided to pursue a MFA in Film/Video Production, Cinematography or something along those lines. I'm really interested in producing content for the web and feel that direction has a lot of potential.
Most importantly, I wrote these things down. I am a big fan of project notebooks (and am writing this from the notes I have collected). I use art sketch books with blank pages, but anything will do.
June 2009: I started doing research on schools by first identifying how I wanted to live the next 3-4 years. I tend to gravitate to mid-sized college towns (I've lived in Boulder, CO, Nashville and South Bend, IN). I enjoy living in more liberal towns with good open-minded art communities. And to stay true to my objectives (I'm not aiming to be a “Hollywood” director). In the end, I'm not a “big city” type of person, so NYC and LA were off the list.
So that left me with somewhere between the coasts. Ohio University, University of Iowa, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, University of Utah, Columbia College in Chicago, University of Arizona and Savannah College of Art & Design. I did a lot of internet research over the course of six weeks. I found it amazing on how FEW colleges post student films on the internet. I picked up a copy of “Film School Confidential, 2nd ed.” and read that cover to cover.
Financially, Columbia College (big city), Arizona (not quite the right program) and Savannah (private college) weren't going to work out for me. I did my undergrad work at Southern Illinois University and had a wonderful four years there, but was looking for a new experience. So scratch that one too. (Go Salukis!)
August 2009: That left me with four colleges. I went back to my notebook and started to make checklists & make notes about application deadlines. Every school is slightly different in their application materials and deadlines, and right now in the process, those are the most important facts you need to keep track of. School calendars are also handy, so you are aware of when students and faculty will be available (and more importantly, when they are on break).
September 2009: It was time to start making connections and getting some additional information. I made a list of 5 questions about the department and 2-3 questions about the community that weren't covered on the websites. Film stock or digital? Class size? Total students in department? Teaching opportunities? Older students (I'm over 30)? Bike friendly community? Arts in the community? Material like this is best covered in phone conversations. It is a great way to introduce yourself (if you are prepared) and start the process of getting accepted.
I emailed the directors of the departments on my list and arranged to call two of them, with the intention of speaking to the other two a few weeks later. The conversations happened over the next 2-3 weeks with a few additional calls to instructors and administrative assistants (great resources) in the department.
After getting some positive feedback, I started into the application paperwork for Ohio University and the University of Iowa. The deadline for Iowa was first on January 1st, followed by Ohio on February 1st. To make everything easier on my side, I set a personal deadline of December 15th for both. And due to my employment, I was only able to work on the paperwork in the evenings and on the weekends. And as much as I had hoped, it wasn't an every evening project.
Both schools asked for on-line applications and copies of school transcripts. Both asked for a resume, which I updated and printed out in short order. Both asked for a Statement of Purpose, which took me about three weeks to write, rewrite, run by some friends & family and revise (four times). There are some decent resources on-line to find out what a Statement of Purpose is and what to cover in one. Both asked for a Writing Sample (or Research Paper). I used a 2000 word editorial piece that I had written for a local magazine, since I hadn't done a formal academic paper in nearly 20 years. Both asked for a sample of film work. Since I had been doing some small projects on the side, I was able to select four short pieces and put those onto a DVD. I had also been adding my photography website address and a video website address to every email, so they had other opportunities to look at my work. I set all of this aside as I collected it.
On the video website”¦ I have an account with YouTube and with Vimeo. My YouTube account has about 40 videos on it”¦ some good, some not so good. Even though you might spend hours on the internet, it's important to limit what you show and be considerate of other people's time. My Vimeo site had 5 videos on it, ranging from a 30 sec. commercial to an 8 min. promotional documentary.
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