Transferring

[Agent Turtle]

Hey guys,

I am currently a freshman at the University of Colorado. I'm currently double majoring in English and Film, and would like to be a screenwriter someday. I'm having an awesome time here in Boulder, but I feel that while the film program is insightful and well taught, that it won't secure me a job in the industry like USC would. So therefore I'm thinking about transferring possibly after Sophomore year, I've been getting mostly As in my classes and I feel pretty confident that I can keep that going. I know that the screenwriting program at USC requires that you be in the major at USC for four years, so if I were to transfer after my sophomore year, I would be going to USC as a freshman...not really appealing. But anyway, here are the schools I'm thinking about, and if anyone has any advice they like to let me know about the schools or Thanks!

 

[Agent Turtle]

Oops, schools that I'm considering:
USC
Chapman
LMU
Texas

 

[Ard23]

Why aren't you considering UCLA? It is specifically designed as a two-year program beginning in junior year, and half of the people they accept are transfers from other schools.

 

[Jayimess]

FYI, USC won't secure you a job in the industry...no school will.

 

[Agent Turtle]

Ard23-thanks for the suggestion, I wasn't sure about UCLA because I know that for a high school applicant you need to have taken three different SAT IIs. I wonder if the same is for transfer students, hopefully not.

Jay-I guess I wrongly phrased it. Nothing is guaranteed, but there would be a better chance of getting a job, if one were to attend USC.

 

[Mike_V]

Agent turtle,
at this point there are many many schools that will give you a just as decent chance as USC out there especially when you talk about screenwriting. Out of the top of my head, I would think Northwestern would be on that list and so is NYU and Chapman.

No job is secured for you unless you can prove yourself to be a BAMF in what you are doing. They don't give (pardon the language) 2 s**ts about where you from if you're from a decent school in general.

 

[Agent Turtle]

Mike V-You bring up a good point. However, my question was about transferring to another school, if anybody has an insight on transferring or any stories or advice to share, my ears are open. Thanks.

 

[Topo]

I don't know if this will be very helpful, but I have gone through the transfer application process before, but unfortunately not the actual transfer process. I am also hoping to be a screenwriter someday

I'm actually at Colorado State, right down the road, studying communication. I applied to Chapman as a transfer student for their screenwriting program and was accepted, but financial aid did not offer me enough money so I couldn't attend. But I you can really work with their admissions people, which I like. I'm going to apply again for my Junior year

I also applied to Texas, which is a totally different story. They don't even give an admissions email address on the site and since so many people apply they don't really deal with individuals very much. I applied but my transcripts showed up a couple days after the deadline so they cancelled my application. I'm going to try again for Junior year though.

I thought about applying to UCLA. The only reason I didn't is because I don't think my math class I took will transfer...not sure though. I did get in touch with some people from admissions and the film department through email and they gave me some advice, which I thought was cool.

But I'm in the same boat as you. I want to find a school that can train and teach me well, and also has a solid reputation and can help me get plugged into the industry after I graduate.

 

[Agent Turtle]

Hey Topo,

Good to hear from someone who is and has gone through the same situation as myself. I think I'll apply to USC, Chapman, LMU, and UCLA after my sophomore year because I'm doing much better in my college classes than I did my senior year (which I don't want to be a factor for my admission). I wish I could have some idea of how good my gpa is right now, but the semester isn't over yet. If you don't mind me asking Topo, what was your gpa when you were accepted to Chapman?

 

[Topo]

Well my gpa after high school was a 3.33, and I got into Chapman with that. Then I applied a second time as a transfer with a 3.268 and got in again. It's not the best, but I have an impressive Creative Resume, and I feel that my writing prompts for the screenwriting major were pretty strong both years, so I think that plays a pretty big role.

I am not applying to USC because their screenwriting program requires 4 years to complete, and I don't want to spend 6 years on my undergrad. Make sure you check out UCLA's general ed requirements, because you need to meet them all before you can transfer into the film program. That's where I'm kind of screwed right now, I didn't discover that until this year, so it's out of the question. And anyway, even though it might be helpful, I am not looking for an education in every aspect of film, I am pretty set on focusing in on screenwriting.

I'm considering applying to LMU too, not sure though.

 

[Agent Turtle]

Hey, Topo, any update on your situation?

 

[Topo]

Not yet, these transfer schools are taking forever to get back to me.

But I applied to University of Texas at Austin, Chapman, Emerson, Boston University, Cal State Long Beach, and University of North Carolina.

 

[Topo]

Ha, quick update actually, I just got my acceptance letter to Emerson College for Writing for Film/Television

 

[Agent Turtle]

Congrats! Good luck with the rest of your schools.

 

[L@la]

I just have one bit of advice for folks considering a transfer.
Decide first which program/programs you want to transfer into, then learn what the general education requirements are for that program.
If you are in your first two years of school and you are considering a transfer, I suggest you concentrate on taking only general education classes.
Each school has a very different approach to how they teach classes in a particular major, which means general education credits are usually the ones that are most likely to transfer. Classes in your major are the first ones they usually throw out or list as electives that you don't really need.
If you can, find out before you commit to going how many of your credits will transfer. You don't want to find out that you just added a year to your education after the fact (and that you owe a year's worth of student loans for classes that won't count toward your degree).
Good luck everyone.

 

[Topo]

STILL waiting to hear back from Chapman! Jeez they are taking forever. I heard that because the public schools in CA are in such bad shape a lot of people are applying to the privates, so Chapman had like, 30% more applicants than usual.

Emerson is looking really nice though, I am hoping I can get enough money from them to make something work, because I would love to go there, it really seems like the school for me.

 

[Topo]

Just a final update on this, I will be attending Chapman University as a Screenwriting major in the fall!

 

[Agent Turtle]

Congrats Topo! Best of luck at Chapman.