I attended the undergraduate film program at The University Of Southern California and then proceeded with my film education at New York University where I graduated with a BFA. During my time at USC I attended numerous classes and worked on several productions of friends that were in the program. In this short essay I’ll try and give an overview of what I view as the strengths and weaknesses of the program as I see them.

Strengths:

The Location

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located on the main campus of the University of Southern California which is located just south of downtown Los Angeles in an area bordering what is considered southwest LA. For those unfamiliar with Los Angeles and USC, the school consists of a well maintained and manicured campus that is enclosed as an ‘oasis’ from the surrounding areas of east LA which are not nearly as nice.

Traditionally, the west side of Los Angeles is what people think of when they think of the beaches and nicer suburban areas as well as Hollywood and Beverly Hills which are just east of the ocean communities but west of USC. While those living on campus enjoy a nice environment, it is generally accepted that venturing too far away from the main campus is not the best experience with many if not most students choosing to leave during the weekends as the school does have a strong commuter element to it.

The Curriculum

The USC Undergraduate Cinema Program is structured in three tiers, the 200, 300, and 400 level with each tier of courses increasing in complexity and generally relying on the successful completion of those levels below. While you have a choice between several options depending on your area of interest there are some required classes including the ‘core’ classes of Cinema 310, generally taken in junior year and Cinema 480, generally taken senior year.

Cinema 310 and 480 are the core production classes of the program where students are put into either teams or crews and produce their larger productions. While Cinema 310 consisted of non-synced sound and 480 was a larger more sync-sound production, things have evolved over the years. Both courses have a ‘screening’ in a sort of festival at the end of the semester where students show their films to each other and family and friends are invited to view them. The very best of these can often be used as portfolio pieces to gain representation although usually they are not of the quality or length of the graduate level films.

The facilities of the school of Cinema/Television at USC are outstanding. George Lucas, one of the school’s notable alumni, has made numerous substantial donations to the school and recently donated $175 million to build a large expansion of the school. In addition, Steven Spielberg and others have donated money for facilities. The current school is built like a small studio with notable buildings including The George Lucas Instructional Building, The Steven Spielberg Music Scoring Stage and The Marcia Lucas Post-Production Building.

The Professors

USC has a very good and dedicated staff of professors consisting of both full-time as well as adjunct faculty. Most professors have an extensive history of working in the feature film and television industries with several having been nominated for Oscars and Emmys. In the past, the school has had numerous famous faculty including Irving Thalberg, Alfred Hitchcock, D.W. Griffith and Darryll Zanuck. After Graduation USC has a very powerful and large alumni network with numerous alum working in virtually every area of Film and Television Production.

Only NYU is comparable in numbers and quality of alumni in the industry. Smart students utilize this resource to gain informational interviews and internships to ease the transition into the work world after graduation. Internships are available through the school at virtually ever studio and numerous post production companies as well as agencies and other areas. Internships are a great way not only to make connections but to ‘explore’ different areas of the industry before deciding on a career path.

Weaknesses:

While USC does have one of the leading film programs and is widely regarded in the top two with NYU there are weaknesses that I have heard mirrored by fellow alumni. First, the location of the USC campus is not ideal. It is a good drive away from the west side of LA and at least 30 minutes from the studios up in the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood. The area at night does not have a lot to offer students and in my opinion a car is essential so that you can drive to Hollywood and the west side where all the action is. Venturing too far outside the campus gates at night can in fact be dangerous for those not used to city life as east LA does have some crime problems.

Second, there seems to be a tendency at USC to emphasize the technical aspects of film making over story. This is something that I have heard echoed from various classmates. While technical understanding and ability are certainly important, most students in the film school did not sign on to what in effect becomes sort of a ‘trade school’. This emphasis on the technical seems to be due to the enormous amount of money George Lucas has given the studio which has paid for some beautiful technical facilities and of course he as a filmmaker has been responsible for lots of innovation in special effects and technical advances in film.

I believe however that more emphasis should be placed on story telling and craft as these days with HD video becoming the primary technology, there is a much more equal playing field with other schools. With anyone now able to afford an HD camera it is more important to teach those creative skills and aesthetics that can only be gained by top notch filmmakers and writers with experience and that USC’s Alumni could provide.

Conclusion

Overall, I would certainly rate the USC Film School experience as a good one. You develop a close knit group of friends by working on so many short films together and the inherent competitiveness gives the feel of what being out in the real world will be like. The technical facilities and professors are top notch and living in LA, the heart of the Hollywood Film world is a valuable and unique experience. For more great information about film school please visit www.USCfilmschool.com.

For more great articles and insight visit http://www.BrutalFilm.com

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Do you want to go to a good college, or send your child to a good college? Everyone hopes for this. That’s not the problem. The problem comes in knowing what a good college actually looks like, and knowing what makes one college “good” and another one not so good. There are some things to look for in determining a good college, so consider these things before you send off those applications.

Colleges offer worlds of experience and opportunities, and what might be defined as good for one student will not be good for another. The first step is to determine what you need in a college. Put aside the mascot, the really cool traditions, or your great-grandfather’s long-standing tradition that all family members attend a certain college. These factors may not fit your needs. Ask yourself what you really need, and prioritize that list. You might need it to be in a large city with public transportation, or you might need it to offer a particular degree, or perhaps you need it to fit a certain budget, have on-campus housing, work-study programs, etc. What you need may or may not be what you think it is if you allow yourself to be distracted by mascots, traditions, and school colors. Needs come first!

Needs and wants are not the same thing, though. You need food to live, but you don’t need dessert. Dessert is nice, when you can have it. After your needs are prioritized, make a separate wish list. What “desserts” would be nice? Do you want a college that has an intramural basketball or softball league? Do you want to have a variety of social clubs to consider? These are wants, not needs, and creating your list of desired options is the second part of finding a good college. These will be looked at as options, never as deciding factors. For instance, if your needs can be met by several different colleges, then you can eliminate those who don’t also have your wants covered. Never, never, never choose a college because it has all of the items on your wish list if it doesn’t also meet your needs list.

The next step is to take advantage of college search services. Prepare your lists first, and then seek out websites such as College Board or Peterson’s College Search. Fill out the search options, based on your needs, and see what comes up. You might be surprised to find some colleges that you didn’t even consider. Request catalogs from each of these colleges, and compare as best you can, their attention to detail in the literature that they send, the way in which they address you, etc. If they just send you the catalog, that’s fine, but if they go the extra mile and call you, then you know they care about the people who are coming to their school, not just the dollars. First impressions count in this step.

Next, ask for alumni contact information from the schools that meet all of your needs, and some or all of your wants. Send letters to those alumni and ask them to comment on their experiences and recommendations. You may have to go through an alumni association, which will put you in touch with the most enthusiastic of the school’s supporters, but that’s okay. If you are working with the alumni groups in each case, you will be able to compare one group to another in terms of what they have gotten from that college out of their post-college experiences with them.

Finally, know that the biggest factor in finding a good college is in making the most out of the time that you are in college, no matter where it is. Any college can be good for you if you are seeking to learn all that you can learn, taking advantage of the expertise offered to you by your professors, and applying yourself diligently to your studies and connections in related fields. In some respects, this is the ultimate test of a good college!

If you would like to get information on educational coaching, homeschooling, or curricula for middle school and high school, please visit the National Homeschool Academy website, http://www.nationalhomeschoolacademy.com.

Also, visit “The VEEP Channel” on Facebook, or at http://theveepchannel.com, to get weekly fun, free, and entertaining videos on “Very Excellent Educational Pointers” for students in middle school and high school.

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This Article discusses alumni surveys. Topics covered include alumni survey objectives, survey methodology, response rates, and survey process.

Alumni Surveys and Survey Objectives:

Alumni surveys generally focus on one of the following subjects:

1. Measuring alumni satisfaction with different facets of the educational experience.
2. Measuring the interest of alumni in making contributions to the educational institution and/or participation in alumni events.
3. A combination of 1 and 2.

Measuring alumni satisfaction can focus on such aspects as academic experiences (quality of teachers and departments), student experiences (campus environment, extracurricular activities, counseling services, technology resources, etc.), and placement (job placement in the case of colleges or universities; college placement in the case of high schools).

Measuring alumni interest in participation and contributions can focus on the performance of the alumni relations office, performance of the alumni association, gauging interest in different types of interactions (newsletters, social events, business promotions, etc.), willingness to help, etc. These types of surveys often include a number of demographic questions so that the educational institution can learn more about the current status and best contact information of its alumni.

Alumni Surveys and Survey Methodology:

Most alumni surveys are mail surveys only or mail and online surveys combined. Very few educational institutions have more than a small percentage of alumni email addresses, and those that do are usually heavily skewed toward more recent graduates. Mail surveys with an online option are often an excellent choice for reaching all different years of alumni using the best medium possible. Or, if a significant list of quality email addresses are available, email invites to an online survey can precede a mailing. An experienced survey vendor can provide advice on which approach to use and how many alumni should be sampled.

Alumni Surveys and Response Rates:

Almost every educational institution wants to know what their response rate will be. Unfortunately, alumni surveys represent one of the most difficult areas in which to predict likely outcomes. Response rates are determined by personal feelings of attachment rather than a business or employee relationship. This can depend on the type of institution (four year college versus community college; small private college versus large public university), campus environment, attitude of school administration toward its students, and ongoing efforts of the alumni association to reach out to alumni. But it can also depend on less obvious factors. For example, a college, which decides to abolish its fraternity/sorority system, may find that many of its alumni no longer feel attached to the school and will sparingly participate in surveys.

Alumni Surveys and Survey Process:

The success of an alumni survey can depend on many different details that collectively impact response rates. These include survey layout, survey packaging, type of postage, personalizing of letters, and time in the field. A vendor experienced in alumni survey administration can provide step-by-step advice on the different alternatives and how best to reach alumni.

In summary, alumni surveys have wide variations in response rates that are sometimes difficult to predict. Identifying the survey objectives, selecting the best survey methodology, and drafting the most useful survey questions will not guarantee success. Each and every step of the survey process needs to be considered and executed in the best possible way for optimal results.

Marc I. Tillman is a member of the professional services staff at Amplitude Research, Inc., a full-service mail and online survey company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. Please visit Amplitude’s alumni surveys page to learn more about its service offerings.

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There’s a time and a place for everything, it’s called college. And the memories you take away from college should last a lifetime. With a growing number of college graduates in the population, Alumni connections are now more important than ever. Yet after graduation, most people get a new job, move away, get new friends, and lose touch with their University. Since college is the time where a majority of people discover who they are and what they want to be, it is vital to remember the University from which you came. Here are a few examples of why it is so important to maintain that bond and live on as a legacy.

First I will quickly cover how Alumni Associations are typically designed. There will be a main Alumni office on campus. There is a board of directors who manages things like newsletters, sponsors, local activities, and scholarships. They will also have a hand in maintaining a number of Alumni chapters across the nation. The Alumni Chapters are a smaller version of the Alumni’s main office, just with much less overhead to operate under. Every Alumni chapter will have a Board of Directors who will focus on local fundraising events. These events can be anything from football watch parties and happy hour meets to a day on the golf course or a day at the beach. Chapters will even get together sometimes for a little friendly competition. The fundraising is for several things, mainly to put up as scholarship money, but also to help reduce the cost of certain events.

So why should you contact your local alumni chapter? For every good reason in the last paragraph! The events I gave as example above are actual events from my Alumni Chapter in San Diego. On the calendar this year is the Temecula Wine Tour, a Day at the Padres, Day at the Races, a Big 12 Alumni Golf Tournament, BBQ at the Beach and more! In a nut shell, you would get to go out, meet cool people, and have a great time at any of pre-planned events you want to go to. You can network within the Alumni group and find new friends, perhaps old friends, job opportunities, and maybe even that special someone. So you get to do all this cool local stuff and by participating in the chapter, you are helping to give a current student some scholarship money that is desperately needed for books and beer… not necessarily in that order, though. Best of all, it’s free to participate in most Alumni chapters. So what do you have to lose? Do a Google search for your local Alumni chapter and drop them an email, or call the main Alumni office and ask for the local chapter’s contact information. If you feel motivated and you ask real nice, you might even get to be a member on the Board of Directors, which means you would get to help plan and organize all the events for the year! It is extra work, in fact it can be a lot of work, but it does have its rewards too.

Click on these links for more information about the University of Colorado Alumni Group, including what’s on their Calendar and Bulletin Board

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