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What colleges would you recommend for potential film major and dance? Preferably located in California?
Currently learning ballet and wants to study film, a 11th grader in San Francisco.
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Dr’s Answer
Hey Alyssa, great question! I really love Michelle's advice here, she totally nailed it indeed! So, she emphasizes the importance of researching programs that truly fit your creative goals and suggests looking at schools like California State University, Sacramento for a Film, Video, and Photographic Arts major (with a potential minor in Dance), or staying in San Francisco with San Francisco State University for a similar track, and the key point is to focus on one major, since both film and dance are demanding fields, and it’s tough to double up on two intensive programs. She gave you a great run down and all, that's amazing. 🙌
Now am just gonna tos in a few extra tips to consider:
• Visit Campuses: If you can, take some time to visit these schools. Chat with current students and faculty to get a real feel for the program and campus vibe.
• Explore Interdisciplinary Opportunities: Look into workshops, summer programs, or elective courses that might blend film and dance. Sometimes, hybrid experiences can open unexpected creative doors.
• Plan for Financial Aid: Start researching scholarships and grants specifically for the arts. This can ease the financial side of things and help you focus on your passion.
• Network Early: Even before college, consider getting involved in local film festivals or dance performances in San Francisco. This hands-on experience can boost your portfolio and expand your network.
• Keep Your Passion Alive: Remember, you can always pursue dance outside of your major—through community classes or local studios—so you don’t have to choose one passion over the other entirely.
Ultimately, choose the program that aligns most closely with your long-term vision, and don’t be afraid to reach out to the schools for more information. Enjoy the process, and keep that creative spark shining bright!
Happy exploring, and keep reaching out if you need to. You got this girl, we are here for you! 💪😎
Now am just gonna tos in a few extra tips to consider:
• Visit Campuses: If you can, take some time to visit these schools. Chat with current students and faculty to get a real feel for the program and campus vibe.
• Explore Interdisciplinary Opportunities: Look into workshops, summer programs, or elective courses that might blend film and dance. Sometimes, hybrid experiences can open unexpected creative doors.
• Plan for Financial Aid: Start researching scholarships and grants specifically for the arts. This can ease the financial side of things and help you focus on your passion.
• Network Early: Even before college, consider getting involved in local film festivals or dance performances in San Francisco. This hands-on experience can boost your portfolio and expand your network.
• Keep Your Passion Alive: Remember, you can always pursue dance outside of your major—through community classes or local studios—so you don’t have to choose one passion over the other entirely.
Ultimately, choose the program that aligns most closely with your long-term vision, and don’t be afraid to reach out to the schools for more information. Enjoy the process, and keep that creative spark shining bright!
Happy exploring, and keep reaching out if you need to. You got this girl, we are here for you! 💪😎
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Alyssa !
My advice is to research colleges for the actual program you want. It's good to know about some colleges, but you're the one who should determine if they're good and meet your needs.
Since you are in San Francisco, I would recommend California State University, Sacramento for your degree in Film, Video and Photographic Arts. This college has a 93% acceptance rate, so you can start right away. You can live in the dorms and go home on weekends and breaks. Their Dance is great, connected to the Theatre Dept. and would be good as a Minor. Film will keep you very busy.
If you want to stay in town, you can go to San Francisco State University for a degree in Film, Video and Photographic Arts. Their acceptance rate is 91% which is good. These two colleges are reasonably priced and there's always Federal Financial Aid, Work Study, Scholarships and Grants to help you out with the costs.
My advice is to start thinking about one major now. Film or Dance are two heavy demanding majors that require lots of energy and time, on and off campus. You will also have to take the required General Education requirements, the required Major Courses and some electives in your major. My suggestion is that these two majors are not suited for a double major. I don't even recommend a minor in either. For Film you'll need a complete focus to get the beneficial gist of it and the same goes for Dance. You need to be fully informed before making a decision.
The best thing to do would be to go for orientations at the schools you are considering and see which college meets your needs. The focus on a competitive and creative major is actually learning and the degree can be great, but these fields will not be asking you or judging you on if you have a degree - they want to know that you can do the work. So the important thing for these kind of majors is the focus, being in the moment and doing lots of projects to get experience. It's okay to have a specialized focus for your degree in one subject.
You can always take dance lessons in the community and San Francisco and Sacramento both have dance classes offered. Since you can do Dance outside of college, I would suggest going for the Film Major. Since that is what I would do, it's the advice I can offer. Sometimes we don't really have to get a degree in everything we're interested in.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best.
My advice is to research colleges for the actual program you want. It's good to know about some colleges, but you're the one who should determine if they're good and meet your needs.
Since you are in San Francisco, I would recommend California State University, Sacramento for your degree in Film, Video and Photographic Arts. This college has a 93% acceptance rate, so you can start right away. You can live in the dorms and go home on weekends and breaks. Their Dance is great, connected to the Theatre Dept. and would be good as a Minor. Film will keep you very busy.
If you want to stay in town, you can go to San Francisco State University for a degree in Film, Video and Photographic Arts. Their acceptance rate is 91% which is good. These two colleges are reasonably priced and there's always Federal Financial Aid, Work Study, Scholarships and Grants to help you out with the costs.
My advice is to start thinking about one major now. Film or Dance are two heavy demanding majors that require lots of energy and time, on and off campus. You will also have to take the required General Education requirements, the required Major Courses and some electives in your major. My suggestion is that these two majors are not suited for a double major. I don't even recommend a minor in either. For Film you'll need a complete focus to get the beneficial gist of it and the same goes for Dance. You need to be fully informed before making a decision.
The best thing to do would be to go for orientations at the schools you are considering and see which college meets your needs. The focus on a competitive and creative major is actually learning and the degree can be great, but these fields will not be asking you or judging you on if you have a degree - they want to know that you can do the work. So the important thing for these kind of majors is the focus, being in the moment and doing lots of projects to get experience. It's okay to have a specialized focus for your degree in one subject.
You can always take dance lessons in the community and San Francisco and Sacramento both have dance classes offered. Since you can do Dance outside of college, I would suggest going for the Film Major. Since that is what I would do, it's the advice I can offer. Sometimes we don't really have to get a degree in everything we're interested in.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best.
I appreciate your support, Michelle
alyssa
You are very welcome, Alyssa !
Michelle M.
Updated
Kristina’s Answer
That’s a great combination of interests, and California has some fantastic schools for both film and dance! Since you're in San Francisco, you might want to look into CalArts, which has strong programs in both areas, or UCLA and USC, which are highly ranked for film and have excellent dance programs. UC Irvine and CSULB also offer great opportunities in both fields. Each school has a unique approach—some focus more on classical training, while others incorporate contemporary and experimental styles—so I’d recommend checking out their programs, visiting campuses if possible, and seeing which aligns best with your goals. Let me know if you need help narrowing it down!
You rock! This advice is very helpful.
alyssa