Studying Cinema at UCLA

  Hey folks!

As you all know, we’re about to go to senior year, and, at this point, most of us are organizing ourselves to prepare for university. Even though the majority of students are focused on entering a university in Brazil, we are here today to make great suggestions for those who are interested in studying Cinema and would like to have the opportunity to study abroad.

If you’re into visual arts and are looking for the most complete course, with the best elements and opportunities, the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) is the perfect destination for you. Located in Westwood - Los Angeles, UCLA is among the best universities in the world. It has the biggest campus of the University of California, and its library is the eighth biggest library in the United States. Furthermore, its campus is only 20 minutes away from Hollywood. Founded in 1919, more than 43.000 people have studied there. At the present moment, UCLA has about 15.000 students, being 7.000 of them foreigners. 

Talking about foreigners, UCLA is also very popular among people who would like to study abroad because of its favorable admission process. First of all, the acceptance rate is approximately 12.3%, yes, I know it seems scary and almost a hurdle, but don’t let it shy you away, as we are here to help you to go through this phase. 

The majority of the candidates are actually really qualified, so you need to work really hard on your SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) or ACT (American College Testing), and essay, which are the basic requirements to be admitted. If you go with the SAT, your score should be above 1315, with a 75% higher chance if it passes 1475. About ACT, the average score of students that are admitted is 45, but if you get 55, your chances are 25% higher. 

Finally, when working in your essay, you need to bear in mind that this is the chance to get the people from UCLA to know something about you that SAT or ACT won’t reveal. So, your essay should be about something personal.  Have you ever overcome a challenge, faced adversity or gone through any other important event that sets you apart from your peers? 

Here, we brought some essential tips for when writing your essay for UCLA;

• Write about something important to you.

• Know that explaining an event doesn't show  how that event changed you. - UCLA  wants to hear about a special lesson you learned in life, an event that changed the course of your life or that affected your decision making, and why it matters.

• Start writing early in the application process and write lots of drafts!  It is impossible to describe how important this is - any typographical or grammatical error will result in a penalty for admissions readers. 

• Your English must be perfect. Do not submit your essay unless you are sure your English is 100% correct.

• Your essay must be read by a native English speaker before submission. - this will give you a hint about what improvements should be made.

Besides these exams, you also need other documents to apply for UCLA. Your GPA (Grade Point Average), School Record and School Classification are required during the process of application. Furthermore, as you don’t have English as your first language, you will need to turn in the score of either your TOEFL or IELTS, together with an interview on InitialView or a similar provider (this last one is not mandatory, but highly recommended). Once you get accepted into the university, you will need to provide a student VISA.

After being admitted, there are some annual expenses you will have to incur. If you decide to live inside the campus, the annual budget is $66,051, divided into Tuition and Fees, Room and Meals, Books and Supplies, Transportation, Personal Expenses, Health Insurance and Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. In case you’re going to live outside the university, your annual budget will be around $65,926. I know this may seem like a lot, but UCLA offers scholarships. Their program, Jorge Paulo Lemann Scholarship and Fellowship Fund, offers scholarships up to $4,000 for foreigners , depending on how long the student will be there and their financial needs. The best way to get a scholarship is by applying to the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or CADAA (California Dream Act Application) with all the minimum eligibility, financial, and GPA requirements for any of the programs.

Also, if you’re interested in working during your course, UCLA gives opportunities for foreigners students to work inside their campus, either at the Hammer Museum or at the Catering service. Moreover, it’s important to point out that, with your student visa (F1) you’re strictly prohibited to get a job outside your university campus.

Okay, now, having said everything about the technical part, you may ask us, “Oh, but what is the biggest difference in studying Cinema at UCLA over any other university?” Well, besides all the advantages we’ve already shown you, here we will see the most remarkable characteristics of UCLA’s Cinema course.

The Cinema course at UCLA is intended for students to seek new ways of telling stories, being more creative and using more current technologies.  It has courses from undergraduate to postgraduate (masters or doctorate) in animation, screenplay, film and media studies, production and direction, in addition to professional courses in screenplay and production.

 

But the most important thing at the moment is to know about the graduation, right?  And in it you will have, during the four-year course, some mandatory and other optional subjects, among them there are History of the American Motion Picture, History of African, Asian, and Latin American Film, Film Authors, Film Genres, Experimental Film, Directing the Camera. It´s important to remind you that UCLA's School of Arts is considered one of the bests of the world, and it has been involved with leading Hollywood directors and actors, including Oscar and Emmy winners.

There is also a two-year course in it, for those who have already completed two years of higher education in generalist education, but as this is not very common in Brazil, let's leave it for another time.

Once you graduate, the job market will be ready for you. As a growing area, some work possibilities are: TV Broadcasters, Film and Audiovisual Industry, Advertising Agencies, Cinematheques and Image Collections, Audiovisual Content Producers and so on.  In addition, there are many notices from agencies and city halls, together with federal incentive programs.

 

Most jobs have large jobs places, but there are also smaller ones, and salaries can vary with company size.  But in general, a high average is around R$ 6,700, working as a production coordinator and R$ 3,900 as a text editor. And the lowest salaries are on average 1,000 and 1,100 reais with image editor and audiovisual operator, respectively.

If your objective is to come back to Brazil to work, it is possible to validate your diploma. Currently, to be valid in Brazil, the graduation diploma must be revalidated by a public Brazilian university that has a recognized course in the same level and area or equivalent.  According to the regulation, only public universities can revalidate diplomas.

Firstly,  the diploma must be authenticated by the American authorities.  So, some documents must be presented for validation to take place, however, the documentation will vary according to the type of processing to be carried out by the higher education institution, so it is not possible to provide a concrete list.

You will also be required to pay a fee for the cost of administrative expenses. The fee is not fixed by the National Council of Education or the Ministry of Education, and may vary from institution to institution.

Finally, the deadline for the university to manifest itself on the application for the revalidation of undergraduate diplomas through regular processing varies from 60 to 180 days from the date of delivery of the necessary documentation.

As we have said, we really hope that you’ve learned about studying abroad, especially at this amazing university that UCLA is. We know it is a complex process, but don’t let this opportunity slip away easily! It is the opportunity of a lifetime for you to have the best formation and experience you ever could, together with the development of the study of a foreign language! It sounds wonderful, right? So please, bear in mind this possibility and, if you have any doubts about anything related to studying cinema at UCLA, do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help and incentivize you! 

                                                          Sincerely signed, 

                                                      Beatriz and Karima. - 2A