Proving my success

[RED ROBOT]

Alright the title may seem a little more epic than I intended ,but there's nothing epic to talk about .


Basically very soon I have to go to university . My question is not whether I want to go to film school or not , it's whether I can move to USA or not .

I know most of you are from USA and you don't care that much , but it is a dream of mine to move there from the very beginning I started filmmaking , since I don't think I can achieve my goals here , in the small country.

I was talking to a girl who is currently studying in USA and I really didn't knew I had any chances for scolorship since my grades are not the best because of the filming , but then she said to me that it is all about your experience and the things you do OUTSIDE your school .

I've been into acting from very early age ( about 5 ) to about 10 years old . I've been in a lot of plays in front of hundreds of people .

From the age of 10 to 15 I've been into sports , I played football , I used to travel 7 hours a day just to train some football and then I would come back to my city .

I had a business company with national and international awards and some of the films I've worked on as a photographer , PA , Grip , 1 AC etc have a lot of national and international awards as well..

I was telling about these awards and these huge experiences I had in my life to my friend and she said that I can totally be accepted to study in USA just because of that .

Now personally I said that this is the biggest bullshit I've ever heard but I was actually wondering if you guys could tell me if this is actually possible and it's incredibly expensive to live in a big city where i'll be close to the filmmaking industry like LA for example .

Can I find a job and then live off of that until I make connections and get more experience ?

What do you guys think about moving to USA and what will you advice me .

In my life I've been into a lot of projects in which the financing was low , I've been in couple of countries where I would sleep on the floor . I've been in productions up in the mountains where it was freezing cold and we could barely stand it.

I can live under a bridge frankly just to give it a shot . If not , I'll just come back to Bulgaria and find a job in the TV here and then keep on doing what I do .

The reason why I'm posting it here in this forum is because I don't know any Bulgarians in LA or USA overall .

I have no idea what to do , I'm just a guy standing in my studio with a lap top and a sparkle of hope and just wondering what to do with my life since I must chose in which university to go very very soon.

So can I get scholarship because of my awards and filming and sports and everything and then find a job in USA and try to get on set experience and doing shorts or this is a fantasy world I'm living in.

And basically my question is how I can actually prove that I've been on stage and working on many films as a photographer and winning so many awards when I don't have it on paper ? How they know that I actually won those awards and I'm not just talking ? Because for my school football competition for instance we won 1st place and I won an award for the best player , but I have no clue where the award actually is . My old school got it and I never saw it again.

Thanks in advance .

 

[wheatgrinder]

Believe me, a lot of folks complain, but most are very glad to be here in the USA so I for one DO care and welcome you to USA with open arms!

yes, I believe you can find a scholarship somewhere that will help. Some schools will over a tuition waiver or similar. Finding one with a film program might be tough.

Your work in the community and your work in the field of interest is VERY important. Start compiling the records now. If there is a community official that you can get to write you a letter of recommendation that is very good. Check your school, even if you didn't get great grades, chances are good that there was a teacher or principle that noticed how hard you worked on your film studies etc.


One of the things that might be over looked are aspects of your specific situation that can lead to scholarships.

Do you belong to a specific regional identity group? Many such have US based support groups that you can contact about housing help, transportation, etc..

You may find an organization in the US that supports burgeoning filmmakers FROM Bulgaria for example.

Were you or your immediate family (parents, grand parents) persecuted in some regional conflict? There might be scholarships set up for survivors of XYZ war.

Is your family religious? Check that angle!.

Navigating the complexities of each schools financial aide department (which is where you go looking for tuition waivers\scholarships) is daunting. Few have the same processes and forms etc..

google will help you find private scholarships and grants.

good luck!

 

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

Ditto on everything Wheat said.

Well, anyway, I hope you end up in the place you'd like to be. Good luck!

 

[Cracker Funk]

Seems like you have a two-part question:

1. Can you make it in America, without knowing anybody?
2. How do you prove that you really accomplished what you have done, in order to gain scholarships?

1. Yes, you can totally make it in America, though it's not always easy. But yeah, we're a nation of immigrants, and most are not rich when they come here. The tough part is going to be getting in to the country. Might you get a student visa?

2. Yes, there are scholarships, and yes, you might be able to get some. It definitely doesn't hurt to look into the matter. However, you don't NEED a scholarship to get a higher education. Most American college students pay for their degree with loans guaranteed to us by the federal government. You of course wouldn't have that option, but there are other avenues.

First, you might want to consider finding a way to stay here a year, before attending college. The difference in price between in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition is incredible. As a general rule, once you've lived in a state for a year, you qualify for in-state tuition, regardless of any other factors.

California has, arguably, the world's best public university system, and if you live in-state, it's not too expensive. For an immigrant, I would recommend going the JC (Junior College) route. So, just to give you a brief run-down of our college system:

In America, we have junior college and university. A junior college is typically a public institution, where you will get a two-year degree (Associate's degree). This two-year degree is often vocational, but is just as often designed for the sole purpose of moving you on to a 4-year university.

The university is a place where you will typically get a four-year degree (Bachelor's degree), but if you already have a two-year degree from a junior college, then you only spend an additional two years at the university.

Now, if you're transferring, let's say, from a junior college in California, to a university in New York, you might have trouble with transferring credits. This potential problem stems from the fact that every university has their own definition of classes required to graduate with a degree, so the classes you took in California might not meet the requirements for the university in New York.

One way to avoid this problem is to stay in-state. The UC (University of California) system has been designed to work with the public junior colleges within the same state (er, the other way around, actually). There are numerous two-year degrees, offered at pretty much every California JC, that are designed specifically to get you into a four-year state university. Not only are you guaranteed that your credits will properly transfer, you're guaranteed admission! This is true even for UC Berkley, one of the best colleges in the world!

The advantage to this route is simple -- $. In general, junior colleges are WAY less expensive than universities, and I happen to know that if you qualify for in-state tuition, the junior colleges in California are ridiculously affordable. They're so affordable you don't need scholarships or loans. Now, how would you pay for the university, should you eventually plan to go that route? I dunno, but you could figure that out while attending the JC.

But then there's the question of whether or not you even want or need a four-year degree. Okay, so you've made up your mind that you want to go to film school. That's excellent, and I support that! But are you sure that you want or need a four-year degree? Don't forget that while many two-year degrees are designed to get you into a university, many are designed to get you into the work-force. There are PLENTY of two-year associate's degrees in FILM, and you could get one without spending a million dollars.

Check out Santa Monica College. I found them with about two minutes of googling. They have a two-year film program that is designed to transfer you to a four-year degree, but I'm sure it's quite beneficial on it's own, should you choose to just get the two-year degree. If you live there for a year, so that you can get in-state (resident) tuition, you'll pay only $700 tuition per semester! What?! That's so cheap! There will be a few hundred dollars of random fees on top of that, but still!

Plus, you'd be in Santa Monica, which is one of the most beautiful places on Earth (and very near LA, which you've expressed interest in). Living there won't be cheap. You'll have to share a house with a bunch of other people. You'll have very little spending money. You might have to rely on public transportation, which particularly sucks in the Los Angeles area (not because the transit system sucks, but because everything is so spread out). Many people swear that you cannot live in LA without a car (though a lot of people DO live in LA without a car). Anyway, it'd be a struggle, but I think you might really enjoy it.

*I'm pumping up Santa Monica, but there are A TON of junior colleges in California, and I would venture to say that the majority of them have film degrees. Point being, you should do some research.

Oh, and on your 2nd question, when it comes to applying for scholarships, I don't think the people who give scholarships would ask for any kind of verification, beyond what they can google. I received a couple scholarships, coming out of high school, and I didn't have to do anything special to prove the achievements I listed.

 

[jax_rox]

There are certainly many scholarships that you may be able to apply for.

The issue you'll run into is staying there after your course is finished. I saw many international students 'booted out' of our country one year after I finished film school.
Same goes for the US, except it's even harder to stay there after you're finished than it is here, especially in film where you're (in the case on on set professionals like ACs, Cinematographers, Gaffers, PSMs etc. etc.) generally a freelancer rather than an employee, so you don't have the chance to be sponsored by an employee.

 

[photon]

The issue you'll run into is staying there

Yeah, this would be the biggest problem. #myvisaranout. Getting immigration visas in the US is next to impossible. The system is broken beyond belief. Any change the visa portion of the immigration reform will get passed soon?

Based on my own research, a lot of the financial aid type scholarships are reserved for American citizens. Getting one that covers a significant amount of the tuition as a European would probably be unlikely.

I would start looking at cheaper schools and getting a loan. Paying of 10-40K in student loans would be like doing car payments, except at a lower interest rate and the degree is not going to depreciate like a car.

 

[IndiePaul]

I was telling about these awards and these huge experiences I had in my life to my friend and she said that I can totally be accepted to study in USA just because of that .

Now personally I said that this is the biggest bullshit I've ever heard...

I agree with you. Your friend is not correct. What is she basing that on? She obviously has no experience applying for international scholarships for US colleges.

My understanding is that the majority of international scholarships to US colleges require both an excellent/outstanding academic resume and very impressive extracurricular activities (excelling in a sport, helping in community, charity work etc). You need both sides, not just one. Your film portfolio would likely be considered favorably for the extracurricular aspect but some applicants will have eg Captain of xyc team, President of abc and volunteer at local charities AND nearly all will also have an outstanding academic record. Some scholarships will be for US citizens only, you'll have to apply for the ones that accept international applicants.

There are a few dedicated artist-type scholarships. I read about them a while back. Again, they take the elite. Would they look down on film making as an art form? Maybe. Regardless, as usual they'll be highly competitive.

As others have noted, staying in the USA post-graduation is getting tougher and tougher.

Bulgaria is part of the EU, so London (UK) would be a non-visa-required option for you. The downsides is that it's got no where like the amount of film work the UK has, and it's incredibly expensive. There's considerable work in TV, thanks to the BBC etc. But sponsorship to go to college there? Very very few and as usual highly competitive. Could you get a film job and study part time?

You could stay at home and work your way up the ladder there. Do some part time film work etc whilst at Uni. Maybe get a few assignments overseas which may lead to something more.

Anyway, consider all the options. And before you make any call, make sure you do a lot of research. Moving or studying overseas can be hugely expensive. Get advice from people who have done it - ideally from your home country.