So, now that my older two are settled, it’s time to start thinking about my youngest, class of 2017.
He is a B student who has grown up in the shadow of superstar siblings. Not an academic powerhouse, mostly because he doesn’t keep up well with homework . He took the SAT in 7th grade and got around 1750, but no standardized tests since then so I don’t know what his scores will be at application time.
Our state is New York. We have an EFC of about $400. He is great at track (may make states this year as a 10th grader, which is very hard in NYS!) and may want to run in college. But he has no idea what he’d be interested in studying, and really dislikes school right now (except for track/XC).
He is very good at editing video and audio, however. He is in charge of our media for our church and happily spends hours every week customizing backgrounds, creating audio tracks, and splicing raw footage to get a video that he’s satisfied with. He has a youtube channel where he posts music that he’s written; however, he doesn’t do music at school b/c getting up on stage is “horrifying.”
If he wants to pursue the video editing, is there advantage to a 4-yr degree? We don’t believe in student debt, so he’d probably have to go to the local CC and then transfer to the local state school unless he can get excellent scholarships. (He’ll only have about $20000 in savings to work with.) I believe in education, personally, but maybe in this case a 2-yr would be sufficient? Does anyone have thoughts, or possible suggestions of schools we might start looking at?
Ithaca College has programs in emerging media, sound, tv/radio, cinema/photography, communications, comp sci, physics. It meets ~90% need so I’m not sure if that would be enough for you. Here is the NPC: https://ithaca.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx
Ithaca is way outside our budget, sadly. But you’re right, their communications etc. majors are excellent. Though we could have him transfer there after CC and commute…that would be in our budget.
Difficult but typical sophomore boy. If he truly is only interested in video/sound editing, there is no need for 4 year degree, I don’t know NY but think there are plenty of one/two year tech programs, our state (Washington) has them. But, as our S has discovered, sound/film editing is tedious, time consuming, lots of sit on your butt in front of screen work. Often unappreciated, many do not notice it unless it is bad. In the long run, getting those skills in the context of a 4 year degree may pay off when student wants to transition to higher level position, change careers, etc. Not saying an art degree leads to more lucrative jobs than a two year tech degree, just that it provides flexibility while also hopefully providing the skills/experience to pursue editing as an entry level skill to industry jobs.
I attended a NYS cc for broadcasting then transferred to a 4-year SUNY, but my degrees are production and production/management, not art degrees. My first job was at a local network, but within 2 years I had a good job at CBS in a much larger market (working right next to people who graduated from places like NYU). All of us were making the same money, so my SUNY degree didn’t seem to hurt me any.
I’d suggest a 4-year degree because the market is competitive. Four years will give your son more experience, more time for internships, and more time to make a demo reel. See if Ithaca has an articulation agreement with your local cc. It’s easier to transfer credits between schools that have the agreements. Since your son can commute, it won’t matter as much if he has to make up a few courses, but an articulation agreement would make the transition smoother.
I’d take a look at what Ithaca’s graduation requirements are and use them to help build the schedule at the cc. Some colleges have course equivalents online, so you can see which cc courses would be accepted at the 4-year school, and which requirement they fulfill. Use the electives at the cc to fill course requirements at the 4-year school. My cc didn’t require a foreign language, but I knew the 4-year school did, so I took it as an elective. That left more space at the 4-year school for upper division courses related to my major, management courses, and fun courses.
“hating school” is a common high school disease. But not aiming high shouldn’t be acceptable. If he wants to edit he should go to a school where he can grow his technical chops and develop his intellect. Does he know who Walter Murch (everyone) , Thelma Shoomaker (Scorsese) or Paul Franklin (Christopher Nolan) is ?
Sounds effects design, music editing, special effects, digital film editing, all benefit from a structured course of study and / or working in a community of aspiring co-laboring young artists. Its easier to meet those people in college.
CUNY has film programs on the cheap and SUNY has some fine undergrad and grad programs in film. Both are affordable. NYC has a STRONG independent film community and opportunities to get your foot in door if you’re GOOD.
He needs chops in ProTools, Media Composer, Final Cut X, After Effects, etc. If he has his act together ( and a nice editing rig) when he first hits a college film program he’ll get be a FAN FAVORITE and be able to pull some favors when putting together his crew (made from other film students ) for his own projects.
Freelance editors I know make $50 - 75 per hour and may work 60 hour weeks for month and then not work for several months. Its a tough business. You will expand your possibilities if you have a strong liberal arts background and the intellect that goes with it.
Editing the stuff you want to work on at home might be fun but having to edit slop at work endlessly loses its appeal. On the other hand after becoming a great editor and working with an upcoming independent director might have you set for life (see above examples).
Some sunys have good programs, Ithaca, Rowan (by unlikely to be affordable).
Goucher has a video application
Don’t look at sticker price, run the NPC.
If your efc is very low, best choices are 100%need schools, and fullruirion/full ride scholarships. He sounds like a good test taker:
1750 in7th grade is outstanding!
If his weighted average is a 3.5 he’ll have lots of possibilities.
Attending community college is a double edged sword: you save money for 2years but you forsake the big merit scholarships that are only given to freshmen. You’ll have to apply to a wide variety of collegeso so you see which is the best fit for for the lowest cost.
I don’t think his weighted average will be that different from his UW; not too many honors courses available here. And we’ll see how the tests translate, especially since he will be the first class to take the new PSAT . I have a hope that he might get National Merit Commended, but Semifinalist is probably out of reach in New York. Even my SAT CR 800 scorer only made NMSF by a whisker!
Again, thanks for the information. Probably what we need to discuss most is what can a four year degree do for you in this field, because DS is dubious about it. “How can they teach creativity?” he says. So the points about demo reels, contacts, etc. are excellent to know.
They can teach the discipline you need to make creativity work for you and how to tap into your creativity to make it grow. Both are necessary otherwise you stall.
I was going to suggest Ithaca College, too. They give out pretty hefty merit aid, and I believe their financial aid is good as well. Even though it initially may not seem affordable, it may be worth looking further into. It sounds like it would be a great match.
. He took the SAT in 7th grade and got around 1750, but no standardized tests since then so I don’t know what his scores will be at application time.