<p>why does USC wants a GRE score as a necessary requirement for their MFA in Animation??? Getting a good score in GRE is itself a tough job alongside fulfilling all the other requirements including the portfolio… (+TOEFL for international student)
What are the chances that USC accept student with relatively low gre but good undergrad credentials and good portfolio?</p>
<p>Why? I don’t know, you should ask them. </p>
<p>If you are afraid of “tough” work, college might not be for you anyway. It’s a competitive environment. What are the chances with a low GRE? No one can say directly. Admission is largely based on a review of all qualifications. Why not just do your best to put yourself in the best possible position to be accepted? Hit the books, and don’t cry about hard work. If you want to skate through life, buy a set of inline skates.</p>
<p>well i’ was not complaining for working hard or something… its just that all the other grad schools that i applied to dont have GRE restriction for MFA-Animation Application (since its an art major) and i’m afraid if i’m gonna take GRE straight away just to let my application being reviewed, i wont get a good score. (Although i’m a computer science bachelors but still GRE is a different cup of tea) </p>
<p>Though i agree with you that normally everyitem in your application counts but All i want to know is from a general perpective, does a bad GRE make my case weaker …since its not engineering that i’m talking about! </p>
<p>Btw… I also applied at SCAD and was accepted in their computer animation program (with combined honours fellowship).</p>
<p>The only people who know the answer to your question are the admissions staff at USC. I say, do your best and see what happens. Don’t not apply simply because you might get a bad score. See how it plays itself out.</p>
<p>Free money is good!</p>
<p>3DACrazy, I might be able to shed some light on your question by using, as an example, the policy of another school. University of Cincinnati undergradate admssion to their School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning does NOT require a portfolio for their design program. They simply admit students based on their GPA and SATs. </p>
<p>I have to admit that my first reaction was similiar to yours, “how can any admission’s committee be that stupid?” I asked them about this policy. Their answer was as follows," Design requires people to think creatively and ‘outside of the box.’ We have found that having strong academic credentials seem to go more hand in hand with this type of thinking than simply having good drawing skills."</p>
<p>I won’t say that their explanation has totally overcome my initial reaction,but I now do understand their desire for strong academic credentials. Perhaps USC has the same reasoning,which is why they require GREs.</p>
<p>//I have to admit that my first reaction was similiar to yours, “how can any admission’s committee be that stupid?” I asked them about this policy. Their answer was as follows," Design requires people to think creatively and ‘outside of the box.’ We have found that having strong academic credentials seem to go more hand in hand with this type of thinking than simply having good drawing skills."//</p>
<p>Regarding graphic design; concept concept concept! Monkeys can push buttons.</p>
<p>taxguy - Having strong acedemic credentail is good but it should not overshadow an applicants design side. It can only prove that the candidate has the ability to work hard but what about if the final products looks like a complete ****… thats where a good natural designer or animator comes in. </p>
<p>Its more to do with interest, and most importantly good vision/asthetics sense, the ability to observe and produce! I was among the batch of 90 people in my software engineering degree and most of them were hardworking but i couldn’t find a single person with a good design sense. should this college accepts such students too? … i’m confident that although they were acedemically good but would have proved to be a complete failure in any fine-arts dicipline.</p>
<p>Folks.I can only pass on what the professor at Cinncinnati told me. As I mentioned, I didn’t totally agree with her statement, although, at least, I did understand why they wanted strong academic credentials.</p>
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<p>I absolutely and completely disagree with you. There is no such thing as a “natural designer or animator”, in the same way that there is no such thing as a “natural lawyer” or a “natural economist”.</p>
<p>//I absolutely and completely disagree with you. There is no such thing as a “natural designer or animator”, in the same way that there is no such thing as a “natural lawyer” or a “natural economist”.//</p>
<p>skills can be taught but creativity simply cannot. Polishing a talent comes later but there is NO point in comparing them. A naturaly gifted person (in any decipline) always do exponentially better and this starts right after realization. </p>
<p>do a small experiment and teach a completely-dumb-in-visual-design and extremely-good-in-science to create a visualy appealing design or animation… i bet a naive “Natural Designer” would do exceptionally well with the same amount of training.</p>
<p>and btw what on earth these career counselors do???</p>
<p>//I absolutely and completely disagree with you. There is no such thing as a “natural designer or animator”, in the same way that there is no such thing as a “natural lawyer” or a “natural economist”//</p>
<p>Disagree per design. Historically, quite a number of relevant designers had no training or education.The benefit for them was that it enabled them to think and design for themselves w/o any preconceived notions as to what design is or was supposed to be. I do regard myself as a natural designer. I am intuitively more adept at composition than my peers, and my drawing skills were self evident practically straight from the womb.</p>
<p>The aptitude for design can be measured. The Johnson O’Connor Research Fooundation tests for design aptitude as well as 3-D structural visualization among others. Aptitudes are not learned, they are natural talents.</p>
<p>Also, some students in all disciplines will excel and stand out from the others regardless of their work ethic (unless poor) because they have some innate ability to observe, conceptualize and execute. Execution - as per tools of the industry - may be the only skill that requires an education or aprenticeship.</p>
<p>“Also, some students in all disciplines will excel and stand out from the others regardless of their work ethic (unless poor) because they have some innate ability to observe, conceptualize and execute. Execution - as per tools of the industry - may be the only skill that requires an education or aprenticeship.”</p>
<p>You can site whatever studies or aptitude tests you like, but I need only site my own personal experience: I watch again and again students who have been told their entire life that they have “artistic talent” stagnate, while those who enter our program with no skills to speak of completely excel and, ultimately, get high paying jobs affecting massive change in corporations and consultancies. </p>
<p>Anyone can learn anything. “Skills can be taught but creativity simply cannot” is one of the more naive approaches to design and the arts; I teach creativity each and every day.</p>
<p>//Anyone can learn anything. “Skills can be taught but creativity simply cannot” is one of the more naive approaches to design and the arts; I teach creativity each and every day.//</p>
<p>Didn’t say creative thinking cannot be taught. I made no mention of it whatsoever, but regardless, there are humans that are dullards no matter what, and there are those who seem - for whatever reason - to be full of ideas. Nor did I say that design cannot be taught. Students are taught how to design every day. Students are also taught how to think creatively every day. </p>
<p>However, there are students who are naturally gifted. It’s ridiculous to argue otherwise. They have the innate ability to observe and render form harmoniously; and some - by way of intelligence perhaps - can think for themselves. And there are different aptitudes for reasoning, inductive and deductive for example. It is a proven fact. For example Johnson O’Connor tests for ideaphoria" the ability to generate ideas, and “memory for design” - which tests for a person’s ability to transpose structural observations from reality to paper. These “skills” are not learned, they are innate. I tested in the 96th percentile for both; it wasn’t any surprise to me because those skills were obvious as a small child and clearly separated me from my peers.</p>
<p>//I watch again and again students who have been told their entire life that they have “artistic talent” stagnate, while those who enter our program with no skills to speak of completely excel and, ultimately, get high paying jobs affecting massive change in corporations and consultancies.//</p>
<p>As i said earlier, it all comes down to realization of one’s own talent. some people are more gifted than the others. And those who excel have the potential to excel and are born with it. Teaching the tools/approches doesn’t do the magic - it just polishes the talent. and I’m strictly talking about arts majors.</p>
<p>I want to major in Animation but i don’t think its possible while you are an undergraduate…(only minor) so i want to ask you… what do you have to major at USC to prepare you for animation major? (i didnt choose the right major so i gotta change it)</p>
<p>Has anybody heard from CNTV or got accepted yet in the MFA Animation program?</p>
<p>Well my file has just been forwarded to the admission committee (after nearly 2 months) hoping to hear from them in the mid of April.</p>
<p>My current advisor doesn’t believe in “talent”. You either work your butt off to be good at something you love, or you don’t bother b/c it doesn’t interest you. At first, I didn’t agree with him, but then I thought about it… If you happen to have a more artistic “bent” then it’s because you like art and making art, and therefore work harder at it because it intersts you. Same goes for sports, etc. Although that’s somewhat biological (as is intellectual and other cognative abilities, to a certain degree), the rule still applies. Some come out on top; you have to ask yourself, “why?”</p>
<p>All people are not created the same. That’s life. But it doesn’t mean we can’t treat them all with the same amount of dignity and respect.</p>
<p>And good luck, 3DACrazy and AnimeFreak, if I haven’t told u that already!</p>
<p>Thanks Flik…tomorrow(17th) is D-day…I hope I find out whether Im in or out very soon. The suspense is killing me!!</p>