Oswego
Just came back after the long and grueling road trip, and man do I have a lot to talk about.
First of all, as we approach the city of Oswego, I look off into the distance and I see the most peculiar thing: two nuclear cooling towers. So yeah, there's a freakin' nuclear power plant nearby. Oh well, we didn't see any dead animals lying around.
The Campus:
Very nice and well organized. The buildings are consolidated into one area unlike some colleges where they can spread out all over the town. Many building interiors are newly renovated and look very modern and well built.
The Location:
What can I say? It's on the shore of Lake Ontario! The lake is so humongous it looks like a freakin' ocean when you look at it. Also a nice little town with the whole business district all on the main street. So everything is right there and in easy reach.
Goodies:
All academic halls and libraries have wireless internets. Oh and you can take a bus to town if you want. Oh and the main campus center has a MOVIE THEATER for you to watch movies that have been pulled out of regular theaters lately but not on DVD yet. They were showing Avatar today.
Residential Halls:
Okay, so each residential hall is actually quite different, so I'll just talk about the one we went to. This particular hall is located right on the lake shore and is a freshmen only hall. It was my first pick when I applied for housing. It's a very nice place with a nice lounge area and a dining hall attached. Dorms are a bit...small...to say the least but they look cozy. The only downside is that there's no wireless internets in the residential halls, but they do have Ethernet outlets in each room, no big dea.
When you get up top to the fourth flour you get a tremendous view of the lake:
Attachment 3046Attachment 3047
Weather:
Okay, this is probably the only real sore point about Oswego. As we were driving through town, we were looking up at the metal overhangs holding up the traffic lights, they were bobbing up and down from the wind! So we actually park there and walk out of the car, and we were happily welcomed by the 20 mph winds and the freezing cold. Yes, way to set an example there. I just hope to God that it gets much nicer this July when I go to my orientation. I'm gonna have to wear my Carharts during the winter.
The major:
This is probably the most important part and the main reason I selected this college. The Cinema and Screen Studies major consists of three parts. The first involves courses about film, film theory, history of film, film genre, etc. The second part involves screen writing, which will be pretty interesting. It will also involve the actual production of the film which I'll get to later. The third part will involve electives pertaining to the major along with a capstone project, which will be producing a movie and showing it to people.
One thing that sounded very promising about Cinema and Screen Studies is that there seems to sound like a lot of open mindedness about filmmaking, without any of the indoctrinating snobbery. I guess this is mainly because the major is brand new here and is probably in the experimental phase. One thing that I thought was interesting is that students have even made "cell phone films," movies shot completely with their cell phones. Now that's what I call experimental filmmaking but overall it gives you the impression of how they sorta let you do your own thing there. They would even go to film festivals and present their works. They even give out awards at the festivals. The professor said, however, that the most important award was probably the "Audience Choice Award." Makes perfect sense, you make stuff that the audience likes. Perfect justification for wanting to make epic summer blockbusters if you ask me.
It's all digital filmmaking. We MAY look into traditional ways of filming but overall it's just a hassle. Makes you wonder how they did it back in the old days. But we're also not gonna use super mega state of the art cameras. We'll be working with stuff like Sony HD cams and Final Cut Pro, all of that good stuff. And many of the projects are going to involve cooperation with other students.
But not without doubts:
Look everything's awesome at this place, but we always have some doubts about things. In my case, it will be my ability to adjust to everything here. The college is very overwhelming, not to mention the fact that it's so far away from home. I just hope I'll have welcoming friends that'll help me adjust to this place.
Cost is also a major issue, and probably the most major issue. The big thing weighing me down is the cost of room and board, which is more than the cost of tuition. What really sucks is that my family is in that limbo, where we don't have enough money to pay for my college, but at the same time have too much money to qualify for financial aid. I'm gonna have to take out student loans. I hope I get a good job after graduating, because I'm gonna have a TON of bills to pay. I hope I'll get merit scholarships.
And one big issue is the major itself. Unfortunately, there's no way it's ever going to lead me directly to a job. There's just no way. What's going to happen is that I'm probably going to have to go to a graduate school where I'll take the real deal in filmmaking. It'll probably be out of state for all I know. But I have a dream, but I only have one life, therefore if I'm going to fulfill this dream it's going to be in this life I'm living!
Conclusion:
The cost is a big issue, and the weather will be a whole knew animal, but I've made a commitment and I need to stick to it. Oswego is a really great school and I want to embrace its awesomeness. There will be great challenges along the way, but with engaging courses, fantastic campus, so much to do, all of that good stuff, the rewards will probably be greater.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Trailbreaker
Bookmarks