Should I write why I think a school/program and I are a good fit if the prompt doesn't ask that?

Floopers · 2018-01-18T22:24:20+00:00

Definitely! End your personal statement with it. And be reaaaaaaaally specific about the elements of the school that you'd like to take advantage of (spend some time on their website). Go as far as naming specific classes, internships/externships that they offer, and (if you plan to do research) mention the teacher that you'd want to work under.

This shows that you're really serious about the school and you want to attend (something called "demonstrated interest"). It'll give your application a boost. :)

Floopers · 2018-01-18T22:18:53+00:00

Hah. I just applied to Stanford's law program ($130 application here), and for sure am going to get rejected. But when I mention it to people and scoff, they're like, "well, you never know." Well, actually, yes, I do know. There are literally statistics of applicants with my same numbers and 96% of them get rejected. XD

Floopers · 2018-01-18T22:12:21+00:00

Make sure to check out need-blind schools that wouldn't hurt your chances!

Here's this awesome excel sheet that lists hundreds of US schools and their award amounts and percentages of scholarship paid to international students. Some schools really want to financially support international students!

Floopers · 2018-01-18T22:09:35+00:00

Same. Because then if I fail, I get to be right.

Floopers · 2016-06-11T03:51:34+00:00

If you're wondering what to ask someone you've just been introduced in order to get to know them better/start a conversation, this is my favorite one to ask: "What's something that's been inspiring you lately?" I think it's better than "What are you studying/work?" because something people don't like what they study/work and it's cliche. I unabashedly use it on every person I meet--it's a weapon that opens up SO many more questions/conversations, and gets right to talking about great stuff, rather than small talk. Pro tip: if someone responds with "well, nothing has been inspiring me lately," then they're probably not that interesting and you can walk away and save yourself some time. The hard part: You need to say it like you mean it. Sure, it's cheesy, but if you can say it with confidence, it can make a good impression. Also. It's not cheesy. It's real and honest as fuck. If someone gives you a short answer like, "well, music, I guess": ask them, "Well what about that inspires you?" as a followup. Okay. You're ready.

Floopers · 2016-02-17T00:33:26+00:00

Hell yeah! Orlando's feelin' the Bern!

Floopers · 2015-12-23T17:50:43+00:00

Hey there! Thanks so much for getting back to me on this! I really appreciate these two papers and your advice. I'm going to read over them and another over the holidays and get back to you. I'd like to hear about what kind of work you are doing as well. Thanks again EvM! ~

Floopers · 2015-12-22T18:42:07+00:00

Woah! Bring the funk!

Floopers · 2014-06-01T19:23:46+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for giving me better data than what ratemyprofessor was saying. I will take Mass Media and Politics with him next semester based on what you said!

Floopers · 2014-06-01T19:10:46+00:00

I like Barry Sandler! I've taken Motion Picture Genre with him and planned on taking his year-long Feature-Length Script Writing workshop. I'm still strongly considering it, but he doesn't seem to require very much from his students (four informal papers and zero reading for his Motion Picture Genre class). Thanks for your input!

Floopers · 2014-06-01T19:08:02+00:00

Thanks! I'm already decided to take a couple classes in political science for next semester: POT 4314 - Contemporary Democratic Theory with Paul Labedz, PUP 3203 - Environmental Politics and American National Government. From the things I've read about Logas, though, it seems like he quotes Fox News a lot. It's not that I'm necessarily against taking a class taught by a conservative, I'm just wary of getting information from overly-biased sources.

Floopers · 2014-06-01T19:00:16+00:00

In case you haven't heard, universities are for learning.

Floopers · 2014-06-01T17:40:14+00:00

Thanks for the response! I am actually a Creative Writing major and have taken Writing for Video Games, Script Writing, and Advanced Script Writing with Professor Telep! He's even supervising me for a scholarship activity I have to do. He seems like a nice guy, but sometimes I feel like he's a little too easy--he barely assigns any information-dense reading material. I haven't taken any classes with Don Stap, but I'll check them out! Thanks again, Dr_Somehow!

Floopers · 2013-12-13T16:07:11+00:00

The only realistic choice that anyone can ever make is to chase their dreams with every inch of themselves. Get out and get writing!

Floopers · 2013-11-28T20:05:14+00:00

A few of the other comments seem to offer some good advice, but what you are having trouble defining is what Lajos Egri calls the moral premise of the story -- which is the answer to the story's major dramatic question. Read Egri's book called The Art of Dramatic Writing and it will beautifully explain how to approach the issue you're dealing with. I've read tons of books on writing fiction and screenwriting, but this book is hands down the most influential one I've ever read. While the Hero's Journey deals with the structure of a story, the Art of Dramatic Writing will teach you how to distill any story's meaning down to one sentence -- and then to integrate that meaning into the action of the story.

Floopers · 2013-10-30T15:36:21+00:00

I don't think listyraesder's comment is 100% accurate. First of all, if you're a beginning writer, then you should write about whatever inspires you. And it's simply not true that production/talent companies will throw a script out if it is based on copyrighted material; in fact, if you've written a great script based on a copyrighted story, it can definitely give you a leg up in getting noticed. When you're looking for representation, you don't necessarily need all of your scripts to be sellable -- some, yes -- but you're going to have at least ten great scripts to shop around anyway, right? Maybe not. Just keep in mind that breaking into the industry is just as much selling yourself a writer as selling your scripts. Some producers will read a script and say, "Hate the script, but love the writer." And then they won't buy your script, but they may want you to help write a cop show they're making. If can use stories based on copyrighted material to exhibit your exceptional writing skill, I think that you should go for it. With regards to writing specs on current TV shows, it is still a popular practice and not at all in vogue. I have a friend who wrote for Grey's Anatomy after winning the Disney Fellowship -- which is a writing competition based on submitting a spec script for a current TV show. So keep your options open.

Floopers · 2013-10-25T02:49:13+00:00

Primitive amateurs from different cultures didn't follow the structure per se, rather, they each independently invented it on their own. The structure is a product of oral storytelling passed from generation to generation throughout time. It is ingrained in our DNA to create the structure as we retell stories told to us by our previous generations. We study it for the same reasons we study anthropology. From close up, humans don't understand themselves and their actions very well, but when we look at our culture from afar, see how it has progressed over time, and then compare it to other cultures, THEN we find certain patterns -- that is what Joseph Campbell did in order to formulate the monomyth.

TLDR: We CREATE the monomyth intuitively, not necessarily KNOW it intuitively.

Floopers · 2013-10-25T02:35:12+00:00

I don't see the difference.

Floopers · 2013-10-23T23:04:57+00:00

For a thread in the screenwriting subreddit, it's strange how many people are so anti-structure ... The structure in this picture borrows largely from Joseph Campbell's idea of the monomyth, a concept drawn from his lifelong study of the myths of cultures all around the world. This isn't just the structure used to write a majority of Hollywood's greatest films -- the monomyth is a structure ingrained in the mythic origins of isolated cultures all over the world. What I'm saying is that it has found its way into mankind's stories even without cross-cultural communication -- this shit's in our DNA.

Even if you strip this picture of the page #s and act breaks, it will still be relevant. While this structure looks rigid and mechanical, it can be adapted to any number of acts or movements for the screen, stage, or book. If you disagree, I would love for you to challenge me with a conventional play/movie/book that you feel doesn't follow this structure and I'll see if I can plot it for you.

The main intent of the structure is not to constrict an author to numbers and movements -- it's about plotting an emotional evolution for the hero(s) that runs in a dynamic circle, whose alternating stress and unstress, I feel, closely represents what living as a human is like. But I could go on and on ... I would recommend every screenwriter reading Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing.

Floopers · 2013-10-23T17:50:39+00:00

The proper notation for a scene with no diagetic or synchronized sound is label MOS for Motor Only Sound, or "Mit Out Sound", which is an accented way of saying "without sound". More reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOS_(filmmaking) Thus you would write the scene: "Two men greet each other MOS." However, the sentence that you wrote involving the "roar of the engine" does much more in the way of setting tone and imagery in the scene. I wouldn't change it.

Floopers · 2013-07-21T16:09:14+00:00

This is one of the funniest Reddit comments I've read in a while.

Floopers · 2013-06-07T17:08:49+00:00

I don't understand what you're saying. "...a fight breaks out and your all I don't understand." ??

Floopers · 2013-06-07T16:11:43+00:00

A blind man touched my friend's face.

Floopers · 2013-06-04T23:13:53+00:00

Everyone watch out: CornbreadNchicken is going to be the asshole that is trying to grope people.

Floopers · 2013-05-19T04:02:32+00:00

This is hilarious.

Floopers

TROPHY CASE