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| My classmate inside Chouinard Hall, the residence hall for first-years at CalArts |
Around this time of year (March and April), students from all around
the world hear back from the Character Animation program at CalArts. Some learn
of their acceptance while others are encouraged to try again next year. If you have
been rejected but know that CalArts is the place for you, don’t stop trying! I
know many people who tried multiple times before getting in.
For those of you who have been accepted, congratulations! I remember
the day I got my letter like it was yesterday and I will never forget. I know
that for many of you, CalArts is probably your dream school. That’s why it can
be hard to come to terms with the fact that there might be hurdles in the way
of you attending. Factors like finances and how rigorous the program is might
leave you unsure as to whether CalArts is actually meant for you. In truth,
should you go to CalArts?
Such a hard question to answer with certainty when you're a student choosing whether or not to go. I mean, you can only truly know how you feel about attending CalArts once
you have been a student there and tried it.
Even so, I don’t think there is any harm in a little research!
That’s why I’ve posted the below questions – questions I asked
myself before going, and questions I would have asked myself knowing what I
know now about the program. Considering these questions is good for finding out
your priorities and helping you make the decision about whether to attend CalArts.
Will attending CalArts
bring you into financial difficulties later as you pursue your career? Do you
have a plan for coping with that?
The majority of
students I know take one or multiple loans to get them through their studies at
CalArts. As CalArts is a very expensive school and you will become an artist afterward
(not a doctor), please consider the kind of life you envision for yourself.
What are you willing to give up as you pursue your dream school? You might be
giving up both leisure time and monetary success later as you work to pay back your debt. As my teacher in
Entrepreneurial Studies at CalArts, Judy Karfiol, told us during class, money
is an important part of life and there is no shame in bringing it up. It is
what makes the world go around. So what does money or lack thereof mean to you?
Of course, taking chances is a huge part of life and you can’t know what life
will look like 10 years from now. Maybe you will become the next John Lasseter! I guess the most important question to ask
yourself is, would you regret not
attending CalArts because of finances? There is no wrong or right answer. If
you’re interested, CalArts alum Melissa van der Paardt discusses her experience with student loans in
this youtube video.
If you’re an
International Student, what are your plans for your career? Are you able to
fund your education at CalArts?
If you are an
International Student, it is especially important to consider your options
after your studies at CalArts. Do you plan to go back “home?” Do you want a job
in the States? Getting a working VISA for the US can be an extremely complex
process. Make sure to stay in contact with CalArts about what assistance they
can offer you in this matter. Also, International Students have a harder time
getting scholarships to CalArts, as explained on its website.
Do you like to sit down
at a computer for long periods of time? Or perhaps more importantly, will you
be able to balance out those hours spent inside dark rooms with exercise and a
social life?
Depending on your commitment
to your studies, you will spend an average of 15 or more hours a week on the
computer, whether during classes or for homework, your first semester. Three of
my required classes freshman year were entirely dependent on a computer and
getting to know software. Also, as you might know, 98% (or so I estimate) of
students create their films on the computer, even if it is hand-drawn. So hours
spent on your film can be added to the above figure. To get the most out of my
experience at CalArts, I tried really hard to spend time away from the computer, but even for me it was difficult!
Are you ready to have
teachers critique your work in front of your classmates?
Most (if not all)
classes consist of critiques. The teacher will usually spend the first 2 hours
critiquing each student’s homework in front of the class.
Will you be happy
attending 9 or more classes pr. semester that the department, for the most
part, set out for you according to your year level?
Each class is only
worth 1-2 credits, although the time spent in a majority of the classes and on the
homework is as much if not more than a regular 3-credit college class. This
means more classes for you, if you’re going to meet the mark of being a
full-time student (on average, 9 classes pr. semester. The average at a regular
university is 5 classes pr. semester). Each class amounts to 3 hours a week, on average
(like a regular 3 credit college class, except for Life Drawing which is 6
hours, including a lunch break). Unlike a regular college class, the 3 hours
are put together and you only meet once a week. Homework is considerable, but diminishes
your spring semester due to films (although not in your critical studies
classes, which are a requirement – you have to supplement your classes with
these “regular” liberal arts classes in which you'll be writing papers and
doing presentations) and I spent that extra time on my film.
The classes within the
Character Animation department are set out for you according to your year
level. My first semester, I had Digital
Methods I, Color and Design, CG Foundation I, CG Character Animation I, 2D
Character Animation I, Story I, and Life Drawing I. These were all required
classes. As lower-level students are not able to take any of the upper level
classes within the department, I met the credit and critical studies
requirements by supplementing these classes with Introduction to Human Anatomy and Acting for Animators. I was one of the students who had the least
amount of classes that semester, because I had transfer credits from my
previous university. However, I also sat in on Design for Storytellers.
Is Student Life
important to you? Have you researched how you will be living and what you will
be eating outside of classes? Do you like the CalArts aesthetic?
If you want to stay in
a residence hall your first year, CalArts requires you to room with a roommate. You will be
staying in Chouinard Hall (upper classmen can stay in Ahmason, which is on the
other side of campus), most likely together with another character animation
student (although it isn’t always so). The room is rather big and you get a
bed, table + chair, a dresser and a closet. Also, there are compartments you can use for
food, shoes or the like. You share the bathroom with the room next-door. There are two doors that lead to the bathroom, one in your
room and one in the room next-door. You can lock the other room out of the
bathroom, but don’t worry because you will get used to unlocking/locking two
doors. If nothing else, your suite-mates will let you know if you have kept the
door locked to their room.
Living on-campus
together with a roommate is, I think, an invaluable experience! You get to live
2 minutes away from classes and your friends live just down the hall from you.
Also, you can stay up late in the Labs (where the computers we work on are at)
and not have to worry about getting home.
You can alternatively
live off campus, but if you don’t have a car, it might be a problem getting to
and from school. There is public transportation and you might be able to
bicycle around (although the traffic is dangerous and cars are for the most
part not used to cyclists in the US).
First years living
on-campus are furthermore required to have a meal plan from the CalArts
Cafeteria. Personally, I hated this rule since I like cooking myself and didn't exactly like the food in the Cafeteria!
In Chouinard Hall,
there is a shared kitchen in each hallway. Mine was situated in a small (room
for max. 2 or 3 people) room with no windows. There was a stove, a fridge, and
a sink. In my experience, it is a very typical dorm kitchen-- i.e. not somewhere I would like to spend too much time.
CalArts itself is one
big squarish building with long hallways and about three levels (I’m actually
not sure how many levels there are now that I think about it! The overall
layout of CalArts is like a maze). A majority of the character animation rooms
do not have windows and have possibly seen better days. The grounds surrounding
the CalArts building are kept pretty and green. Campus is close to a quiet neighborhood
and you can see mountains in the horizon, so it is pretty secluded.
And finally, what would
you like out of your experience at CalArts?
Perhaps you have
already answered this question in your artist statement in your application to
CalArts. Still, it’s an important question to keep asking yourself. The sad truth is that attending
CalArts doesn’t secure you a job in the industry...
If you're interested in reading more about being a CalArts student, Jennifer Harlow has a blog that covers all her four years. I remember reading eagerly through every single post before attending CalArts. On a side note, a conversation I had with her is the reason I started this blog!
-Christine-