Columbia College Hollywood: Premiere Film School in Los Angeles (Admissions)

GENERAL INFORMATION
All applicants to Columbia College Hollywood must have completed their high school education or provide a GED certificate.

CCH operates on the quarter system. New students are accepted at the beginning of each quarter: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Each quarter is twelve weeks long, except for Summer which is ten.

APPLICATION DEADLINES
Applications and supporting documents must be received no later than three weeks before the start of the quarter for which the student is applying. In order for the College to receive and process all the required documents in a timely manner, we strongly recommend that students file their applications at least six weeks before the start of the quarter.

ADMISSIONS PROCESS
We take great care to review every application thoroughly. Each application is read and discussed by the Admissions Committee. Applications for admission are reviewed on a rolling basis. This means that your application will be sent for evaluation as soon as all required documents have been received. Written notification of your eligibility for admission will be sent as soon as a decision has been reached.

ALL APPLICANTS MUST PROVIDE:

An original or online (not faxed or e-mailed) admission application legibly printed with ink or typed. Be sure to date, sign and return the form with a $50 non-refundable fee or College Board ATP fee-waiver. Make checks payable to: Columbia College Hollywood.
A personal essay of 500 words describing your educational and professional objectives. Tell us about yourself in general, and in particular tell us about your interest in film and/or television production:

What excites you about this field of endeavor? What are your aspirations in film and/or TV? Where do you see yourself ten years in the future? The essay is a very important part of your application and your admission consideration. Be sure to give it serious thought, and please take special care with grammar and spelling. (If you are applying online, write the essay in a separate file, edit it carefully, and then attach it to your application.)
Official transcripts showing your high school studies and any further education. The transcripts must show a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 2.0. Admitted students are required to submit final transcripts to verify that all work in progress is successfully completed. In the event that the final semester of work does not meet required criteria, acceptance may be declined. Advanced Placement students must submit official AP test score results with a minimum score of 3 in order to receive college credit.
Two character recommendations written by people who have known you for at least a year and who are not family members. References must be sent to the Admissions Office by the people writing them and not by the student. References may include an employer, an official of the last school attended, preferably your counselor, a teacher, your school principal, Dean of Students, or an industry professional.

The most useful letters of recommendation address the following points:

How long the recommender has known the applicant and in what capacity.
The recommender’s observations of the applicant’s readiness for undergraduate studies, with particular reference to the intellectual qualities, pertinent personality characteristics and interest in cinema and/or TV production.
Personal impressions of the applicant’s intellectual ability, personal character, and quality of academic and extracurricular work.

CCH does not require a portfolio or sample reel with your application; the will to learn and determination to fully develop your talent are the crucial qualifications. But if you would like to attach a DVD or VHS to your application, we will be glad to review it. (Please understand that we cannot return any material you send with your application.)

TRANSFER APPLICANTS (US STUDENTS)
In addition to the admissions requirements above, students are responsible for having their previous school or schools forward official transcripts to the Office of Admissions. Transfer units are determined according to the following rules:

The previous school must be an accredited college or an institution otherwise acceptable to CCH.
Units must carry a grade of a “C” or higher (2.00) unless they are part of a transferred degree such as an Associate of Fine Arts.
Individual units can only be granted for courses comparable to those offered at CCH.
No more than 96 units – half the course of study – can be accepted in transfer toward the BFA degree.
No more than 48 units may be in liberal arts and no more than 48 units in the student’s area of emphasis.
No more than 48 units in liberal arts will be accepted toward the AFA degree.

Transfer units in the area of emphasis are subject to approval by the Dean of Student Services and in some cases a relevant faculty member, any of whom may require the student to pass a written, oral or practical examination.

Transfers may be completed prior to enrollment. Any additional transfer applications will be considered individually by the Dean of Student Services.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
CCH welcomes students from all over the world. In addition to the general admissions requirements, the following guidelines pertain to students applying from outside the United States:

A) International students must submit a score for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service. The minimum TOEFL score is 550 for the standard test, 213 for the computerized test and 80 for the internet based exam.

Columbia College Hollywood’s TOEFL code is 7213.

B) International students must also submit a statement of financial support to the CCH Admissions Office. The statement must show that you are fully supported -- school fees and living expenses -- for a complete academic year by funds from outside the U.S. – please refer to page 81. You must secure scholarship funds, if necessary, before leaving your native country. Financial aid is not available from either the U.S. government or the government of any state including California.

C) International students must enroll for three consecutive quarters before taking a quarter off, and they must enroll full-time, taking at least 12 credits in each quarter.

D) International students may not be employed off-campus without written approval by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Justice.

E) Columbia College Hollywood will send you a Certification of Eligibility for Student Visa (I-20 AB) when the following process is complete:

1. We have received a complete application, including all the support material described above;
2. We have sent you an official letter of acceptance;
3. We have received an advance payment of tuition for one academic year (three quarters).

STANDARDIZED TESTS:

TOEFL (REQUIRED IF ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE)
www.toefl.org (CCH code 7213)
The minimum TOEFL score is 550 for the standard test, 213 for the computerized test and 80 for the internet based exam.

AP EXAMS
Advanced Placement students must submit official AP test score results with a minimum score of a 3 in order to receive college credit.

SAT/ACT REQUIREMENTS
CCH strongly recommends (but does not require) the submission of SAT/ACT scores.

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION
In special cases, some admission requirements may be waived by the Dean of Student Services. When granting provisional admission, the College may impose specific conditions on the student, including special documentation. All those conditions must be met, and the student must maintain a minimum GPA of at least 2.0.

DEFERRED ENROLLMENT
Upon acceptance, a student may defer enrollment for up to a full calendar year. After that a student is generally asked to reapply, though deferment extensions are sometimes granted under unusual circumstances.

CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT
Concurrent enrollment at other institutions is discouraged.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
CCH does not give credit for experiential learning.

DISTANCE LEARNING
CCH does not offer distance learning.

AUDITING POLICY/NON-MATRICULATED STUDENTS
Students wishing to take only a single class or two, without being part of a degree program, are allowed to do so at a slightly higher cost than that paid by the matriculated student. Non-matriculated students must submit the same application requirements listed above for all students.

Classes so taken do not bear credit toward a Columbia College Hollywood degree, nor will taking such classes authorize an international student to receive a student visa.

ALUMNI AUDITING POLICY
Graduates of CCH are allowed to audit one 4-unit class per quarter. The Production Insurance of $75 is required each quarter. Only classes that have available space can be audited. Class participation is limited.

REGISTRATION (NEW STUDENTS)
Students enrolling at Columbia College Hollywood for the first time are required to attend orientation. At this time they tour the College facilities and meet the administrative staff, as well as fellow classmates and student mentors. Students have an opportunity to review their first-quarter class schedules, which are assigned by the Dean of Student Services. A student’s first quarter at Columbia generally includes:

Principles of Production
and one or two of the following: Visual Design, Editing Theory & Lab, Introduction to Acting, and Screenwriting 1. Writers Workshop 1 must be taken during freshman year.

A one-time registration fee of $75 is due at the time of orientation. The registration fee must be paid by the time of enrollment regardless of other financial arrangements for tuition and fees for the first quarter. No new student may register for classes after the commencement of the quarter.

At the time of orientation, all new students are required to take math and writing proficiency and reading comprehension tests to determine whether they will be assigned classes in these subjects.

For information about withdrawing from classes, add/drop procedures, attendance and tardiness, registration of continuing students, leave of absence, and termination by the college, please consult the Student Handbook.