Interested in studying Film Studies at UNCW?

Do you have students who are interested in Film Studies? Wilmington, NC has a growing film industry, and is currently listed as the third largest film production center in the country, following closely behind Hollywood and then New York City. This is thanks to EUE Screen Gems Studios, which has its headquarters in Wilmington and has produced many films in our city over the last 60 years, including A Walk to Remember, The Exorcist III, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Blue Velvet, and televisions series such as One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, and the HBO series Eastbound and Down.


The city of Wilmington, however, is about to host perhaps the most well-known and biggest-budget film in state history. In a very competitive bidding process with areas like Los Angeles, Michigan, New Mexico and Canada, EUE Screen Gems Studios and the NC Film office were selected to host Marvel Studios and their latest installment of the Iron Man Franchise- Iron Man 3!

Iron Man 3 is slated to begin production in 2012, using all of Screen Gems stages and facilities and taking residence in Wilmington from January through October of 2012. According to the governor's office, the film will create 550 new jobs and more than 1,000 talent opportunities, as well as $80 million for the local economy.

To learn more about this exciting new production, please visit this article in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal- 'Iron Man 3' to storm Wilmington next year.

As well, you can learn more about our Film Studies degree and some exciting internship opportunities with EUE Screen Gems Studios by visiting the UNCW Film Studies Department.

Wilmington’s Cucalorus Film Festival is back!

 

November 10th - November 13th

Wilmington’s Cucalorus Film Festival is back! The festival is a showcase of independent and international film drawing artists from around the world and film fans from all over the country. Film, art, and community collide at the Cucalorus Film Festival each year drawing over 10,000 attendees and screening over 150 films from around the world. Cucalorus is the region’s premier cultural event, receiving international praise for high quality programming and Southern hospitality. The Brooks Institute named Cucalorus as one of the top ten film festivals in the United States and MovieMaker Magazine dubbed Cucalorus as one of the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals.


Kenneth Price, UNCW graduate from 2003 will have his documentary “The Wonder Year” featured at this year’s festival. Kenneth Price holds a BA degree in Film Studies from UNCW and an MFA in Film and Video Production from UNCG. Price had early success as an editor on a handful of films like Ben Fancy's The Calming (Cucalorus 2006), Sadie's Waltz (Cucalorus 2007), and Deconfliction (Cucalorus 2007). As a director, Price's short films The Late Mr. Mokun Williams and First Sunrise both screened at Cucalorus. But Price is probably best known as the buttoned down partner with Jonathan Guggenheim and Cory Howard on the feature films Lightning Salad Moving Picture and Americatown, two crafty DIY comedies based on the comedic stylings of the supercomedy, superduo the Superkiiids. More recently, Price has been directing music videos for a variety of hip hop artists including 9th Wonder, Actual Proof, Skyzoo, Rapsody, and The Away Team. The Wonder Year is Price's first documentary feature.

To get details of this year’s festival please visit their website at http://www.cucalorus.org/

College Planning Timeline ... Senior Year

September

• Meet with your school counselor to finalize your list of colleges. Be sure your list includes “safety”, “reach” and “target” schools.

• Start a checklist of all application requirements and deadlines.

• If you can demonstrate financial hardship, contact the colleges and your guidance counselor about possible application fee waivers.

October

• Register for the SAT and/or ACT if you want to take them in November or December.

• If you are going to apply Early Action or Early Decision, be very mindful of the deadline.

• Identify who you would like to write you a letter of recommendation and ask them early. Give your recommender a resume as well.

• Write first drafts of your college essays and ask your parents, teachers and peers to review them for you.

November

• Make sure your SAT and/or ACT scores will be sent by the testing agency to each one of your colleges.

• Contact your guidance counselor and provide them with the necessary information so they can send out a high school transcript to the schools you are to applying to.

• Get PIN’s for the FAFSA for both yourself and for your parents

December

• Try to complete all college applications before the winter break.

• Apply for scholarships in time to meet scholarship application deadlines.

• Start gathering documents that you will need to complete the FAFSA.

January

• Submit your FAFSA as soon as you can. The FAFSA form becomes available January 1st of every year.

• If your grades have improved or you have new accomplishments that were not on your original college application, be sure to inform the schools that you have applied to.

February

• Register for AP exams

• Plan your last rounds of college visits and Spring Open House

March/ April

• Admission decisions start arriving. Read everything you receive carefully, as some of the information may be time sensitive.

• Revisit colleges that accepted you if it is hard for your to make a choice.

• Do not get senioritis! Colleges want to see strong grades in the second half of your senior year.

May

• May 1st is the national deadline for high school students to inform colleges on whether or not they plan to attend. If you already know well before this date, let the colleges you do not plan on attending know. You help create space for students that are on the waiting list.

Keep in mind that you do not have to do these steps in the order they are listed. The important thing is that you do them in a timely manner.

Early Action Deadline...Fast Approaching!

Don't forget tomorrow is the deadline for Early Action applications! If you hit submit on your application before midnight tomorrow, you will be considered an Early Action applicant. Supplemental materials such as your high school transcript and letter of recommendation can follow by mail over the next week or so.

Please continue to check the status of your application by logging onto your SeaLevel account. Feel free to contact us should you have any questions or concerns. admissions@uncw.edu

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

College Planning Timeline ... Junior Year

September

• Meet with your school counselor to make sure you are taking courses that will make you eligible as well as competitive for the colleges you are planning to attend.

• Push yourself to get the best grades possible this year. The payoff will be more colleges to choose from and a better chance for merit based scholarships.

• Pick up the Official Student Guide to PSAT/MNSQT from your high school’s guidance office and take the practice test.

• Find out if your school or county will have a college night (college fair).

October

• Attend a college fair.

• Begin looking through college guide books in your guidance counselor’s office. Start a preliminary list of colleges that might interest you.

• Start to learn about financial aid. Use the College Board website to learn how it works, and the financial aid calculator to estimate how much aid you might receive.

November

• Begin to research scholarships

• If you are planning to major in the arts in college (drama, music, fine art) ask your teachers and guidance counselor about requirements for a portfolio or audition.

December

• Spend time over the holiday making a list of what kind of college you want to attend. Big or small? Far away or close to home? Make a list of the college features that are important to you.

• Begin preparing for the SAT or ACT, if you have not done so already.

January

• Meet with your guidance counselor to talk about the colleges in which you are interested, what entrance exam you should take, and when to take them.

• If English is not your primary language, decide when to take the TOEFL test.

• Start thinking about what you want to study in college. Use resources such as your guidance counselor, teachers and family members.

• Register for the SAT/ ACT if you want to take it in March.

February

• Think about which teachers you will ask to write letters of recommendation.

• If you are in Advanced Placement Programs (AP) courses, register for AP exams that will be given in May.

March

• Register for the SAT/ ACT if you want to take it in May.

• Narrow your list of colleges to a reasonable number. Explore the colleges Web sites, read the brochures and catalogues.

April

• Plan courses for your senior year. Make sure you are going to meet the high school course requirements for your top-choice colleges.

• Plan campus visits. It may be best to visit a college campus when classes are in session.

Keep in mind that you do not have to do these steps in the order they are listed. The important thing is that you do them in a timely manner.



Top 10 Websites for College Bound Students

College Board & ACT

SAT

You will need to create an account at College Board so you can register for the SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. It is also a great starting point to gather and compare basic data on colleges and universities. Information found on this site includes admission requirements, program offerings, cost and much more.

ACT

Students who are planning to take the ACT surely will need to create an account. The site also offers information about planning for college, selecting a major and the financial aid process. The ACT also has a blog by students, at every level- from freshmen in college to juniors in high school.

College Confidential

This site is an online community of Admission Counselors, parents and students. In addition to helpful articles on admission and financial aid, it features various discussion boards where parents and students post questions and Admission Counselors respond to the questions. All you need to do is register and you can join the conversation.

College Prowler

This website provides college reviews for prospective students from current or recent graduates. For each of the more than 7,000 colleges listed, you can learn about everything from the admission process to student life. In addition, this site offers a ballpark assessment of your chances for admission at the schools you are considering.

Common Application

Almost every high school senior is familiar with the so-called “common app.” Over the years, this has become a go-to resource for students considering applying to a variety of colleges and universities across the nation. Students complete one main application and essay that can be submitted to multiple colleges. Keep in mind that some schools have supplementary materials that are unique to that particular school that you will need to complete.

FAFSA

If you think you will need assistance with paying for college, become familiar with the website of the Free Application for Financial Student Aid. The website is administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It is a user-friendly resource that is loaded with a variety of information on how to finance your college education. Most importantly, this is where you complete an application if you want to be eligible for Pell grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and Parent Plus loans.

FastWeb

If you are hoping for a scholarship, this is a great place to start. After registering, you can custom-search a database of 1.3 million scholarship possibilities based on your own individual qualifications and needs. FastWeb also supplies information on jobs and internship programs, and has an active discussion board as well.

FinAid

FinAid is a website sponsored by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Some financial aid counselors describe this website as the most comprehensive resource about paying for college. You will find detailed information on different types of loans, scholarships, grants and even military programs. In addition, it has calculators to help estimate the cost of college, calculate expected family contribution, estimate how much you need to borrow.

NCAA

Any student athlete who dreams of playing at a Division I, II or III school should log onto this site and download the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s guide. This guide will inform you of the rules and regulations that spell out information such as how college coaches can recruit to what SAT or ACT scores a high school athlete must attain. This is also the place where athlete applicants submit a “clearinghouse form” that is used by college coaches for recruitment purposes.

Peterson’s

Peterson’s is a great website to find a wealth of information in a single place. You will find data about hundreds of colleges and universities, including criteria for admissions, courses of study and total cost. In addition, the website provides helpful articles on virtually every aspect of the admission process.

The Princeton Review

Even though the Princeton Review is focused on encouraging students to sign up for the company’s test prep program, the site contains a large amount of free content, including articles on applying to schools, choosing a major and finding a study abroad program. One unique feature is the “counselor-o-matic” tool that asks questions about grades, test scores and interests and activities, then spits out a list of “good-fit” schools.

UNCW ranked #4 Public Master's University

UNC Wilmington has been ranked the number 4 public master's university in the South, according to the 2012 U.S.News & World Report rankings for regional universities. This will make the 14th consecutive year UNCW has been in the top 10 on this elite list. The 2012 ranking records the highest regional ranking ever, a one spot jump from last year.

"This ranking is an honor for our institution," said UNCW Chancellor Gary L. Miller. "It reflects the highest quality learning experiences, which our faculty and staff provide to our students every day. I am proud that UNCW has been able to continue our focus on quality, particularly in the current economic environment, by making the most of our resources through efficiency and innovation."

UNC Wilmington has become the obvious first choice for a growing number of high-achieving high school students. The 2011 entering freshman class came to UNCW from 85 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 42 states across the nation, and 25 countries around the world.

U.S.News & World Report ranking  

1) Among all 127 public and private universities in the South that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's level programs, UNCW is ranked number 11, up from its ranking of 13 on last year's list.

2) UNCW is again included on the list of "up-and-coming" master's universities in the South. UNCW is tied for number 3 in the region, placing it in the company of 46 colleges and universities nationally that U.S.News & World Report identified as making the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities.