We’re spending the weekend away from the house and I’m posting this as a future entry. It’s Sam’s request that we go somewhere nice for her birthday. We’ll be back Monday evening but I don’t want the Google bot to feel bored and lonely should it drop by while we’re away. Plus, someone out there might find these bits of info useful.
See, for the past two or three weeks, I’ve been poring over photography schools websites. Not for me but to find what options are out there for Sam when she graduates from high school. I’m not very confident at this point if U.P. offers the course she intends to take and I figured I might as well widen our options. Subject to budgetary constraints, of course.
And there’s the language issue too. English is the only foreign language that Sam speaks so I’m only looking at schools where the medium of instruction is English. Frankly, I have very serious reservations about U.S. schools at this point because of the Homeland Security thing. Stories about the treatment that foreign students get send shivers down my spine.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that Sam will refuse to live away from home. Thing is, I don’t want her to feel limited. At the same time, if I’m going to be honest about it, I don’t know what depths of separation anxiety I will go through too if she does go to college in a foreign country.
So, this is really a casual appraisal of options. A preliminary assessment or whatever name there is for it. Speedy doesn’t even know I’ve been doing this. But then again, with Speedy, it’s always better to be armed with substantial information before initiating a discussion. A bargaining chip is always useful.
Okay, so, I checked out photography schools and these are what I have bookmarked so far. I haven’t gone through the entire sites at this point. Just, you know, first impressions.
The New York Institute of Photography offers programs that can be completed at home. Less expensive and Sam doesn’t need to live away from us. I am not so sure though if that kind of education is ideal. For a teenager especially, that requires a huge amount of self-discipline.
Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA offers regular college programs and accepts international students. Financial aid is available for those who qualify.
Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA offers both digital and regular courses. International students can opt for the regular program and financial aid is likewise available.
Will be checking out more schools offering photography courses in the coming weeks.
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nikita 08.19.07 at 5:25 pm
I used to live several blocks from the Academy of Art SF years ago. One thing you have to consider is that SF is very expensive. There aren’t enough dorm rooms for the students that attend that university. It can be hard trying to find an apartment or even shared housing at a reasonable rate. Financial aid doesn’t always cover room/board.
Does Sam really need to study abroad for photography? What you might want to do is talk to some professional photographers in Manila and find out how they got their training. If Sam is really interested in pursuing photography, she might want to consider working part-time (when she’s not in school) as a photography assistant for someone. She can learn a lot about the art and the business.
Mila 08.19.07 at 7:57 pm
Hi Sassy, it’s good of you and your husband to be open to having your daughter consider foreign study, especially photography and something in the arts. If you need additional help in finding schools, you can visit my old office, PAEF (www.paef.org.ph), where I used to be the educational adviser. We help students who want to study in the US; all information and advise is free, plus the resources are the best in town (I know, I spent 6 years building the library).
A lot of small liberal arts colleges might be a better option for your daughter, so long as they have the coursework your daughter is interested in; financial aid is a lot more varied than most people understand, but as a foreign student, aid is more likely to be tied to merit. Which does mean your kid’s going to have to do a lot in the next few years to keep her grades up, create a portfolio, and even start communicating with a few schools’ admission officers to let them know of her interest (in case you can’t bring her to meet them yourself). Keep your eye out for school fairs (there are a couple that come to Manila), and ask your daughter’s school counselor to help you meet the admission officers when they are in town on visits.
And don’t let those rumors about Homeland Security spoil the party. Believe me, it’s mostly beefed up bad press.
wysgal 08.20.07 at 12:20 am
What stories have you heard about the treatment of foreign students in the US? I’ve only been in the US for a month, but I haven’t received any unusual treatment since I got here.
krissy 08.20.07 at 1:24 am
My mom and dad had separation anxiety when I left for college. I moved back to the Philippines, my homeland, and yet back then I was completely alien to it. It was the time of the Asian crisis which affected us badly. Anyway, to cut it short, I went back to Manila on my own without getting sent whatsoever, my parents scared out of their minds that I wouldn’t be able to settle in plus the guilt factor that they couldn’t send me. It was hard but I had to be strong for them and even if I really was scared shitless. Lords! Back then, I didn’t even know the language very well. I managed. I adapted well and I have mastered the art of commuting around the city. Hehe. Phew! Wala lang. Share.
chris 08.20.07 at 9:45 am
Hey Sas,
Just an opinion:
I think Sam is better off taking a Fine Arts or Digital Media course that is augmented by a minor in photography. In fact, you can already learn a lot about photography from just seminars and mini courses. There might be subjects like art and color theory, composition, art history, etc that will give her a deeper understanding of art and truly help in her photo quests, courses that aren’t covered in depth in a photography major.
Most photographers develop their own eye for things and end up with their own style, I think Sam’s already got a great eye that just needs a better understanding of photography principles to help her capture the images the way she really wants to.
ben 08.20.07 at 2:30 pm
Sassy I’d agree with you at this point on avoiding U.S. schools altogether. Sending Sam to America as a student today would not only lead you to financial bankruptcy, it’s all about the hassle and growing insecurity of just living in America in the present time and not being there yourself to be near Sam, period. Have you considered schools in the region, such as Singapore or even down under in Sydney or Melbourne, Australia? I know from friends of mine who’ve sent their daughters to these far safer, less complicated but just as culturally and technologically complete areas and it’s costing them far less than the American and European options. Believe me, someplace nearer yet farther from the flashpoints of trouble is just plain common sense.
Connie 08.21.07 at 11:27 am
nikita, finances are a prime consideration. i mean, alex is planning on college course that won’t come cheap either (multimedia arts) so that’s a consideration. we can’t go bankrupt sending only one kid to college.
re “she might want to consider working part-time (when she’s not in school) as a photography assistant for someone”
hey, ben, hint! hint! LOL
Mila, thanks for all the info. It’s always best to get all the angles.
Hi wysgal, heard some horrific accounts during the first few months of implementation of Homeland Security. Of course, it’s always best to hear accounts by fellow Filipinos who are actually studying there. So, it’s going great? Am enjoying your stories in your blog, as usual.
krissy, thanks for sharing. separation is another issue. Sam never lived away from home except for school trips that lasted for 3 days at most. at this point (I already told her I’m checking out schools abroad), she’s not too hot about the idea.
Hi chris, that was also the advice of a lawyer-friend. We’re keeping all options open. If we can arrange some kind of apprenticeship while she attends regular college, as nikita suggests, it might be the best way to do this.
ben, no haven’t started with australia yet, although that was my next target. i’d consider japan if it weren’t for the language problem. eh matanong nga kita, being a professional photo-journalist, how did you go about your photography education? share naman.
chris 08.21.07 at 11:48 am
Con, to be perfectly honest, the best way to teach Sam is to hand over your dSLR and give her the manual. =)
Connie 08.21.07 at 11:52 am
Aray, Chris, aray, aray, aray. I know that makes sense. I worry though about whether she can take care of it at this point. Minsan, she’s so burara…
Jayred 08.21.07 at 2:34 pm
Hi, Connie. For A-1 photography classes, why not just send Sam to the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging in Makati (http://pcci.com.ph)? Sam just needs to bring her own digital SLR camera (with or without accessories) for practice sessions.
****
P.S. I attended the basic digital photography seminar there (under Jun Miranda, former president of the Camera Club of the Philippines), and I really liked it. I could have enrolled in all the photography courses of PCCI (food photography, product photography, wedding photography, fashion photography, etc.), but I didn’t have the luxury of time anymore.
Hope this helps.
Connie 08.21.07 at 2:53 pm
Jayred, THANK YOU!!! With CAPS ON! I didn’t know about PCCI. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Oh, I love blogging. I really do!
Sam 08.21.07 at 3:23 pm
“Con, to be perfectly honest, the best way to teach Sam is to hand over your dSLR and give her the manual. =)”
I told you! I told you! PERO ayoko nung manual part. =)) Ayoko magbasa, pati limiting yung whatever dun. END.
“Aray, Chris, aray, aray, aray. I know that makes sense. I worry though about whether she can take care of it at this point. Minsan, she’s so burara…”
Hindi ako burara. Talaga lang yung katulong natin ay THE BEST. NOT!
Connie 08.21.07 at 3:33 pm
Akala ko ba may sakit ka, ha, Sam? Go back to bed.
Sam 08.21.07 at 4:03 pm
May sakit ako, pero hindi naman ako bulag.
“Con, to be perfectly honest, the best way to teach Sam is to hand over your dSLR and give her the manual. =)â€
“Con, to be perfectly honest, the best way to teach Sam is to hand over your dSLR and give her the manual. =)â€
“Con, to be perfectly honest, the best way to teach Sam is to hand over your dSLR and give her the manual. =)â€
Connie 08.21.07 at 4:49 pm
Chris! Chris! Look what you’ve done!!!
ben 08.21.07 at 5:27 pm
hahaha, sassy i know that sam just wants to get to the point of everything, including photography. all i knew back then before my senior year in high school was that photography and learning about it was all i wanted to absorb and do. photojournalism just happened to be what i wanted to do here when i came back from america. but photography in its broadest definition was my best reason to observe and record the world the way i wanted to at the time, and to do it on my own in a separate place of study where i could focus on just that. it wasn’t a club activity for me nor any other alibi to mask any other intention, and i really did mean to hell with the rest of the world and everything else. i wanted to see what photography could teach me in a different way or sense, and to hold the visual pieces of evidence or proof that it did. and having become a photographer in the end did not disappoint. today, however, may be a different time for sam. i think my only piece of advice here is that she be candid and honest about what’s pulling her towards photography or the visual process of either seeing or creating. it’s the start of an education about life unlike anything i’ve yet to compare it to. true, everybody today has a cellphone or digital camera and an instruction manual. but that’s not, um, photography, is it?
Sam 08.21.07 at 5:35 pm
“Chris! Chris! Look what you’ve done!!!”
Galing, galing, galing mooo. =))
Connie 08.21.07 at 6:43 pm
Ben, I see. So, you were that focused. I think Sam will understand that.
chris 08.21.07 at 9:30 pm
heh..I’m in sooo much trouble. IF your mom ever LENDS you the rebel Sam, please please don’t lose it, or it’s both our necks! READ THE MANUAL. Learn:
Aperture and Shutter control
Exposure/Bracketing
White Balance
Macro
RAW
Enjoy!
Next: Photoshop!
PCCI is a good choice Con, one of my friends from the US guest lectured there.
Connie 08.21.07 at 10:53 pm
Naku, Chris, she will go around quoting you forever. I let her use the Rebel this afternoon already. But I didn’t give it to her. Borrow only.
inna 08.22.07 at 11:57 am
i agree that one has to have the “eye” to be a god photographer. practice and experimentation, and your creativity and style will come out in the shots. just need to know the basic concepts, and to know her camera very well. i was very active in my school’s camera art club in highschool, then my dad handed me his camera. now, i just have a regular digital camera, but my husband keeps tellling me “it’s the camera…” joke lang nya- but everybody’s telling me i should get n slr.
santa barbara is only 1 1/2 hrs away from us- it’s not a big city like la, ny or sf. so i think sam will be able to adapt well- soaking in the different cultures and art. but i never attended schools here in the states (viva mapua’)- so i can’t tell you horror stories. just my siblings, and they had a great experience. can get costly, kung walang aid or scholarships- dahil you will have to pay a foreign rate.
like you- we had yayas and never had to do chores when we were there in the phils- but when we moved to the states, we learned to be independent, organized and responsible. kids here have part time jobs, not just for the money, but the exposure and hands’on training.
good luck- i’m glad i still have about 12 years before i think about that for kailea
Connie 08.22.07 at 12:53 pm
thanks for the personal insight, inna. i gotta admit, there are a lot of considerations. easy to say i just want what’s best for my kids but it’s not really as simple as choosing a school. hay, it isn’t easy being a parent.
Nadine 08.22.07 at 2:05 pm
i agree with wysgal — no unusual treatments of foreign students here. of course, they have stricter rules for foreign students such as:
1) per Homeland Security, foreign students are not qualified to obtain a Social Security Number
2) no social security number means you cannot obtain a driver’s license, therefore, you must live next to or inside the campus (my Chinese classmate had to take a taxi to school everyday)
3) no social security number means you are not allowed to work even part-time (foreign students on student visas are not allowed to work anyway)
4) THERE IS NO FINANCIAL AID FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS. i repeat, there is no financial aid for foreign students. financial assistance comes from the US Government (which you so hate) and as such, you must be a US citizen/green card holder OR you or your parents must be US tax-payers to qualify
i’m surprised — with your long-standing ‘animosity’ towards the USA, you’re going to allow your daughter to study here
Connie 08.22.07 at 3:55 pm
Hi Nadine. Re “i’m surprised — with your long-standing ‘animosity’ towards the USA, you’re going to allow your daughter to study here”
Can’t impose my personal feelings on her, you know. My biases are mine, not hers.
Thanks for the info on financial aid. That puts things into perspective.
Sam 08.22.07 at 5:28 pm
“But I didn’t give it to her. Borrow only.”
Lalalala! HAHAHAHA! Bili mo ako nung Nikon 40D. 10 MP na naman pala eh. Tsaka yung Lensbaby 3G. WAHAHAHAHA!
Sam 08.22.07 at 5:29 pm
Ay ay ay! Mali, D40x pala. =)) Okay, okay? END.
Connie 08.22.07 at 5:52 pm
NOT okay. End. END.
Sam 08.22.07 at 6:15 pm
“Sam, please please don’t lose it, or it’s both our necks!”
HAHAHAHAHA! =))
Maaa! MINE. 30D o Nikon. END.
Connie 08.22.07 at 7:11 pm
NO. NO. NO.
chris 08.22.07 at 7:21 pm
#
By Sam on Aug 22, 2007 | Reply
“Sam, please please don’t lose it, or it’s both our necks!â€
HAHAHAHAHA! =))
Maaa! MINE. 30D o Nikon. END.
#
By Connie on Aug 22, 2007 | Reply
NO. NO. NO.
Good Lord, what have I done!?
Connie 08.22.07 at 7:58 pm
Now, you ask. hahahahaha You don’t KNOW Sam. hahahahaha
Mila 08.23.07 at 8:34 am
Connie, I’m sorry to disabuse you or Nadine regarding her statement below. US colleges and universities do provide financial aid for international students (including merit aid); not all of it comes from the US government. Most of it comes straight from the schools. Again, it will depend on the institution that she applies to. Public US universities have the least potential for aid support of an international student. But there are public unis in the US that offer aid in specific programs. Private colleges and unis will typically have more funds to serve the international student population. It is incorrect for anyone to say that there isn’t any aid available.
For a comprehensive review, contact PAEF (basically, it’s a non-govt office that provides US education information.).
snipped from Nadine’s comment: “4) THERE IS NO FINANCIAL AID FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS. i repeat, there is no financial aid for foreign students. financial assistance comes from the US Government (which you so hate) and as such, you must be a US citizen/green card holder OR you or your parents must be US tax-payers to qualify”
Nadine 08.24.07 at 8:01 am
to Mila: i stand corrected — THERE IS NO FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS (emphasis on FEDERAL). from the Federal Student Aid:
U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, and refugees and asylees qualify for federal financial aid… As a general rule, students in a nonimmigrant category are not eligible for such aid.