Spring semester will be here before you know it, and for sophomores that means it's time to officially declare a major. For many students, this requires a trip to the adviser and some paperwork. Entrance into some fall majors isn't that easy, though.

Before film students can be accepted into the major, they have to hand in a portfolio of creative works that is subject to the scrutiny of the entire film faculty.

Portfolios have three main parts-- a writing exercise, a sample of creative work, and a written statement about the work. The work can be a film, screenplay, photographs, short stories or poems.

Allison Byers (sophomore-communications) decided to submit photos for her creative work.

"I just feel like what I do in photography is better work, and since I'm looking to pursue a career in cinematography, my photographs will apply," Byers said.

Amanda Werner (sophomore-communications) took a different route and will submit a video piece she shot on vacation this past summer.

"I took a lot of time out of my vacation to travel around and shoot the footage instead of laying on the beach all day, so it's a little more meaningful than some of the projects I've done here," Werner said. "The other thing that makes it more meaningful is that I worked on it with my younger sister. I think it's really important to have a connection to your work and turn something in that's going to be good, but also has a meaning to you."

Scott Bechtel (sophomore-communications), of Penn State Abington, will also submit a film although he said he would have liked to submit a screenplay if he could have.

"I was thinking about just writing a screenplay instead, but for that I would have had to start working on that since I received the information back in the Spring '06 semester," Bechtel said. "And the problem with that would be, I would've came up with an even better idea during this time between then and when I submit it. Then it just becomes one big mess. So it just seems to be a better idea to go with the short film. It's more solid that way."

Portfolio submissions are mainly independent work although some students use peer advice to make sure their creative works are effective.

Ashley Mills (sophomore-communications) plans to submit a short film she made in her COMM 242 class, which was evaluated by other students.

"As part of the project, we submitted a rough cut for class evaluation," Mills said. "Hearing my classmates' comments really helped me to see whether or not I communicated by ideas clearly to others."

Mills said that she might ask a few other students who are also submitting portfolios to read over her written pieces or watch her film, although she stresses that the creativity behind everything is all her own.

"In the end, the entire creative force and the work that goes into presenting the best examples of my creativity will come directly from me," she said.

Out of the five majors in the College of Communications, film/video and advertising/public relations are the only majors that are controlled. Acceptance into journalism, media studies and telecommunications don't have any special entrance requirements.

Although the major has been controlled since it was formed, last year was the first year where students interested in film/video were admitted by portfolio, said Maura Shea, communications senior lecturer. Before that, students were admitted through the standard entrance to major procedure for the college if they received a B or higher in COMM 242 and had a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

"We implemented the portfolio review process to make the major open to a greater pool of students while also trying to identify those with a strong desire to be in film/video majors by requiring more thought than simply checking the film/video box on the choice of major form," Shea said. "We also get a better sense of their creative potential through the portfolio process."

Byers said she thinks the policy change from grades to portfolios is a good one.

"I'm terrible at science, and knowing that those low grades have little effect on my admission into the film major is very comforting," she said.

Students who are not accepted to the major are given a variety of options of what to do next, even though they are already two years into their college careers.

"It is our policy not to discuss the student's portfolio but where they go from here," Shea said. "To that end, the film/video department head Dorn Hetzel meets with students and tries to counsel them on other majors that might be of interest and appropriate for them such as integrative arts, telecommunications or media studies with a film studies concentration."

Jamey Perry, College of Communications advising program coordinator, said that students who have graduated in journalism, telecommunications and media studies are able to find jobs in the film and TV industry behind the scenes in production

"On-campus work experience and internships can pave the way with a good solid degree in communications," Perry said.

Although there are many options for those who submit portfolios but aren't accepted into the major, many students aren't sure what they want to do if they don't make it.

"I will be bluntly honest with you, if I'm not accepted I have no idea what I will do with my life," Werner said. "I really love this and right now I can't see myself doing anything else."