Now and Then: From Frosh to Seniors (1999) User Reviews

The Life of Cheng

[gmansandberg · 9/10 · 6 May 2016]

This film was pretty good and it really detailed the social, economical, and emotional aspects of college. There were lots of characters that changed throughout the film including Brandi, Monique, and of course, Cheng. Cheng has no self confidence yet he still prevails and makes it in life. Also, this film shows that going to a great school like Stanford does not necessary lead to success. It is up to the person to succeed in life and Stanford is just a stepping stool to help them. The movie would have been better if they interviewed the students every year so that you could see the progression over time instead of just freshman interviews and then senior interviews. Overall this was a very good film, only received a 9 from Grant because nobody is perfect and the film quality was not the best. Also, how was a movie that was filmed at Stanford in the 1990s not involve Phil Zimbardo? I was disappointed to say the least.

P.S. Cheng is a legend

By: Grant Sandberg

Very Insightful Documentary

[abramsnatalie · 7/10 · 5 June 2016]

As a high school student, soon to be applying for college apps, I thought this documentary was very interesting and informative. It showed the psychological transition from freshman to senior year as a college student, and it was clear that all the students had matured and grown so much. The most interesting part of the documentary in my opinion was that at the beginning everyone either didn't know what they wanted to do, or they had completely different ambitions from their freshman year to their senior year. The movie was very honest and gave great insight to college life and experience. I would definitely recommend this movie to others especially high schoolers such as myself preparing to go to college and having no expectations or experience.

Eye-Opener!

[dlbviola · 9/10 · 5 May 2016]

I watched this movie in my psychology class over the course of two days, and I throughly enjoyed it (considering it was an "educational" movie). This movie felt like a true documentary, and it really spoke to me. Seeing these kids grow and how predictable they are freshman year, and to see how much they've evolved/matured by their senior year was eye-opening. They all came into their first year with their goals and routines figured out- and throughout the course of four years, half of the students changed their majors, and even certain views on different topics. It was interesting to see how the students acted as first years- how they socialized, behaved, and spoke. They soon became more opinionated and assertive as they got older, which is common in most college students. They all were exposed to everyone else's different ways of thinking, and developed their own views and opinions. It was just interesting to see it happen first hand. Overall, this movie was extremely enjoyable and entertaining. I especially related to it because I am a junior in high school, approaching senior year- which means college applications, which basically determines the next few years of my life.

Good Psychology movie

[ivanostapenko · 6/10 · 5 May 2016]

It's a good movie to see how people change their mindset over a short period of time (4 years), and how others stay the same. Favorite character is Sam, because he was very laid back, and while he said that he cared what others thought of him, I thought that he really didn't, because he never did anything about the girls hating him. o Shout Out to Mr. Davis for showing, and censoring this movie. I also didn't really like that the camera followed the people around, making the people potentially acting different than they would in real life. Also i truly thought that the only character that was truly himself on camera was Chris, he had his goal set,and evidently became what he wanted to be.

Interesting movie

[rubyredpopcorn · 9/10 · 6 May 2016]

I thought this movie was really interesting and I really liked Sam ambition to be a general manager for a basketball team. He strives for greatness! All of the story was really cool and I thought everyone story was extremely interesting and fun to watch and listen to. Everyone had a clear goal in their own way and I thought that everyone was special because they were able to find who they were inside and go for what they thought would make them happy. Because of this I smiled laughed and cried through the whole thing and I was happy to hear about where they are now. This movie really made me understand what I want to be in life and I appreciate the kid the Stanford making this movie because I can now see that I want to go to college and college can help me discover who I am inside.

In Now and Then: From Frosh to Seniors they show the four year college experience of Stanford students.

[sydroghair · 8/10 · 6 May 2016]

In Now and Then: From Frosh to Seniors we got to learn about the experiences of college students. Each student showed up at Stanford with different ideas on how it would go. Some were scared and others super excited. As the years went on the students grew apart. They showed us each students development over their four years of college. Some people became what they thought they were going to be. Others did something completely different than their original plan. They were all happy with what they decided they were doing in life and how they graduated from Stanford. I enjoyed watching it and seeing how each person changed. My favorite part was the end when we got to see where they ended up.

Great movie

[tonyalei · 8/10 · 6 May 2016]

I thought this movie was very interesting. It was cool to see how each person changed from their freshman to senior year. Each person did not know exactly what they wanted to do when they grew up, but found their identity during their senior year. I thought it was funny how the girl who looked down upon her friend for wanting to drop out, was actually the one who dropped out from school. Another interesting part was when Cheng found out what he wanted to do in his life. At first he was very confused and had little confidence. He even considered dropping out of school. He said that he did not like who he was and others did not like his personality either. By his senior year, he found a job and became happy with who he was. Tristan

The movie was good.

[jordantsr · 8/10 · 6 May 2016]

The movie, Now and Then: Frosh to Seniors, was very eye-opening to all of the struggles and commitments made from college students. Even though it was an in-class film, I found it intriguing as many other students had. I found it quite surprising where all of the filmed Stanford students had ended up. It was interesting to see each students' journey through college and all of the internal struggles each had to face. The film gave many insights to college life. I believe each student who watches this before college will feel more prepared because they were exposed to the ways of college and will know what to expect.

Almost everyone found their niche.

[markrobertshaffer · 8/10 · 5 May 2016]

I think its very interesting how everyone in the film seems to have found the thing that they love to do or at least the thing they're good at. Whether that be working in a law firm, coaching, teaching or even sports casting, it seems that in the end, everything worked out for almost everyone. Everyone besides Nick, maybe he is doing what he loves to do by being a house-husband but it seems like he was the only one that didn't really have a goal or a job that he was working towards. I would like to know where he is now and what he does, it would be interesting to see if he finally found the thing that he loves to do, or even if he finally finished his portfolio. I think the film is an important lesson about learning who you are, and I think its pretty special how everyone is happy in the end, everyone seems satisfied doing what they're doing.

The film shows how freshman mature to seniors and the differences in their lives

[thebeastbruin · 9/10 · 6 May 2016]

This movie shows film of a bunch of freshman and what they plan to do with the next few years, and then films them as seniors to show to major differences that four years can make. This gives you a good perspective on how you life can change during college and where people end up versus what they thought they were going to do. I would highly recommend this film to any high schoolers because it gives a good insight into life during college and how things can change. This movie is very entertaining and contains a fan favorite character, Cheng who steals the heart of the viewer and leaves them cheering for him and his success.

Very interesting, 10/10 would recommend

[smoothtiger · 9/10 · 5 May 2016]

This movie was extremely interesting, and I enjoyed watching how all the students progressed through their life at college. The way it was filmed was very good, the personality of each person was captured very well, which is hard to do in cinematic work. I'm extremely happy that everyone turned out all right and that they were happy with their life choices. Stanford is an extremely hard school and I was glad they made it through alive. I believe that once I go to college I will experience similar dilemmas and different life choices, and I will remember that this movie kind of prepared me for that because every person experiences it. I'd recommend this movie to anyone and I hope that now, all these years later, all the students are still happy.

Insightful

[lucym-27831 · 5 May 2016]

This documentary excellently showed the change in each student at Stanford University over time. It was interesting to see how these people developed and how different they were their senior year in comparison to their freshman year. Seeing where each student ended up vs. their initial plan was interesting to see. It was reassuring knowing that you don't have to stick to your plan when you go to college, and that it's okay to change your mind along the way. College is a nervous experience for everyone, and this documentary helps reassure viewers that the experience is memorable, despite any changes in your life. Overall, it was an honest documentary and showed great insight into each person's life and experience at college.