When Steven Spielberg was still in high school, he decided that he wanted to a film director. He applied to the University of Southern California’s film school, but they turned him down, citing that he only had “average grades”. Not deterred, he applied and was accepted to California State University. While he was still a student, he landed a small unpaid intern job at Universal Studios doing editing. He was given an opportunity to make a short film and the end result impressed studio vice president Sidney Sheinberg so much that he offered Spielberg a seven-year directing contract, making him the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio. He subsequently dropped out of college to begin his professional directing career, but in 2002 he returned to complete his BA degree in Film and Electronic Arts.