A dilemma - money vs programs vs location vs quality

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So far, I am officially in at NYU, Tufts, Amherst College, and BU (waitlisted at Columbia and Brown). And now I have a dilemma! I want to double major in English and film. And I have some issues.</p>

<p>Tufts - PRO: location I want (Boston), friends in Boston, no loans, high quality Eng. / CON: no film program</p>

<p>Amherst - PRO: virtually no loans, high quality Eng., 5 College area, I know the town, I have friends nearby / CON: no film program, very small school (ambivalent about location - 2 hrs from where family is now)</p>

<p>NYU - PRO: high quality English AND film, honors program / CON: problems with money - I got a full package (not gapped) but it includes a loan my mom and dad can't get because of bad credit/no income respectively, and way too much workstudy for someone who is double-majoring and in an honors program (mixed feelings about location - NYC is great but far from family)</p>

<p>BU - PRO: good fin aid package, loans are not bad, honors program, I have friends who go there and nearby / CON: not highest quality among the group in either field I want (though still a good school)</p>

<p>So what I'm looking for is, does anyone know something I don't? For instance, if I want to be a an author, screenwriter and documentary film maker (or any combination of the bunch), and travel a lot (Tufts would be good prep for this, I know), would going to grad school for film (and chosing one of the better schools now that doesn't have film for undergrads) be just as good? Would I be able to go to grad school for English and film at the same time or consecutively? (Have any ideas where? I am trying to think ahead better than I did this first time around.) </p>

<p>Or, conversely, how bad would it be to travel from NYC to Boston regularly? How likely is NYU to change my fin aid package to less loans and workstudy if I tell them that is the only thing keeping me from going there? It would be impossible for me to work and double major and have honors work all at the same time, and have $15 grand a year in loans on my own - since my parents can't do it. (I am one of seven kids with a disabled dad, and my mom is his caretaker.)</p>

<p>Hopefully I will eventually get in at Columbia and not have to worry about all this (yeah, yeah, I know, unlikely). If I got into COlumbia I wouldn't care about the distance.</p>

<p>Any thoughts for a totally confused person?</p>

2

<p>Do Tufts or Amherst have agreements with nearby schools that would allow you to take film courses elsewhere? You should ask this question directly of admissions people at Tufts and Amherst. Go to Tufts or Amherst.</p>

3

<p>I would also agree that you should narrow it down to Tufts and Amherst.</p>

<p>Re: the fact that Tufts doesn't have a film major, that's because they emphasize a breadth of classes and not just a specialization. They do have this amazing "International Letters and Visual Studies" major which combines the study of philosophy, literature, and media studies -- definitely look into it. Also the "Communication and Media Studies" minor is the largest at the school and offers film classes -- where you make and study them. It seems that if Tufts will have you out in four years with no loans, you really ought to go there. And Tufts would give you more of a film education than Amherst can. I can personally vouch for the fantastic English department at Tufts, if you have any Q's.</p>

<p>Re: traveling between Boston/NYC often, I do it nearly every other weekend 3-4 hours on the bus/train.</p>

4

<p>Amherst is a member of the Five College Consortium but the cross-registration agreement only applies to liberal arts courses.
I don't know about Tufts.</p>

5

<p>Tufts has a cross-enrollment agreement with BU, which offers plenty of film courses.</p>

6

<p>lolabelle - I did not know about those programs. Interesting. Do you know anything about Tufts graduates getting into grad school English/film programs?</p>

<p>Tufts is also looking good because of I would LOVE to study abroad for a semester, and then to make documentaries about what is going on in the rest of the world. I could have a show on the travel channel. :)</p>

<p>warblersrule86 - What kind of program is that? I found something about it on the BU website but not on the Tufts website.</p>

<p>I'll be in Boston a few weekends in April, so I'll be stopping by to visit BU (I have a friend who goes there) and Tufts (my old babysitter's daughters go there).</p>

<p>Anyone have anything to add about the NYU financial aid thing?</p>

7

<p>Look at Tufts' "Films for Social Change" class & program through the Tisch College of Citizenship & Public Service and the CMS minor.</p>

<p>Also, it's likely that if you get involved in the Institute for Global Leadership and/or the Tisch College, by juniro year, they'll pay for you to make movies abroad durin gnearly every break! I know a girl that Tufts paid to go to Afghanistan to film something over the Dec/Jan break, and she is now on a stipend abroad in Lebanon for a semester doing a photography project!</p>

<p>The cross-enrollment policy is just that you can take a class that Tufts doesn't offer at another school. I believ ethe schools are BU, BC, Brandeis, and MIT on some occasions, but I could be wrong.</p>

8

<p>Hampshire College, a consortium school with Amherst, has a fantastic film studies concentration. Go to Amherst!</p>