Auto-Admit Summer Film Programs for High School Students

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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Our son is looking for a portfolio-building program for film this summer. He is very talented and just had a festival win for one of his films, but had some setbacks with sports injuries, etc., that affected his grades, so looking for a non-competitive, but good program to help him make more content as he has just started to focus on this now that grades are improving across the board. Need to stay under $5k and want him to stay in a dorm for pre-college experience.

Have researched Columbia College Chicago, (and he is interested in this one for college), University of North Carolina School of the Arts, SCAD and Chapman. Would love him to go to Chapman’s program since they produce 3 films in two weeks, but afraid he wouldn’t get in as he is not quite a 3.0 GPA at the moment, and they don’t let you know until April, so he would miss other opportunities as I hear the others sell out by Feb/March. Chapman also requires a creative resume and he would not have much to put on there at the moment, having been an athlete with little time to focus on this. He is also talented in graphic design but wants to work in the film industry.

Thanks for any advice on the above or knowledge of other affordable, structured programs that are challenging enough but not competitive in terms of getting in.

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SCAD has two programs–rising star which is more intensive for between Jr & Sr year and then the regular one which is just courses and doesn’t fill up/sell out–at least they still had room when we looked last April. It was our backup if DS hadn’t gotten into Chapman’s program. NYU has one, it’s pretty competitive though and applications are due in January. Emerson has a four week one that is supposed to be great. My kids both went to Chapman’s Summer Film Academy and I can’t say enough good things about it. The creative resume is about what work you have done so if he’s won a film festival that’s terrific! It can literally be four or five independent projects on there, or art courses at school. My daughter is now a Junior there in Creative Producing and my son is anxiously awaiting word on his Early Decision application for Film Production. You don’t say where you are located, but if you are in California you can also look into California State Summer School for the Arts at Cal Arts. My son went the summer after his junior year, but in their acting program, not filmmaking.