Choices: Chapman or Ivy League?

[funfun]

<p>Suppose you are into film or theater, would you choose Chapman over an Ivy League College? </p>

<p>The Ivy Leagues have more prestige and you could double major with something that would make a good backup career. </p>

<p>The advantage to Chapman is that it is close to L.A., has a much better climate than the East Coast, and actually has special programs in the right majors. Since your department has picked you, you know it's selective and picking students who are the best at what you do. Unless, the selectivity is a show.</p>

<p>At the Ivy League Schools, you apply to the schools and not to the majors.</p>

<p>Here's the drawback to Chapman. It's got a high acceptance rate to the school, itself, and everyone knows it. Film and the performing arts are more selective. That may be enough to balance the selectivity of the Ivy League schools. Does anyone know the percentage? Emerson, which is not an Ivy, claims to be under 5% on certain majors. Is it close to that at Chapman for the specialty programs?</p>

<p>The biggest drawback to Chapman is that the law and business programs are to the right of George W. Bush. Colin Powell is being honored this month and torturer John Yoo is a visiting prof. The Ivy League Universities are all liberal. However, I've heard that some of the Chapman profs are protesting Yoo and that the students are more liberal in film and the performing arts.</p>

<p>Also, is there an attendance factor that prevents students from working on films while attending Chapman?</p>

[esther_day]

<p>I have a friend at Yale who wants to be a filmmaker and I asked him a similar question. He made a choice between Yale and USC. </p>

<p>Here's what he told me a few months back about making his choice between film school and Ivy:</p>

<p>"I began to really explore what Yale had to offer in terms of what i was interested in (film, music, theater, literature, psychology).. and i realized that i didn't want to constrict myself to ONLY the medium of film (which seemed closer to what would happen at USC).. i wanted to broaden my education so that i could be a writer/artist first, and a filmmaker second.. it was a personal choice, and it mainly had to do with the fact that i wasn't QUITE sure that film was exactly what i wanted to do. </p>

<p>when i got into USC it was a dream come true, and i so badly wanted them to win me over so I could have an excuse to take that (film school) route, but after visiting Yale and USC back to back, I realized that I was on the right track of thinking... plus, Yale and USC are VERY different schools (sports, weather, size, etc.).. And I preferred the idea of having a broader, unrestrained education at Yale than having the more focused education of USC. Yale represents the Liberal Arts education. USC Film represents the Film School education, and I ended up realizing that I wanted the Liberal Arts education.. </p>

<p>I can still do film at Yale.. in fact I'm going to take an intro to film class this next semester. I may end up majoring in Film Studies here.. But I'm also taking literature and psychology and playwriting and drawing.. and may end up majoring/focusing on any of those interests.. It feels good to know that I have room to change direction if i feel like it."</p>

<p>For me, I'm choosing Chapman...as a filmmaker, I think networking is one of the most valuable skills (other than creativity) one can possess. This is the aspect that drew me to Chapman University. There, the students work as a team, with everyone benefiting off of the success of another. As well, the professors at Chapman will frequently provide contacts within the industry or even allow students to assist them in their editing, foley, and/or cinematography. To me, film is about creating art, not competition.</p>

<p>The problem for me with a purely Liberal Arts institute is that I’m not entirely satisfied with majoring in Film Study; I want to understand the equipment before I get to the industry. I don’t want to hole myself away in grad school before I have the chance to explore life. The problem with film school, though, is that I most likely will be earning a BFA, which significantly limits what other subject areas I can dabble in.</p>