I’m a current high school senior living in a suburb of chicago, and i’ve been admitted to the film programs at both Depaul and Loyola Marymount University. I’ve gotten all my financial aid information back, and after doing the math, it would cost 70,000 more dollars to attend LMU than Depaul. I know that LMU has a more pretigious reputation, and probably a better program, but i’m not sure if the difference between Depaul and LMU is big enough to warrant a 70k dollar gap. Can anybody compare the pros/cons of the two schools, and do you think it is worth it to spend that money? Is Depaul a good school for film?
I’m an international transfer student and I was recently admitted into the Film and Television program for DePaul University, but haven’t heard back from Loyola Marymount University as of now. From what I have found out, DePaul does have a pretty strong film program, with one of the big factors being its connection to Cinespace Studios where students have the chance to work with industry level equipment, with some even securing jobs there before graduation. As for LMU, one of the driving factors that make its film program really good is its location and connections to big studios. With LMU being in the LA area there are definitely more opportunities for networking and finding good connections that can help with your film career.
I would also like to point out that LMU’s community is smaller than DePaul’s. The learning environment is more intimate and class sizes are generally on the smaller side, so if you enjoy working in closely tied groups LMU would be a good choice. DePaul on the other hand leans more towards a larger campus and community size which would give you a more traditional big university experience.
To summarize, if you’re looking for a strategic location with good networking opportunities I would pick LMU. If you’re looking for a less costly but a pretty solid film program DePaul is a good choice too, despite maybe not ranking as high on most college lists compared to LMU. Overall, I would say the main difference is the location and the community size.
I applied to both universities too, so good luck to you!
My daughter also was accepted at both programs. She decided the difference in cost was not worth it for LMU, so she will attend Depaul. She is looking forward to DePaul. Go visit when they are doing the Cinespace tour if you haven’t yet.
Hi,
Not sure if your still reading this or not, but I’m a DePaul film student. From my experience, it’s great. Class sizes are small like 10-15 people (sometimes 20). The campus itself is great, it’s spread out in both the loop and lincoln park. It’s an excellent place to learn film because you not only have Cinespace which is great, but the whole city of Chicago at your disposal! There are so many stories you can tell here. Pretty much all of my professors have been phenomenal and they’ve worked in the industry. We also have LA quarter, which is where you can spend a quarter in LA and get an internship there.
That being said, although classes are small, DePaul has a TON of film majors. They aren’t selective, which is great because they are willing to teach anybody who wants to learn film. The more competitive film schools like NYU or USC reject a lot of applicants, and it can be really disheartening for a student. I certainly know this was true for me as someone who did a lot of film stuff in high school. I really appreciate that DePaul takes pretty much anyone and I don’t think they’ll ever change that. But with a lot of those majors, something like LA quarter means they have to be selective since they can’t take a massive group of people. So just be prepared for that and build up your resume, especially in your sophomore, junior, senior year. You’d be surprised how many opportunities there are in the city to gain more experience!
Although LMU is more well known, it really doesn’t matter where you go for film school. You can easily be successful at both places and secure good jobs from both programs.