Fall 2023 film : Emerson, Ithaca, Chapman

Applying to College Early Decision / Early Action
21

Hi

My son who is passionate about film went through this process in 2020, and applied to three of the same colleges: Emerson, Ithaca College, and Drexel. In addition, my nephew, who also studied film, just graduated in May from Columbia College Chicago, and is embarking on a career as a cinematographer.

There are some good things about each of these colleges. He was accepted at all those colleges. His first choice was Emerson, but they didn’t offer much financial aid, and we couldn’t afford it. We visited Drexel’s campus, but it was during the early days of the pandemic, most colleges had gone virtual, and we never got inside the buildings. It is a well-thought-of program. We had visited Ithaca College before the pandemic, so he knew the campus well. He deferred for a year and stated in fall 2021. He has had a great experience so far. He changed his major from screenwriting to cinema and photography, but they all seem to float in close confluence to one another.

I imagine the academic experiences are similar–the film programs at Ithaca and Emerson are seen as pretty high quality. They both have campuses in Los Angeles. Many of the Ithaca College film students, including my son, plan to spend the second semester of their senior year in LA, and hope to parlay internships there into job offers.

From the list of colleges you have provided, I would say the biggest difference is setting. All of them, with the exception of Indiana and Ithaca, are urban, and might offer more diversions. Ithaca is a cool little city, and a classic college town, with IC and Cornell, but it is remote. You really have to want to be there. Despite those potential drawbacks, my son has found a lot to do, a lot of talented peers, and professors with connections in Hollywood. Ithaca seems particularly to have a lot of graduates who are now writers for television shows in LA. Like many film schools, at Ithaca you can borrow college-owned cameras, lighting, sound equipment, etc. for free, and learn on it, film your own projects. He is already filming and working on sets in his second year there.

Ithaca, in general, is a pretty artsy college, with a lot of people majoring in theater, musical performance, and writing, so he has found his people. I got very much the same vibe at Emerson.

As for Columbia College Chicago, my nephew had a really good experience there until his senior year, when because of staff restrictions, not every senior could do their own capstone project. Unfortunately he was not able to. But I have seen his reels, and he has done some amazing work. Chicago also has more professional opportunities–for example, there are more movies/shows that are filmed there.

As with everything when it comes to college choices, there are tradeoffs everywhere.

Good luck!

22

Hello,
My daughter has been accepted to Ithaca in Cinema and Photography. If you have more info it would be great. Right now she has the choice between DePaul (Chicago), Ithaca (both with generous scholaships) and Emerson (still waiting for their FA Package because no merit). Emerson was her top choice, very convenient too because close to home, but if there is no aid, she will go somewhere else. We visited Ithaca and liked it very much. We are going to visit DePaul at the end of the month.
Even if she has other offers, if we want to be realistic, DePaul and Ithaca will be the best ones. BU, Chapman, UCLA, USC, not only are reaches, but they also are very expensive.

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My son started in the screenwriting major, but he realized he wasn’t going to get much experience in putting together a film (directing, lighting, sound), and so he switched majors. He still gets to write a lot, but he has already taken two Cinema Production classes, which are more hands-on. He also took a required photography course (the major is Cinema AND Photography), which was eye-opening for him. He had to have a DSLR camera, and he spent the semester working on photo projects. It taught him a lot about composing scenes and getting the lighting right. He wasn’t sure about the usefulness of the class going in–now, he can’t stop talking about it.

I don’t know if this is what you are looking for. Let me know if you have other q’s.

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Thank you ! Yes, it is very helpful. It gives more concrete perspectives.

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My daughter is in at Ithaca and Emerson, waitlisted at Chapman. Having a hard time finding how many people actually are on the waitlist - is it 10? 100? 500? The admission counselor said 1400 people applied to the production program. So that is frustrating.

Emerson offered decent scholarship, still pricey but location, and networking opportunities seem to make up for some of that. Ithaca gave a really nice package, but the isolated location is a concern. So much stress for a 17 year old !

We are from Colorado, was hoping for a warmer destination, but LMU, USC and the UC schools are so SLOW to give decisions.

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Same for us: generous offers from DePaul and Ithaca, not generous enough from Emerson, deferred at Chapman. Visiting Emerson, Picture yourself at Emerson this Saturday. Emerson knows how to market itself. Well, a lot of institutions know. But frankly, I don’t think we should pay what they ask for because of networking opportunities and location. The majority of the students start at the bottom after their graduation and it’s not easy to live with their minimum wage in LA or NY. We went on a Paramount Studio Tour and one of the guides was an Emersonian who graduated last year. I’m not sure he was hopping for that king of position after graduation. My kids have friends who have between 100 000 and 200 000 dollars of debts with a Bachelor in Film production and each month they have a lot to pay back and it’s not easy. Rare are the students who are employed after their internship in LA. It happens. But not to all the undergraduates who graduated from Emerson or another institution with that kind of program. So we have to think wisely. I try to do so…

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We’re they waitlisted at Chapman?

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Applied EA and was deferred in December, so we are waiting with the RD pool for their decision. Did not apply to their Film Production program tho, but for Creative Producing. She applied to Film Production to Emerson, DePaul, USC, UCLA, BU and Concordia (Montreal) and Cinema and Photography to Ithaca. Not hopeful with USC and UCLA.

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This all sounds so familiar! My S20, who was interested in film, got accepted at Ithaca and Emerson, and waitlisted at Chapman. He was rejected by UCLA, USC, and NYU. Emerson did not offer enough financial aid to make it even close to affordable, so we couldn’t consider it.

Chapman makes extensive use of the wait list. In the fall 2021 class, it offered waitlist positions to 2,154 applicants. But it also eventually offered admission to 60 percent of applicants who accepted a spot on the waitlist. (for more detail, look at Chapman’s common data set. https://www.chapman.edu/campus-services/institutional-research/_files/cds/cds_2021-2022.pdf) So there is reason for optimism if you are on that waitlist, though you can’t know how many people on that waitlist are trying to get into film-related programs. (Full disclosure: my son was closed out of the waitlist, but he applied RD)

For whatever it is worth, he is at Ithaca College and having a really good experience. It is remote, but also a college town with 20,000+ students. So there is a lot of energy and creativity.

Good luck!

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For those who visited Emerson yesterday (Picture yourself at Emerson) what did you think?
March 25th will be Ithaca…

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nvm

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Some news: final aid (after appeal) from Emerson has come: 24K in grant for a total of 32K including loans and work studies. Not bad at all and we should be celebrating, but offers from DePaul and Ithaca are a lot better. Except if she lives off campus, D won’t be able to go to Emerson, and she wants to be on campus. I don’t know what she will finally decide, but Ithaca has become her top choice. We visited Concordia Canada this week and she liked it too and sees herself there. 800 appliquants and 90 students admitted they told us. Financialy, it’s doable because she would pay as much as the Canadians. And she has friends in Quebec. Some years ago, my oldest daughter was accepted at Emerson and Concordia in theater and decided to go to Emerson because of the connections if she wanted to come back to the US for work. I’m wondering if it would be the same with film production. Her connections will be in the film industry in Quebec / Canada, not in the US. Wait and see.

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My daughter also opted not to apply to schools in California or in NYC. We live in the NYC suburbs so she is familiar with NYC and she wanted more of a campus feel.

We are waiting to hear from BU, Northwestern and Vassar but she has been accepted to DePaul, Ithaca, Hofstra and the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase.

We just got back from visiting DePaul and the Lincoln Park campus and dorms were really nice. Production facilities at Cinespace and the Loop campus were impressive. They gave her good merit and the school moved up the list after the visit. Only downsides are that she would need to take out a loan and the school is largely a commuter school where only 19% live on campus. Most students find off campus apartments their sophomore year since it’s cheaper.

Ithaca gave her a good package as well and we visited once but my daughter didn’t love it. The dorms were small, the campus was hilly and felt far from the town and she is concerned about internship opportunities since Ithaca is not close to any major city. I like that it’s a real campus experience and Ithaca itself seemed like a very cool college town.

I am hoping she choose Purchase though since with instate tuition she can graduate debt free and the faculty are working professionals in the field based in NYC. Their film conservatory accepts only 20-30 students so it’s a small, intensive conservatory environment which I think would give her strong connections with her classmates.

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We are registered to go for an admitted student event at Ithaca in March. This would be her second visit. She seemed to really like DePaul so not sure if the visit will sell her on Ithaca ( I would prefer her to be closer to home)

Curious as to what were the deciding factors that moved Ithaca above DePaul for your daughter?

And Concordia sounds like a great option. I wish my daughter had applied there. We loved Montreal.

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This is what she says:

  • I don’t really like the trimester system, makes me worry the courses will be too surface level and it also makes study abroads less long; (for this point, I, the mother, agree)
  • I had only been looking at city campuses until Ithaca so it was a discovery to see that this kind of campus might interest me (also having lived in cities/suburbs my whole life its a change of scenery); (that is true, D applied to 6 institutions that are right in the middle of a big city or not too far, and only 2 that are more remote like Chapman and Ithaca, so I also was suprised she liked Ithaca)
  • I come from a very small school, so going to Chicago in a University seems like two big steps for me, with Ithaca’s smaller size it will be easier for me to connect with others and not be overwhelmed ; (that is true, that’s why she seems to prefer colleges to universities, but she liked Concordia that is right in the city and a university. But she has friends there so she propably would feel less lost)
  • the way the staff and guides on tours communicated with me seemed very personal and showed they cared; (I totally agree: we had two great experiences, one online, one on campus during the summer just before the start of the school year and it was perfect)
  • Ithaca has a great sound stage and studios (granted not as many and not professional like Cinespace) but in addition to that there is the option of filming in the great outdoors of New York state and I always love a good horror flick or camping short in the woods!
  • All in all I just didn’t get that feeling when I was at DePaul I guess? I just didn’t feel right. (that makes my husband and I sad because we think that DePaul would be a good fit: artistic city, dynamic, internship opportinities, large program…)
  • To summarize: if you’re looking for a place where film is happening all around you, De Paul is the place to be. It’s in Chicago, a rising major film city, and De Paul is quickly rising the ranks for the best film schools. I just didn’t feel the right things there. I am looking for a program with less students, where everyone knows each other, and DePaul is a University where film is one of its largest programs. There’s gonna be a lot of students there.

That being said, she didn’t say no to their offer yet, keeping her options open. We will go back to Ithaca March 25 and this week end, there will be an online event so perhaps we will connect too.

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My son will be visiting Ithaca on March 25th too. They gave him great merit and I like the small school and hands-on opportunities from day one. We live in Orange County and he was rejected at Chapman for film production. We are waiting on Loyola Marymount and Emerson (he was deferred EA). He got into CSUN, CSULB and San Francisco State. Of those, he is leaning toward CSUN as it is a ranked film school and has good internship opportunities. I still think Ithaca would be a great growing experience and he can intern here in the summers. The price is similar to the merit from Ithaca. The cold and being far from home are really the only cons.

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Oh, we are near Emerson College! My D applied to Chapman EA but was deferred (Creative Producing), so waiting on their decision, the 9th I think ? We are used to the weather but I understand your concern coming from a warm and sunny state. My oldest D told me she has a friend whose brother went to Ithaca College for another program than film and he loooooved it. Good feedbacks are always reassuring.

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Hi HolisticAF, I have another question regarding Ithaca. My D is leaning to that college but is still waiting for other decisions plus still considers Emerson (she would be off campus if Emerson). I’ve read feedbacks that were not very positive regarding the way students were able to join clubs or not at Emerson: a lot of competition, interviewed by your peers, so weird environment. I was wondering how it works at Ithaca. Is it hard to join clubs?

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Hi there. Ithaca holds a club night or something similar early in the semester, where reps of all the organizations are trying to interest new students. As I recall, my son signed up for too many things, and had to reduce his commitments. He ended up working on a sitcom for ICTV, the college television network, as a writer and actor.

It seems like there are many student film production clubs, a student-run radio station, writing organizations, etc. You have to be willing to “put yourself out there,” which he has no problem with, given his personality. I don’t know if there are a lot of cliques, but it didn’t seem like the barrier for joining was high.

It might be harder if someone is more reserved and doesn’t have friends at IC. One thing that helped him was IC has a program for incoming first-year students. (I can’t remember the name of the program but it is offered through orientation) He went to Ithaca a few days early, moved into the dorms, and went to a couple days of programming with other new students, so he got to meet some people and recognize faces. That helped with the transition.

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Thank you, sharing with D your input. It’s very helpful.