<p>We are from the East Coast --nothing is worth going such a distance except for the program at USC. In UCLA the program starts in junior year and you won't know if you are accepted into it until close to then. You could go to UCLA and spend two years there and then be turned down for the screenwriting program. At USC, as at NYU, you are in as a freshman, therefore it is guaranteed. USC is #1 in screenwriting and trumps UCLA, I believe. Nope, no UCLA, even though his dad is actually an alum.</p>
<p>yup, Northwestern is excellent too, obviously a top school. But ...for us far away, not as far as USC, but one so far away is enough. Big schools are not really the best fit for him, as others on this list have pointed out. Bard, Vassar, Wesleyan would suit him better --not in course focus but energy and style. I don't think Northwestern has a truly dedicated screenwriting program, rather, it is part of the film program --this kid really wants to be a writer, not a filmmaker. There's a dramatic writing program at SUNY Purchase, too. Not on our list.</p>
<p>momofdzt, I really suggest talking to kids at USC in both the screenwritng program and at large (on the off chance he changes his major, which sometimes happens.) </p>
<p>It is a HUGE school (though the screenwriting program is smaller) and learning screenwriting in college has little correlation with future success as a writer, other than opening a door/getting someone to look at your work. </p>
<p>In my experience it is not that hard (even with no connections) to get someone to look at your work. Lots of people think the reason they aren't selling scripts is their lack of connections, when it is probably simply that they are writing poor scripts.</p>
<p>If the program is really appealing, okay-- but the creative kids I know at USC are not raving. It is immense, impersonal & red-tapey; the polar opposite of Brown style.</p>
<p>Yes, USC film school has prestige. But not every kid will feel he fits there. It & BU are deffinitely the oddballs on your list; everything else feels like it is of a piece.</p>
<p>I know, I know, you have too many. But I'd add SUNY Purchase as a better fitting safety/match.</p>
<p>he is insistent upon USC and is going to visit and interview. He is convinced he can go from USC straight to the writing staff of Saturday Night Live. I personally would prefer he not apply but it is his choice. As to Purchase I will add it to the list, but it is NOT a safety because they accept only 20 freshmen to the dramatic writing program each year. Purchase alone is a safety --but not the dramatic writing major. btw I know a thing or two about writing because my husband and I are both professional writers aka journalists in NYC. You are absolutely right, in my field of magazine journalism the same thing holds: the most important thing by far is doing good work and it matters NOT AT ALL where you got your degree or for that matter if you even have one.</p>
<p>As I recall, the Harvard Lampoon was the fast track to SNL... Of course it's not like USC would hurt him. ;)</p>
<p>I am glad to know you are a journalist; clearly a parallel universe, so you 'get it.'</p>
<p>Obviously if you are studying anything serious and writing-intensive in a place you love you will be getting a great preparation. Good luck to you S!</p>
<p>The way I see it is this: They take only 25 students for USC screenwriting in what is a worldwide competition. The chance of him (or any one student) gaining admission is very slim --I think less likely than admission to Harvard. On the other hand, applications are due early (Dec. 10) and require that he ask for 5 recommendations. Do you see where I am seeing the upside here? He's not going to USC unless he gets into THAT program. The last time I did college APS my older one was deferred from his first choice on December 15 or thereabouts. It was a blessing in that it was a huge dose of reality for us --thank god we saw the light before we repeated the mistakes of so many others and he ended up with nothing-- but it gave us about a week and a half to do all those other aps, what a nightmare. I understand, early on this time around, how competitive and uncertain all this is, how even the most stellar students can get rejected if they don't cover the bases. I want to do it differently this time--and the early deadline at USC, if nothing else, will enable it...along with that early (instant) application to Bard...I will tell him to apply to the Lampoon too, thanks.</p>
<p>sounds good :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
it matters NOT AT ALL where you got your degree
[/quote]
This is what my son has discovered in the 2 years he has been out of college and working -- he also says it doesn't matter at all what the major is. He's not in a field involving writing, but rather has been involved doing hiring in the nonprofit/fundraising sector - there a college degree is a little bit helpful, though good experience is an equalizer -- but again, no one cares where the degree came from or what it is in. </p>
<p>But I don't think you will ever convince an 18 year old that maybe his future as a screen writer would be better served if he would major in something that would open doors to real world experience (for example, something like a foreign language or archeology that would creat opportunities for lots of travel). Or to tell him that Hollywood already has more USC grads than they could ever manage to employ, maybe a resume with something unusual on it might attract more notice?</p>
<p>So here's hoping for your son's sake that he gets into his first choice school... and for your sake that he does not. ;) [That way, we can pop open the Champagne next spring whatever the outcome]</p>
<p>Sorry to add to your list, but I'm very surprised Oberlin isn't on it. It sounds like very much what he's looking for, with strengths in all those academic areas--many people think Oberlin has the best undergraduate creative writing program in the country--and it's very similar in character to Wesleyan and Brown.</p>
<p>what bothers me about Oberlin is the following: Its incredible creative writing program is not open to all its students. Instead, only a small number are selected to the department after being in Oberlin for a year or two. So, one can go to Oberlin hoping to study creative writing and then, after getting into Oberlin and attending Oberlin, still be REJECTED by the creative writing department. THIS is unacceptable in my opinion, and why I did not put Oberlin on the list. If you have to appy to a department at least be able to do it as a freshman so you can know up front what you are buying into. Assessment of creative writing can be subjective and I think it problematic that someone who intends to pursue this major might have any chance at all of being kept out of it by his own college. This is the same reason why I would not apply to UCLA as a freshman hoping I would be one of the few to be admitted to its screenwriting program as a junior.</p>