Hi! I’m an international rising senior whose planning to double major in film and math. As a career, I want to become a director in the film industry and so I will study film in college. However, I want to attend a college that has industry connections which will help me to build network and internship opportunities in the industry, so that I will have a chance to find potential investors for my projects. However, I need financial aid to attend college and many of the good film schools such as USC and NYU are not open to internationals in terms of financial aid. So I want to apply ED either to Barnard or JHU. Which one should I apply if I want to become a director in the industry? Which one has better opportunities for me to form connections with potential investors and production companies from LA? I am also considering applying to graduate schools in LA such as AFI, so will this decision affect my application to those schools? I would be very happy if you responded!
Did you eliminate all the other schools with film programs like Chapman and LMU i LA, Vassar, Wesleyan, Kenyon etc… ? You would need to check about international financial aid. I don’t think of Barnard for film and I don’t know anything about JMU and film. That seems like a very short list of schools and I would recommend you research more options.
between the two, and assuming that you are female, Barnard is a no-brainer as Hopkins program is tiny, tiny. Hopkins reported zero grads in that area last year. In contrast, Barnard had 13.
UNCSA has a top film program with relatively low tuition.
There are many better and cheaper options than Barnard and Johns Hopkins for film.
The top schools for film are USC and UCLA from what I’ve heard. But they are extremely selective - 5% acceptance rate. When we toured Johns Hopkins I got the impression that while they offer humanities majors, the school and the student body are very science focused. LA or NY is where you would want to be for film.
Well I said that USC or UCLA doesn’t offer financial aid to internationals so I can’t apply to those schools. Would it be okay if I stayed in LA and NY in graduate school?
UNCSA doesn’t give financial aid to internationals. Only merit scholarships. But I need full financial so I am looking for colleges that meet %100 need. Do you have any suggestions?
While not international mine is in a similar situation looking at film schools and wants a heavier production hands on intense BFA film production experience but schools like UCLA and NYU are not possible for our family. It seems like Yale, and Wesleyan may be ones for you to look into? I think they may be more theory and history of film based than what mine is looking for but do offer a lot for higher need high stat students. Also I would look at schools in Canada like Ryerson as a possibility? I think they actually give a fair amount for international students. Hope this helps!
Chapman is a top (#6 currently, but two of those above it are only grad programs) film school and they offer both merit and need based aid to international students. They encourage double majors and have a math major. IF you do their program just outside Los Angeles, you will have the opportunity for internships in the LA area and most students work straight out of college and don’t need to do grad school
Do you plan to stay in the US after you graduate? You ought to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the immigration process…
@blueokapil what did you decide on?
I know this is months late…but JHU has MICA (MICA has a Film BFA), and Barnard has NYC. (and Columbia where most of your film classes will be). Location is paramount if you plan to work in the industry, so Barnard would be your best option. Good luck to you!