<p>Hello, I'm a senior in hs and its about that time of year when everyone starts going crazy over college and well to say the least it has me going crazy too. </p>
<p>As the title suggests I am applying to three of the top film schools in the country: NYU, USC and UCLA. What has me so incredibly stressed out is my qualifications for these schools. If anyone could help me figure out whether or not I stand I chance I'd appreciate it a lot.</p>
<p>I'll start off with what's good and move to bad:
- I have a pretty well rounded portfolio, including public displays of artwork and photography, political cartooning for a published book, several scripts, contest-winning papers and around 3 or 4 short films
- I have 2 really incredible teacher recommendations lined up, one from my English teacher and the other from my art teacher
- I've excelled in AP English and I got a 4 on the exam (I know that probably doesn't seem like much to most of you guys, but I'm proud of it)
- I got an 1880 on the SAT, taking ACT later this month
- And for the really bad part: I have an unweighted gpa of 3.06, weighted 3.66 and my class rank is 90 uw out of 259</p>
<p>I guess that's the most basic of information I can give, any light you guys can shed on my chances would be fantastic, thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I don't know about the rest but for USC, you should apply to CLAS and then transfer later to the film school. It's the same as applying to UCLA because at UCLA don't admit student in the film school until Junior year.
[quote]
Attention: The Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television is a two year, upper division program for students who have completed two years of general college studies. We do not admit at the freshman level.
Attention: Students admitted to Film are not permitted to change their major to Theater.
<p>Hmm, okay well at least if I don't get in a can transfer from a community college. Oh, perhaps I should add that I'm out of state for all these schools, I'm a resident of Maryland so yeah.</p>
<p>I used to see Quentin Tarentino when he worked at a video store in Southern California when I was in college. It was bizarro when I saw him on an interview for the first time and made the connection of who he was!</p>
<p>He was slightly weird and off then, but boy, did he recommend good movies.</p>
<p>Have you considered Chapman, which has an excellent film school, a great new facility, Hollywood connections, scholarship funding, and lower expectations vis a vis GPA? Also, what about North Carolina School for the Arts and Florida State? If you would prefer film school from the get-go to transferring in from community college, maybe it would be good to widen your net. Getting into film school at Chapman, NCSA, and Florida State is not exactly a walk in the park either; the kids who get in excellent; and you'd get to pursue your interests from the start. Do, of course, apply to USC and NYU, too! (USC cares a lot about students being creative in areas other than film, so your high level work in other areas should stand you in very good stead. Be sure to include all of it, with detailed descriptions, in the creative work cv they request.)</p>
<p>Lol thats incredible, I'd love to have an opportunity to just sit down and talk about movies with that guy. Was it one of those "wait, I know that guy!" kind of moments?</p>
<p>I'd never actually heard of Chapman until now, but now as I look through the school's site I'm beginning to be very interested, it looks great. Thank you both littlegreenmom and Nester for introducing it.</p>
<p>I would rent movies about once a week at this little hole in the wall place. I knew his name but he didn't make his first movie for years afterwards. I kept trying to place where I knew Tarentino from once I saw that interview. Then I did have the aha moment and felt really, really dumb!</p>
<p>He was just as super hyper as you see. Genius, really. </p>
<p>My favorites are his "Kill Bill" series. Spectacular.</p>
<p>You should definitely check out Chapman - small campus, nice location!</p>
<p>Haha wow, that is just amazing. It's funny how someone as ordinary as a movie store clerk can jump to high profile Hollywood director, but I think there's some lesson somewhere in that. Not exactly sure.</p>
<p>However, I have decided to apply to Chapman, I read through their goals and film school info and it seems just like what I was looking for. Still applying to the big colleges though, I'd still like to gauge somehow my chances but I'm somewhat afraid to really know.</p>
<p>Oh, and my own personal favorite is Pulp Fiction, but Reservoir Dogs takes a close second.</p>
<p>Yes, Pulp Fiction is a good choice. Reservoir Dogs is my oldest son's fave. I think most good film directors can see real life in a different way than the rest of us non-film types. </p>
<p>It is getting very competitive at Chapman, especially for film school. What do your stats look like? You should definitely apply everywhere you have mentioned. You never know what will happen with admissions.</p>
<p>My son is having fun because he keeps getting asked to be in short movies made by film students. Not exactly what he expected when he went off to college!</p>
<p>Well, my stats are in the first post of the thread and that's why I'm really worried. All of the film schools that have reputations also happen to be incredibly competitive (imagine that!) and my GPA, SAT scores, rank and all that happy stuff pales in comparison. </p>
<p>The only comfort I take is in the small part of me that remains hopeful that some admissions officer somewhere will find some value in my creativity ability rather than my academic stats. But then again, that's just because I'm a naive teenager. </p>
<p>That's cool about your son though, is he gonna let you watch his starring roles?</p>
<p>Film school is different. They do value creativity. You do have to show you have the academic promise, but also they want to see your portfolio of work. It helps not to be a late bloomer if this is your path! I don't know what a typical GPA is for Dodge Film school at CHapman, but make sure you connect with admissions at all of the schools and see if you can talk with students in the film programs at each school on your list so you can see what these programs are really like. Have you met an admissions counselor at any of the schools on your list?</p>
<p>Sorry, I hadn't seen the stats you had posted in your first message. Not sure what your chances are with the grades, but the SAT scores are fine.</p>
<p>I'm concerned that your GC didn't suggest Chapman as a school for an aspiring filmmaker to at least consider. Do you have a list of the top 10 or 12undergraduate film programs in the country? Particularly if you are interested in a production or screenwriting major, these are very competitive programs (for example, USC accepted less than 5% of its production applicants this year) and while you may be a very appealing candidate for NYU or USC, it seems important to look at other excellent programs as well if only to hedge your bet. </p>
<p>Also, film school applications can be very demanding with an emphasis on essays and creative writing in some cases and your portfolio or reel in others. The application deadlines for film schools may be earlier than the colleges' general application deadlines (at USC, for example) so you really need to get going in gathering a broader list, looking over the film programs' applications, and digging into those very involved applications asap!</p>
<p>If you haven't already considered UT Austin, Northwestern, maybe Cal Arts and Loyola Marymount, take a look, along with NCSA and Florida State. And definitely Chapman. They have a bazillion dollar new facility and a bunch of eager filmmakers. I'm not sure how your numbers will fly with UT and Northwestern, but see where you fall in their curve, and maybe talk to the departments to see if there is any flexibility, numbers-wise, for arts students with strong portfolios/auditions etc.</p>
<p>Hmm, UT Austin and Northwestern aren't for me, and I'm not interested in Cal Arts however LMU does sound interesting. And the whole GC thing isn't surprising, I go to a bad public high school and the GCs are totally incompetent. And I know about USC, I looked into their stats when I took a campus tour and it put the fear of God in me. Thanks very much for your input Nester I appreciate it. Perhaps you should look into a career as a guidance counselor? Jk ;)</p>
<p>Littlegreenmom, that's what I'm really hoping for, and after a little bit of research I'm beginning to see just how competitive Chapman is. However, you did make me feel a little bit better with the confidence in my SAT score. I've met with USC's admissions counselor but other than that no, life's been very hectic recently. I have to call the schools anyways to ask them something about their portfolios. Anyways, it's way past a decent hour here on the east coast and I have work tomorrow so thanks very much for everything, I'll be back at some point tomorrow.</p>
<p>Very glad you're checking out Chapman and LMU, and that you have a clear sense of which schools aren't for you. Have you looked at the NCSA website? It's by no means a typical college experience, but if you want a small setting and an intense all film all the time program with excellent faculty and facilities, it might be for you. (Probably less great if you want to pursue intense academic study in other, non-arts areas in addition to film, however.)</p>
<p>I think the issue here is not just the competitiveness of the film programs themselves, but the fact that the programs the OP likes best may demand higher SAT/GPA for admission to the universities that house the programs. He needs filmmaking programs that will give more weight to his filmmaking and other creative pursuits and will not be deeply upset that he doesn't have a 3.8 in light of his portfolio/reel, or excellent film programs housed in universities that accept students with a broader range of numbers.</p>
<p>Nester, you've hit the nail right on the head. All these schools have such high entrance requirements and I need to somehow get past those before even being able to try for film school. I realize that these popular film programs are incredibly competitive, and the schools that house them even more so. The main focus I'm hoping for in these schools is an intense film-centered program with hands-on work and connections outside of the school. The academics aren't really important, I'm more into the arts anyways (if you can't tell already).</p>