So with only a few days left until I have to make my deposit, I’m facing a major dilemma. Where do I go to school? I was accepted into Chapman as a communications major and into Emerson as a film major. I realized a few months ago that film is what I’m really passionate about and what I want to major in, unfortunately that didn’t give me any time to create a well-built portfolio of which Chapman requires. So I decided to not apply to Dodge because I knew I wouldn’t get in. Let me lay out the pros and cons of each:
Emerson:
Pros:
-Film major (can start my education the first year and have GE classes molded to that)
-East coast
-A lot of free reign with independent film projects
-Great study abroad programs
-New building in LA that let’s you have an internship credit for one semester either junior or senior year (still wouldn’t be working all four years though, seeing as big film production companies aren’t in Boston)
Cons:
-No acting opportunities (I frequently go to auditions in LA, I live in CA, so this is really important to me. I don’t like theater so that’s not an option)
-Less internship opportunities (As a film major I would need to have job experience all four years because of the competitiveness of my field)
-Greek life is a joke (worried that there isn’t a great social scene)
-No popular sports
Chapman:
Pros:
-Crazy amount of Internship opportunities (could guarantee I’d get a job out of college)
-A lot of acting opportunities
-More popular sports like football
-Greek life (and a party scene)
-Great film grad school (1 extra year of college for a masters)
-Love the city of Orange
Cons:
-Would either have to minor in film or try to transfer from communications into the dodge program. As a minor I wouldn’t get as full of a film education. Trying to transfer would mean I have to stay at the school for a year without a guarantee I would get in (very low acceptance rate). If I had gotten into Chapman for film originally I would’ve chosen to go there.
I would really appreciate advice. And as a heads up, I can’t go to Emerson and then transfer to Chapman’s Dodge film program if I got in because most of my credits would not transfer. So I could either go to Emerson where I’m guaranteed a film education but not guaranteed internships or acting gigs or other connections important for after college jobs in my field, or I could roll the dice on Chapman miss out on a year of film classes and risk not getting into film at all and being stuck as a comm major.
**Sorry if some of my writing doesn’t make sense I’m stressed and writing like crazy!