I’ve been interested in Wesleyan for a while, in part because of their incredible film department, but I only learned this weekend on my tour that you have to apply and might not get in. It’s described as one of their “most sought-after majors” but given the limited resources in the department they can’t take everyone. Does anyone know how hard it is to get into? Like, do you have to really suck to not get in? I read that there are basically a few prerequisites and then they’ll judge from the pool of people that fulfill them to pick. So about what % fulfill the prereqs and what % get in from there?
We just toured there and Film is in their Top 5 majors. However, it didn’t seem like they had a cap on the number of students in any given major and it didn’t sound like you had to “apply” to become any major; you just had to take the classes and declare. So you can go in Undecided (which I think 40% of their incoming freshmen are) and still go into Film.
Film is a little different from Wesleyan’s other majors. A huge part of its allure is its alumni network which has done a good job of connecting graduating seniors with entry-level jobs in the industry. It doesn’t guarantee that every graduate will still be making a living in front of or behind the camera ten years from now. Far from it, the odds of being a life-long success writing, directing, performing or producing any kind of art is extremely slim. But, the department does try to hook you up. It’s the only academic department I can think of that makes that attempt. And, for that reason, it can’t expand according to student demand like the others; it has to keep in mind how many job-seekers it is sending out into the world.
The closest analogy I can make is to pre-med. There are certain courses that have to be taken by the end of sophomore year and a GPA (at least a B avg.) that has to kept up. The better you do in those prerequisites, the better your chances of winning the Golden Ticket (high five for the Willy Wonka reference - c’mon don’t leave me hangin’!) There is an arbitration process, so - yes - there are disappointments.
really not that difficult. b+ in both intro classes is the requirement. if you don’t get those grades, you can apply and they still might take you. if you care about majoring in film, i’d say it’s very likely nothing will stop you. doesn’t mean it will be a smooth road once you are in the major but i wouldn’t be too worried