I was wondering how much grades matter for schools such as
NYU Tisch
Chapman U
LMU Film
Syracuse
Ithaca
Fordham
UCLA and SD
USC
I have reallllllly strong EC’s in tv and film and a lot of volunteer/career work, but my gpa is 3.38- i started out w a 3.0 freshman year, a 3.4 sophomore year, and a 3.75 junior year- my ACT is about 30 if that also matters. I just wanted to know considering my grades if I should not apply to colleges such as USC, UCLA, and NYU. Also, if i ED to NYU do i legitimately have a shot?
Thanks!
i am also building my film/screenwriting portfolio
For your field “portfolio” is the most important thing, but for the very top schools in those areas (USC/UCLA/NYU), your GPA can not be ignored! Aim at LMU, Chapman and the likes, which are very good in film/tv but not as competitive as the first group!
What I’m about to say is related to Film Production majors (Film Studies will be more GPA/stats based as it is more of an “academic” major).
Grades do matter, but film programs care more about your portfolio and look at the grades to make sure you can handle the regular school work (i.e., won’t fail out). This is true at USC and NYU, UCLA maybe not, as it is overall more stats based, and they just started taking freshman directly into the film program the past couple of years.
With your upward trend and a decent ACT score, I wouldn’t not apply to the top schools, go ahead and give it a shot. Your overall GPA may make it harder, but if your portfolio is really good they will try to work with it. Can you take the ACT again? It might be worth it to try and get a 32 or so.
One thing to consider, though, is if you need merit money for school. Your GPA and ACT score are really what count for merit aid. If you need merit aid, then aim for the lower tier film schools, they may give you some (especially if you get your ACT up). USC/UCLA/NYU wouldn’t.
Would you recommend setting up an interview/ do they count?
@cjproblems I’m not sure what you mean by interviews. Are you talking about interviews once you have applied? If so, I think the answer is the same for any school: If you interview well, sure, if not, don’t bother. Of course, some schools require interviews, but others don’t really care. It depends on the school.