I got in, but now I'm not sure

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>I got into American University and they’re giving me lots of financial aid. All of a sudden, it has become cheaper than everywhere else I applied to. I was expecting to be able to dismiss American because it would be too expensive, but now the choice is a lot tougher.</p>

<p>I want to major in film production. At the other schools I’m applying to, I would graduate with a film portfolio. Is this the case with American? Somehow I get the impression that film production there is more like film studies and I won’t be able to build up much of a porfolio of my own work.</p>

<p>If I don’t get an education in how to make films first-hand, by actually making them, I’m not sure I’d want to attend. American isn’t an art school, but will I at least be able to build up experience as a filmmaker and graduate with a portfolio?</p>

2

<p>I can’t offer any information on the AU film program, but I do recommend you attend accepted students day and arrange ahead of time to meet with the department head and some students in the program while you’re there, so you get your answers from those best able to give them.</p>

3

<p>I heard it’s the other way around-- a friend’s D is there now, and wants to transfer because she’s more interested in film theory and analysis and says the American program is more hands-on.</p>

<p>I would email the department chair. You’re accepted, so they want you, and they should be helpful!</p>

4

<p>The short answer: You <em>will</em> get <em>lots</em> of hands-on film experience.</p>

<p>I’m not a film major myself, but I have a lot of good friends in the program, and actually had a work study job for a year and a half in the program’s equipment room. The School of Communication, where the program is located, is very, very hands-on in all of its programs, as it’s a professional school. The film program is all about making films, learning the craft, and developing a portfolio. You’ll spend most of the time with a state-of-the-art HD camera in-hand, filming on location. </p>

<p>In the past few years the program has produced a lot of Student Academy Award winners, particularly in documentary film. Faculty have lots of industry experience and can often pull you into their productions, and the school has relationships with all kinds of institutions in and around the city, such as the DC Film Council, Discovery Communications, National Geographic, all kinds of federal agencies, and film festivals in the area (including the nation’s largest documentary festival, SilverDocs…see a theme?). </p>

<p>The school also runs the annual Visions Festival, where you can enter your student films. The school also includes (very hands-on) research centers such as the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Center for Social Media, and the Foreign Correspondence Network, where lots of undergrads take on projects. There is a Summer in LA program run by an professor (and alumnus) who won two academy awards for sound work on Dances with Wolves and Glory. </p>

<p>Publications such as the Hollywood Reporter and the book Film School Confidential have rated the program as one of the top undergraduate film programs in the nation, and the program’s director was also named a top mentor by I believe Hollywood Reporter as well. </p>

<p>There is a film studies minor, which deals with theory, and is located in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Literature. Taking this minor would be a nice complement to the major, but would be entirely optional, and is a much smaller program. While there is undoubtedly a theory class or two in the film major, if you’re in the School of Communication, you’ll be dealing with actually making films, no question about it.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any additional questions or clarifications and I’ll hook you up with an actual film student who can go more in-depth than I can.</p>

5

<p>Here is a link to a website that features lots of faculty and student work from the film program:</p>

<p>[Film</a> and Media Arts Student and Faculty Work | American University School of Communication](<a href=“http://american.edu/soc/film/student-work.cfm]Film”>http://american.edu/soc/film/student-work.cfm)</p>

<p>Hope that all helps!</p>

6

<p>I am an AU parent. I can’t speak to the film major. But I can say that if they have what you want academically, it may be a chance to be a big fish in a small pond. I understand your dilemma with being offered so much $$ that it’s hard to pass it up. Same thing happened to our son, as well as to many of the kids he’s become friends with at AU. It IS a great deal. But the question you have to answer is, is it the right place for you? Because if it’s not, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bargain. I’d spend some time on campus, talk to the department you’re interested in, and also talk to students in that department. As for going to admitted students day … just beware that on those days, regardless of the school, they shine everything up to make it appear ideal. Which no place is. So if you do visit on admitted students day - at AU or at any other school - do so with a critical eye. Ask lots of questions so you can make an informed decision. And if you decide to go to AU, congratulations.</p>