Let's cut to the chase with NYU Film

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

<p>I cannot get a decisive response on admissions to NYU Film. Yes the website says highly selective, but it says the same thing for CAS and let's be honest here, it's not exactly HYP. I'll have some people tell me, "no problem you'll definitely get in," and then turn around and hear "what are nuts?"</p>

<p>I've seen some stats suggesting its harder to get into NYU Film than Harvard, and then I come across people who were accepted and they have very modest (far from bad, but not extraordinary) stats.</p>

<p>I simply cannot gauge the difficulty of getting into this program. Does anybody actually know?</p>

<p>The furthest I've ever gotten with the Tisch faculty itself is that academics and the portfolio are weighted 50:50.</p>

<p>I would say I'm competitive academically.</p>

<p>SAT I: 1510 (770 Verbal, 740 Math)
Writing: 670 (blah!)
SAT II: 770 US History, 770 Physics, 750 Biology E
4.0 GPA - Top 10% (Let me be a jerk and say I'm hairlengths above top 5% but I have to mark down top 10%)
-I don't take straight AP/Honors, but I do have 8 semesters of AP </p>

<p>On the EC wagon, I've founded and presided over a film analysis club and the nonsense that entails. I'm also highly qualified with home theater equipment to the point where I design, install, and maintain home theaters throughout my area (it's not work, I don't charge). I'm a member of many film appreciation circles. And while my area doesn't have much in the way of film education, I seek it out wherever it exists, such as attending adult screenwriting classes underage, and voraciously reading/inhaling every book on cinema/film/production I can find.</p>

<p>Now here's where I'm lost. This portfolio thing seems very fuzzy to me. NYU just says "oh, just chose whatever medium you're most comfortable in and we'll be able to measure your potential." Well that's great, but what the hell does it mean? Can I measure my chances in this area?</p>

<p>I chose the creative writing and slapped together a short story. One of my writing teacher hated it, the other loved it. Let me say that it's fairly thematically dense for a kid banging out a short story for an application (and I'm not saying that to be cocky, I LABORED over those pages). I felt that it was exciting, but there is also some real meat to what's going on. The problem is, it seems ridiculously superficial if you don't give it good consideration. After I submitted it, it dawned on me, these admissions officers are probably going to think it's a vague mess. Can I count on them to see what I'm really trying to say? Will they read it that deeply? Are they just going to dismiss it as nonsense? </p>

<p>My other piece of writing is much more straightforward. It's a Jean Shepherd-esque recounting of a childhood memory. It's short, but it has a lot of personality and I think it has a good sense of humor.</p>

<p>So what I'm trying to get to is, what kind of competition am I coming up against in the portfolio round? Are the people who get into NYU Film AMAZING artists and the modest stats I see just protect them from auto-reject?</p>

<p>Or is admissions really based on some hidden potential that only professionals can spot?</p>

2

<p>I got accepted ED for tisch film and television, and I'd say that your portfolio is most important. My grades are slightly below NYU's standards but I got in based on the strength of my student film and my wrting sample.</p>

3

<p>Okay, so would you say your portfolio was steller? Was it really amazing? Or did it merely show potential? (yes merely is a poor choice of words but you can see where I'm going to this)</p>

4

<p>I would say that I put extra work and emphasis into my portfolio. It isn't nesscessarily stellar, but above average</p>

5

<p>I have a friend who was admitted to film ED with a 1270 SAT and a 3.7 weighted GPA. His film was amazing.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, they say your review is 50:50, but I would say its probably skewed towards the portfolio. I had pretty much average stats but a pretty cool portfolio and I got in. As for your story, they will probably get more out of it than just face value, it is their job. I wrote a short, but fairly deep piece for the creative writing portion, and If you took it for face value, you probably wouldn't get much out of it. I'd say you're chances are good, and good luck.</p>

7

<p>I don't really want to diss NYU, but I think the stats of incoming students posted online do seem kinda exaggerated. Almost everyone I met had SAT I scores in the region of 1200, and because I did really well I almost felt stupid for being in a school where so many people didn't do so hot academically...... then again, academic performance doesn't mean the world to me either.</p>

<p>So yeah. Def a lot of emphasis placed on portfolio and recs.</p>

8

<p>Tisch's film program places a strong emphasis on storytelling. I think last year, someone on the NYU CC forum had good grades and a great film, but they were rejected because their film wasn't story-centered. I don't rember that person's username or anything else about the thread, but I suppose you could try looking it up with the Search function.</p>

9

<p>as long as your GPA is a 3.5 or above you're in with a awesome portfolio</p>

<p>They want to see what kind of talent they would be bringing if they accepted you.</p>

<p>Storytelling and creativity is pretty much what they'll be looking at. Don't use cliched plots or scenes unless you really need it.</p>

10

<p>They suggest getting portfolio in as early as possible. My son wants to apply ED but is still tweaking. Is it held against you if in right at deadline? Or is it better to apply RD? At Open House they said Tisch ED acceptance rate just a couple points higher.</p>