@merc81 I’ve been looking into Vassar, I think their film program leans a little more toward studies, however. That and the distance from NYC are the only things I don’t like about it. (PS: I’m quickly falling in love with Barnard, thank you so much for mentioning it!!)
@tarantinq Have you lived in a major city before? Its not all rainbows and unicorns.
Maybe your ideal college actually does exist. If so, you can remove the quotation marks from “‘Perfect Fit’” in a follow-up post, @tarantinq.
@BatesParent2019 I’ve lived in a suburb all my life, and I really can’t stand it. The pace is too slow for me, the population too small. I know all types of places have their advantages and disadvantages, but I at least want a change of disadvantages, if you know what I mean. I don’t want to live somewhere too small anymore; I want to live somewhere too big. I don’t want to live in a place similar to where I am now.
@tarantinq is that your real list right now or more hypothetical? It’s very reach heavy.
I totally understand but city schools can ironically be very boring places too. There is very little correlation in a student’s satisfaction with their college experience and location. Doesn’t matter if its a city kid heading up to Middlebury or a Vermont kid heading to Boston or NY.
Living in a suburb growing up and going to a college in a suburb or more rural location are two different things.
@lalalemma Mostly hypothetical.
@BatesParent2019 For the most part I’m not ruling out schools based on location unless they have another aspect I dislike; the reason many of my choices are in cities is because of the correlation with schools with film programs often being very large, and large schools often being in urban locations.
Regarding Barnard’s location: It’s in a defined collegiate enclave, in a progressive, interesting area of Manhattan, within one of the world’s safest large cities. If you are looking for an urban experience, it would be difficult to find a better environment.
Doesn’t Cornell excel in film? That is a big school known for a liberal philosophy and no shortage of activities or events.
@BatesParent2019 I was unaware they had a film program… I’ll look into that more, thank you!
Ithaca College down the street from Cornell is also know for film.
You need to consider Boston University. It fits ALL of your criteria, except for the “large school” one; however none of the schools on your list seem to fit that criteria. Most schools that have filmmaking programs aren’t small, anyway. But at BU, I can tell you that the College of Communications functions like it’s own college-within-a-college, so you can get a smaller school feel out of a massive university. There are no more than 2,000 students in COM at a time; my graduating class was 450 and only about 100 other kids in my major (journalism), which made classes sizes of about 15-25. Film/TV will have similar stats (and in fact, film production classes are hard-capped so there aren’t too many students in them). Many consider BU film/TV a “safety” school for NYU Tisch/USC film school kids (in part b/c it’s slightly easier to get into, and also because BU is more likely to offer merit aid than NYU), and you might want to look at it as such, as well. NYU and USC (the two best film programs in the country) are really competitive, and NYU doesn’t offer much money (do you need fin-aid), so BU is a wise fall back. (Emerson too)
More importantly, it really does fit all your other criteria, where NYU and USC do not. BU is completely secular, not a party school, has nominal Greek life (no houses allowed on campus), it’s super liberal, academically rigorous, has plenty of alternative people (especially in the film/TV program, but also in particularly CFA–College of Fine Arts). Plus, it’s study abroad can’t be beat, and it has a fantastic Los Angeles program (much like Emerson), which can be a boon to a filmmaking student not attending school in LA. BU has a reputed “mafia” in the entertainment industry, particularly of women at execute levels at studios, so you’d get as many networking connections as you would from other places. Emerson also has an industry “mafia,” btw. It’s well known out here (I live in LA now).
But, honestly, if you can get in, money isn’t an object and the Greek life/partying aspect of your list isn’t a dealbreaker (the kids I know at USC are extroverts who love football & parties), go to USC (for filmmaking).
@proudterrier Haha, money definitely isn’t an issue for BU; my father works there, so if I go, tuition would be free. I forgot they had a film program, so I’ll definitely look into it more now.
I just want to put in another vote to highly consider Emerson despite its scores.
I’m a CS major. I never even heard of Emerson until 6 months ago. I go to Northeastern, and my best friend (communications) had it as their 2nd option because of the program’s quality and ability in the real world. In fact, we went and toured the school for fun just last semester: If I was in any field they offer, it would have been a perfect fit for me. I had a very similar list as you, minus the large school part which I was fine with.
I’m not saying take it over NYU etc, but I’m guessing you will get a very good scholarship offer. It will by far be the best fit and value besides the average SAT/GPA etc. But, in the real world, Emerson has a name and an incredibly alumni network in the industry. In the end, it won’t be as big of a gap as the scores would suggest. Because of its size and limited focus, it has less top students applying. But it’s not directly representative of the quality.
Oh, wow! If you can go to BU for free, that’s a great option! 
BU COM Film/TV is a really good program–especially the connections from the LA program. I’d say it has a slight edge on Emerson, just in terms of alumni/connections. For example, BU has the Redstone Film Festival each year, ie: Sumner Redstone, mega-billionaire–is a benefactor of the school. Also, some rich Hollywood types have sent their kids there, which always helps. I was at BU with the Katzenberg kids Generally, it’s good to graduate debt free so it’s easier to be a “starving artist” after graduation… you have a better ability to pick & choose opportunities if you don’t have debt (ie: unpaid internships, etc.).
I’d just like to point out that I am a student at Northwestern who doesn’t party and it’s really not a big deal. We don’t have the wild culture of most big ten schools, and there’s a lot to do every night if you don’t party. If you live on south campus you hardly even see it.
You might look at RIT in Rochester.
Did you look at the portfolio requirements before deciding against Tisch?? Tisch is not looking for people who already know how to create films – they are looking for people who know how to tell stories. You don’t even need to submit a film! They will teach filmmaking; they want to admit intelligent, creative students!
Tisch is a school of the arts – it wants its students not only to be technicians and craftspeople, but artists who tell stories, learn about art in the world, and have a confidence in developing their own creative vision.
You should also know, before you say NYU is “below you” that quite a few people at Tisch turn down Ivies and other more highly “ranked” schools to attend their programs. My daughter attended Tisch (drama) and is not a big partier – especially not with drugs – and most of her friends worked to make money and / or were on tight budgets. So, the generalizations are really unfair.
I can suggest an ideal safety school for you, that fulfills many of your criteria: Temple. They have a very solid Film & Media Arts department, in a city with a lot of filmmaking activity. You do not need to submit a portfolio for admission, and - judging by your posts - you might qualify for a generous financial package. Philly is a great city for young, creative people. The department offers summer and semester-long programs in SF (focusing on New Media), LA, and Venice, Italy (involving the Biennale). It’s a big university, with a diverse student body. There is Greek life, but it doesn’t play a huge role in campus life. They have D-1 Football and Basketball, for sports fans, but there is also a huge arts scene: Temple’s Music and Fine Arts schools are first-rate, and Philly attracts artists who can’t afford NYC. It might not be ideal for you in other respects, but it seems like an obvious safety with rolling admissions.