<p>After several months of reading threads about the seven sister colleges and such other woman's colleges as Scripps in California, I am beginning to wonder if Smith is, in all actuality, a realistic option for me when considering film departments that will prepare me decently for gradschool and post undergrad jobs. Now, I understand that going to any of the five colleges in area will give me a step up in terms of classes available in film and I would definitely take advantage of that if I did decide on one of the five. I also happen to have developed a rather high opinion of Smith College and its lovely, happnin' town of Northampton. It's hilarious to read forums on here about Smith and Smith vs. so-and-so comparable school because you alums and students are just so darn passionate and....well, vocal :) Smith students have been extremely candid and transparent about what Smithies are and how life at the college goes down. That honesty is great, as I'm sure many prospective students would confirm as much.
So Smith is pretty great, yes, but as deadlines draw closer and I stare at Smith's supplements on Common App, I feel I wouldn't be doing myself any favors by committing to the school without knowing if their film program would hold its own weight compared to other departments. After reading their course descriptions and finding hardly a whisper of a film major on *****, I'm feeling far from settled. Advice, comments, clarifications, and all else you can bring to this thread would save my day. Have at me Smithies.</p>
<p>Depends on what your interests in film are. I don’t think Smith is in the same league as producing & writing as, say, UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount, and NYU to name four schools off the top of my head. If you want to major in film and then work in the film industry, I don’t think there are all that many schools that are viable.</p>
<p>Don’t know what Smith <em>does</em> offer but it’s not in the same league as the aforementioned.</p>
<p>I tend to agree with TD. I know some people that graduated from Smith that work in film now and a few Smith alums that work in the film industry, but Smith’s film offerings are not terribly abundant, and you would not be able to major in film if that’s a goal. If you want to study something else (studio art, theater, women’s studies, etc.) as a way of forming your perspective or informing your film “eye” while working on your own projects that’s fine. I don’t see why majoring in film would be a pre-req to eventually working in it, after all. But if you want a serious film education where you’ll get to use the best tools and have some exposure to the film industry, you might be better off at another school. </p>
<p>Smith has a very good Film Studies department, if that’s more your thing.</p>
<p>I’m not well versed in the Theater program at Smith but the facilities are gorgeous and depending upon what your interests are, working on Theater productions has a lot of cross-over with film in terms of skills, except, well, like, the camera-related stuff. Scripts are scripts, set design is set design, and acting is acting. (Okay, there are nuances of differences between acting for television and acting for stage, but…) </p>
<p>At UCLA, for ex, it’s one combined department: Theater, Film, Television.</p>
<p>Consider UTexas/Austin.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice you three, I have considered USC, UCLA, NYU and such but don’t think I would feel quite comfortable at a 20,000 + university for my undergrad (while I’m still figuring out exactly what job I would like to carry on to the film industry/grad school). What I’m mainly concerned with is internships related to film (where I can work with equipment and familiarize myself with the process) during college, film theory classes (which I would assume is really a must for anyone interested in the industry), and holistic exposure to the many elements of film to help me narrow down my interests in film.
Part of the reason I chose to look into Smith is because I am fairly dead set on LAC for my undergrad. I find Biology and History far too attractive to give up the chance to dive a bit deeper into them, so film schools are out. As for universities, well I may be wrong, but I get the impression that I would be taught a very narrow and strict discipline for film that is meant to carry on to production sets. Now, I like the idea of being prepared for actual sets, but I am still unsure of where my film pursuits lie and planned to use college as the time to test the many waters of that industry. I don’t believe there is ‘one way’ to make films. By working on internships and taking advantage of Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, and UMass’s film courses I assumed that I might get enough exposure to still make me fairly competitive for grad schools (by which I should know exactly what part of film I want to pursue). </p>
<p>Sorry for the length of this post. O_O</p>
<p>Have you looked at Emerson? I’m pretty sure they’re known well for film stuff, and it’s a pretty small college. They’re about as selective as Smith, probably slightly less. Though it’s set in Boston, and I’m not sure if you’re looking for more of a typical, small college town like NoHo.</p>
<p>Meanderer, you put your finger on something accurately: many film schools are conservatory style, meaning that you take film film film and any electives are worked in around the margins.</p>
<p>Given your preference for an LAC, which I endorse, and your desire to immerse yourself in Bio and History…which is fine, and I think film makers should know stuff outside of film, cf., lawyers & business folk…your Smith-centered Five College approach seems defensible. </p>
<p>Know that if you’re serious about film at the end of undergrad, you’ll have to get yourself out here to LA and start pounding the pavement and working connections like crazy. I wouldn’t rule out take some courses post-BA at some place like Cal State Los Angeles, which has an older, more transient student population and surprisingly good film facilities. By then, you may have a better feel of where in the film making process you’d like to work.</p>
<p>Just don’t get stuck writing treatments, you’ll be tabbed as a script-tease artist.</p>
<p>@ wanton, I would consider Emerson, but their curriculum is based pretty much entirely upon communication, media arts, business ,and journalism/publishing. That’s been the biggest issue with considering smaller schools, as they are either much less likely to be well rounded in terms of academic departments or they are well rounded in the traditional academics and thus exclude much work relative to film.
I’ll keep looking though. </p>
<p>@ TheDad, I agree with what you in regards to the intensity of work experience and connections I would have to make coming out of undergrad. Part of my great master plan in insisting that a LAC education would remain appropriate for my chosen career was that places (like lovely Smith) would be able to fund internships for me while in college. I figure that if I go were the getting is good (New York or LA to name the obvious) and show talent, persistence, and am willing to do some intense laboring for the sake of experience, I will meet enough people to start developing those bonds so that I will be in a better position to land a film-related job between college and gradschool. I’ll make sure to look out for those treatment-writing jobs. 
In any case, from what I have gathered about one’s undergraduate year, If you are involved in your community and remain academically strong, no gradschool is really barred to you regardless of where you are coming from. I plan to get a well rounded academic experience and I think I would be safe in saying that UCLA and Columbia would care more about the quality of my film experience and product over all else by the time I would be ready to apply to them.</p>
<p>It occurs to me that you could use your paid internship from Smith to work a summer in the LA film industry. (For film, and I’m not being parochial, you really want to be in LA and nowhere but LA…NYC not so much. Many many many more connections in LA.) I don’t know what all the adults in the LA Smith Alumni Club do but <em>somebody</em> has got to have connections to The Biz.</p>
<p>I still think, based on what you’re saying here, Smith is not a good choice if you want to study film. For one thing, we don’t offer film as a major. You can major in Film Studies, but that’s completely different, it’s the academic study of film, how film relates to and expresses ideas in society/culture/history, and how it shapes those forces. It doesn’t really prepare you though for a career in film, any more than a degree in English prepares you for a career in publishing. English majors do often go on to work in publishing of course, and I’m sure a Film studies major could potentially go on to work in film. But there’s a world of difference between studying films and making films. If you think you really want to make movies, either independently or with a studio, you would probably be better off getting an education that’s going to really ground you in how to do that, while still giving you the chance to dabble in other subjects to provide the rounding out that you want. Smith would provide you with a broad education with a chance to dabble a little in film production (there’s a few classes where you make a movie, there’s a nice media center for editing film in iMovie and things, but not really working with professional grade stuff). </p>
<p>Also, while small LACs like Smith can often offer internship funding and yes, even if you did major in film/film production you would need internships to make good connections and build experience, Smith is really far away from any center of the film industry. So while you would get some funding, $2000 does not go very far when you need to travel to LA or New York and live there for a whole summer, probably renting, while you intern. And you can only get that $2000 summer internship funding once, so the other summers you are on your own. If you went to a small LAC in southern California (Scripps, for example) you could get what you want and have a more realistic chance of doing meaningful internships without bankrupting yourself. You’d also have greater access to those internships. </p>
<p>And while you can draw on UMASS, Amherst, etc for film classes, it’s not simple to find the time to travel between campuses (it’s 1 hr each way to Amherst on the inter-campus bus, 30-40 min to UMASS, not counting traffic), or to schedule your classes on other campuses around your Smith courses. You can do it if it’s really a priority, but realistically most Smithies only take 1 or 2 courses off campus over the course of four years. it’s not really a good idea to count on that as a way to enrich your experience. </p>
<p>I almost never discourage people from applying, but if film is really important to you, you aren’t going to find the grounding to get a proper start in the film industry at Smith. If, on the other hand, you’re drawn to Smith for other reasons, and you want to study lots of things with maybe a little film on the side, you might like Smith. You just need to go into it with a realistic expectations.</p>
<p>If you want an East Coast LAC try looking at Sarah Lawrence - they have a filmmaking dept and are near NYC another active film site.</p>
<p>A very overlooked LAC that has a strong film department, relatively speaking, is Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>@ overwhelmeda, I am going to apply to Sarah Lawrence under RD and its relative closeness to New York City definately stuck out as an attractive bonus. The only thing I would really be worried about with them is financial aid, since I’ve come across friends who have been turned down from SL with an otherwise competative profile for the type of school SL is. I’ll still apply though. </p>
<p>@ SmithieandProud, I really appreciate what you’re telling me and it has confirmed everything I secretly dreaded when concerning LAC up in New England. Looking back on what I have previously poasted concerning internships and taking on courses at the other four colleges to make my film major, or film studies major, work as it would have turned out, it may come off a bit rash when concerning how many oppertunities will be readily avalible and will not require me to go all out and hunt down off campus during my four years. I considered Mount Holyoke partly because they seem to have a more developed film program. However, I may run up against the same problem, given I will be dealing with the same five schools. Having said that, all I really know concerning my interest in film is that I want it, in some way, shape, or form, to be part of my life long career. I cannot answer honestly that my desire lies in the common jobs associated with film as far as movies go, though that was the initial objective. I’m not trying to sound contradictory here, its just that I am as invested in my college experience as I am in my stability in a career and I care as much about what I learn concerning everything in the next four years, as I do about film and my future plans. I get the feeling that I would not benefit from choosing a college based souley on its film offerings, as the environment is normally too big, ect, ect. Likewise, I would never consider a school that offered absolutely zero in relation to film. Its a tough balance, and considering Smith is pretty frustrating (hence the thread :P), but I suppose the call will really come once I have all envelopes in my hands.
I will of course continue to look into Scripps, Sarah Lawerence, and other small schools that lean more heavily on film programs. </p>
<p>@ TheDad, I just checked out Loyola and I think it might possibly go on my list if my parents don’t stone me to death for all the application fees I’ve been bringing them. Thanks a ton!</p>
<p>
Speaking as a parent whose checking account is not without limit, given the totality of factors, application fees are insignificant versus the cost of four years in college plus the impact on your life thereafter. Ditto even for the non-trivial costs of visiting your finalists. As a decision, it’s maybe a notch below marriage in terms of trying to get it “right”. Unless you were applying for more than a dozen or so schools, I, parent to parents, would tell your parents not to sweat it. Short term cost to maximize long term gains.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I hang around this site is that if I can help 3-4 students a year make the choice that is the best “fit” for them, whether it’s Smith or not, it’s an accomplishment worth pursuing.</p>