<p>So I got into USC, Chapman (scholarship) and NYU Tisch. Can't choose.</p>
<p>Okay, so I know the usual things.
Specific areas where I need opinions - </p>
<ol>
<li>Class size</li>
<li>Faculty - are the NYU profs as in touch with the indistry as in Chapman?</li>
<li>Course Selection - I noticed that NYU seems to offer a better variety of courses. Do you think the variety of courses at Chapman is sufficient? Would the difference in variety make a difference?</li>
<li>Connections with people in the industry - not necessarily looking to break into Hollywood, but what about getting your films/scripts screened/noticed? </li>
</ol>
<p>Also, is L.A easily accessible from Chapman if you don't have a car?</p>
<p>Thanks so much.</p>
<p>you need a car if you plan to live in Southern California and spend time away from the Chapman Orange County campus…</p>
<p>Chapman is in Orange County not LA and its a good drive in traffic (2 hours). If money is an issue take the scholarship. If it is not an issue, take the best financial option between USC and NYU. Chapman is not in the same league as your other two choices.</p>
<p>Hey highway,</p>
<p>I’m a film production student at Chapman University and to be honest with you, I don’t like it. Not to say that the film school is bad itself. In fact, as you probably know, they have amazing equipment and they really teach you how to use it. Plus, everybody gets to make a film if they would like to take a directing emphasis. This is apparently not true at NYU, where I hear about half the kids actually get to helm their own film in the advanced production class. That being said, having your own film seems to not really mean anything. From what I hear in my industry classes, it’ rare that someone looks at your student films so it’s more of a learning thing than anything else. And getting your student film bought by a studio is so rare you could say it never happens. Chapman is extremely technical and most of the people who make films here make really good looking films. That being said, most of the films I’ve worked on here are absolutely terrible. Apparently intellect is not a factor in the admission process here because people here just don’t care about being smart. Classes go like this: here’s a camera, go to work, and we’ll watch your butchering of cinema in about a week. That was my first day in Intro to visual storytelling. so class size really doesn’t matter. If you want interesting classes don’t go to chapman. It’s basic. If you want just to really know about the craft of actual film making and not crafting films go here. The culture isn’t up to par either. It’s a professional school environment so people go home on the weekends and most of your peers are white, upper to upper-middle class bros and broettes. Yes you have to take classes with the other com majors and the other com majors are philistines. </p>
<p>LA is 40 minutes away on avg. 30 on a good day going 75. an hour or an hour 30 during rush hour. not too bad. but still it’s not like I go to LA everyday. That being said, I know a handful of kids who commute from la so that’s cool. Orange county is also really boring.</p>
<p>Internships are big at chapman, I don’t know any film kids who haven’t interned anywhere in their sophomore year. </p>
<p>I’m still deciding whether or not I want to stay or not. I applied to nyu and usc and am awaiting their decision.</p>
<p>I would say that you’re best bet for getting a job would be at USC. simply because of your accessibility to the industry and networking in los angeles is said to go a long way.</p>
<p>hoped that helped.</p>
<p>p.s. vociferous, why so hard on chapman. Although chapman’s general education is not up to snuff, the film school is a decent education. We have professors from AFI, NYU, and USC over here and with all the money invested, it’s definitely a top tier film program.</p>
<p>Hi,
There’s a significant distinction between Chapman’s BFA and MFA. Although there are successful BFA students - like the screenwriter for Like Crazy which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the MFA students are more serious. My suggestion - don’t study film as an undergrad. Get your masters in film from somewhere like Chapman or NYU.</p>