So I’ve been admitted to the screenwriting major and I love everything about the school, but I’m worried I may not have enough experience for the program? I’ve taken a creative writing summer program and a film summer program but I don’t have much experience in specifically screenwriting, though it is what I hope to do as a career. is the chapman program okay for beginners or will I be too far behind my peers?
Don’t worry about it at all, forevergreen19! My daughter is a junior in the screenwriting program and she went in as a freshman with no film or screenwriting experience whatsoever except for reading some screenplays for her own enjoyment. She loves the program and she is thriving & has been from the start!
I just messaged her to specifically ask her about your concerns, and she said that you have no reason at all to worry about lack of experience. In her year of screenwriting majors, some of the students did enter with experience but a significant group had none or very little. The beginning screenwriting classes that everyone in the major takes are true beginning classes so there is a level and supportive playing field for everyone.
The people at Dodge saw something special in your application and writing or they wouldn’t have accepted you. If lack of experience is your only concern, there’s no need to let that stop you!
(By the way, just to give you a sample of one of the many possibilities available to you through Chapman & Dodge, my daughter is currently in Cannes, France for a semester abroad. In a few weeks, she will be interning at the Cannes Film Festival and she is very excited! She has been writing a blog about her semester abroad: gracestourdefrance.■■■■■■■■■■■■■, in case you want to get a glimpse of what that’s like.)