<p>Hey dear NYU folks, I have three more days to make a decision. I'm a transfer student and trying to decide between Berkeley (L&S Undeclared) and NYU (Tisch Film Production). I'm international and have been in college for a couple semesters in my country. Then I dropped out and went to a CC in the U.S. because I wanted to do film (transfer is impossible in my country.) Though when I applied for transfer, I was not quite sure about studying film because it seems a bit unrealistic. Getting into NYU did boost my confidence. Getting into both Berkeley and NYU was totally beyond my expectation.</p>
<p>Just to keep the long story short, I toured both school and ended up loving both. Berkeley made me feel welcoming because I was led by a few students during my tour and they are really nice! NYC seems more exciting but also very expensive. The staff in the department I talked to was really nice, too.</p>
<p>In terms of career, I want to work in media/entertainment (production, researcher, technology, business, consulting, I'm open to all these subfields), and grad school (not in film, but in media related areas) would be a possible option. If I go to NYU I might do a double major in CS. If Berkeley I would probably do film studies and a minor in CS. NYU is 20k+ more expensive then Berkeley (tuition, living for 2 years). </p>
<p>Almost everyone I knew was very happy for me when they knew I got into NYU for film, but I guess my main question is, is it worthwhile to spend 20k more money to go to NYU for its Film school? Or would Berkeley's general reputation give me an edge when applying for grad schools or jobs?</p>
<p>While NYUâs Tisch is regarded as a slightly better school, itâs a lot more expensive and not worth it with Berkeley being almost as good a school (and better for CS anyway than NYU).</p>
<p>Since you visited Berkeley and liked it, I would go to Berkeley if I was in your shoes.</p>
<p>Tisch is the worldâs most famous school of its type. For anything film related, Tisch is the hands down winner. If youâre 100% set on doing something related to film, then you should definitely go to Tisch.</p>
<p>If, however, you are unsure if film is truly what you want to do, then go with Berkeley and save the $20,000.</p>
<p>âTisch is the worldâs most famous school of its type. For anything film related, Tisch is the hands down winner.â</p>
<p>Says who? A bunch of arrogant kids who spend $250K plus on film school, yet still havenât made a film?</p>
<p>I go to Tisch film and there are some really good things about it, but by no means is it a magical place that guarantees success. That being said, I feel that Tisch is a great place in terms of going into the business aspects of film. There are always student productions that are looking for producers, so you could get a lot of hands on experience.</p>
<p>The one thing I would caution you against is going to NYU film just for its reputation, which is very overinflated. There are a lot of really talented filmmakers at Tisch and there are also a lot of really untalented filmmakers at Tisch. Keep in mind that the vast majority, somewhere around 80%, wonât be working in film ten years after they graduate. Pat yourself on the back for getting into Tisch, but donât let the supposed prestige prevent you from making the best decision for yourself.</p>
<p>Tisch if very famous for film. In fact, itâs probably one of the USâs only art schools where itâs name can be recognized both nationally and internationally. </p>
<p>And, of course, if you look at most rankings of international film schools, itâs almost always in the top 5. </p>
<p>I would still state that if OP is interested in going into film and knows that they want to go to film, Tisch will, in all likelihood, provide him/her with a better path to potentially getting into the field; of course nothing is guaranteed in the film industry. Tisch has plenty of connections and even though I personally am not in Tisch, I have a number of friends who work as managers at places like NBC and USA who prefer to take Tisch graduates over a great number of other schools.</p>
<p>From your career interests, it would seem Steimhardts Media, Culture and Communication is more suited to your interests than Tisch and a film major.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments. Yes, quite a lot of people in my country know about NYUâs Film Program (not necessarily âTischâ though). I guess it could also be a plus. That said, I know it still depends on how much I can get out of the school. :)</p>
<p>Do you think it benefits you to attend Tisch? I heard that Tischâs focus is on independent filmmaking. Do you think the technical training actually matched its reputation? Or is it basically just a club for young filmmakers to socialize?</p>
<p>Interesting. People on the Berkeley forum suggest me to go to Tisch. Am I really that unwelcome? :o</p>
<p>Just kidding⊠I know you guys are trying to help. Iâll look into that Steinhardts program also, though itâs not a good time for me to change major now⊠Thanks!</p>
<p>Actually, according to my research, NYU has more flexibility than Berkeley, simply because Iâm a transfer, and Berkeley requires all transfers to graduate in two years, leaving very limited room for double-majoring or changing major.</p>
<p>While at NYU, I can do a double-major more easily. And the school allows students to stay longer to finish all the requirements, provided that the have enough $$$, which Iâm not quite sure is my case though. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Normally I would tell people if youâre from the East Coast then go to California, and if youâre from the West Coast then go to New York. But since youâre international that doesnât apply to you. Instead you just have to think about where you want to live. Think hard and imagine where you picture yourself, what youâve always wanted. Itâs buried deep down somewhere inside you.</p>
<p>The reason is because both are good schools (Berkeley edges closer to âgreatâ since it does so many things well, much like Harvard and other top schools.) If you havenât made up your mind academically, here are some notable strong fields of each;</p>
<p>NYU - Media, business (for wall street)
Cal - Science/research, engineering, business</p>
<p>These, IMO, are the most prestigious fields offered at each school. And when I say âprestigiousâ I donât mean as in you telling your friends âHey guys Iâm going to NYU, check me out!â I mean it in terms of getting jobs, accepted into great grad schools, and doing that line of work in itâs full capacity (in other words, doing exactly what you studied and loving it. Or in more words, making that tuition completely worth it).</p>
<p>A little bit about the cities. I personally think California, both he school and state, is boring. Yes, Cal is filled with geniuses but outside of the campus and city of Berkeley, there isnât nearly as much action as in New York. NYU is in an exciting location and also has a high density of intellectuals outside of the campus, as does much of the East Coast.</p>
<p>The technical training at Tisch is adequate in my opinion. However, I feel that almost everything Iâve learned so far has been outside of class on shoots. I think the students are really the greatest asset of the school. The schoolâs reputation, whether warranted or not, attracts some of the best young filmmakers in the country, who will likely be your colleagues on professional productions in the future.</p>
<p>If the only thing that youâre concerned about is technical training, know that there are tons of trade schools out there that will do a better job teaching you a specific craft for much less money. Maybe Tisch is focused a bit on independent filmmaking, although in my opinion, much less than some other schools. However, personally, I feel that if you want to make a lot of money, there are other fields that are much easier. Many people in film make very little money and do it only because they love it. Learning how to make good films and appreciate the art of cinema do not always go hand in hand with making money.</p>
<p>Also, film school ranking are BS. There really are no organizations that have definitive rankings on film schools and almost every list Iâve seen is for grad schools. US News stopped ranking them over 10 years ago.</p>
<p>I agree with you. Iâve been living in LA for almost two years now and want to try living in another city. NYC seems to be the best place to go. Iâve been thinking hard these days and I donât think I want to do science/engineer. Film or other related fields seem to be the way to go. Iâve decided on NYU. Thank you for your thought!</p>
<p>Iâm not just caring about technical training, but it is an important factor in choosing a film school IMO. In terms of ranking, I donât care much, but it does play a role in how some people perceive a school. And the US News ranks other fine arts programs like graphic design or multimedia anyway. I have no idea how they did that. </p>
<p>Thank you for your comments! Iâve made up my mind to go to NYU now. Maybe weâll meet someday.</p>