<p>Hi, I’m a brazilian student. I’m doing an exchange program and studying in Florida right now. Everyone here, obviously, is going to college in the US. I want to go to college here too, because I don’t think I really fit the colleges in Brazil (I won’t bother you with the reasons why I think that). Also, there aren’t many colleges in Brazil with a Film program, and the ones that have one are like Media (focusing in video, audio, stuff like that) or they last two years. I just can’t take something that takes two years to get a diploma seriously. Problem is, my parents don’t have money to pay for me to go to college here (it’s for free in Brazil so they didn’t save money or anything). So I saw that BYU has a film program. Being Catholic, I wanted to know how it’d be to study there. I’m not very religious. I can adapt to whatever they want me to. I actually think LDS is very interesting. I just wanted to know if I would fit in. If people would treat me like they treat everyone else or if there would be some kind of prejudice. I also wanted to know how much religion would affect my education. I mean, if it’s inferior to other Film schools because religion is taught along with what you are studying.
I also wanted to know about getting in. Is it too hard? Do they prefer Mormon students? What is part of the application?</p>
<p>I live in Provo, UT, which is where BYU is. I know that BYU isn’t extremely rigorous to get into - I think the average ACT is 28 and GPA is 3.8, but don’t quote me on that. I’m planning on going to BYU, but that’s because I’m LDS and I want to be in that kind of an environment.</p>
<p>I think it’s a great school, but you should know that the environment is fairly religious. A majority of the students are LDS. They will not take that into consideration if you apply, but you will need to get a letter from an ecclesiastical leader (a priest?). I think that if you don’t have any major problems with LDS doctrine it’s very possible that you’ll fit in well. Students will not treat you poorly because you are Catholic, in fact they will probably be very interested in someone who is different.</p>
<p>You will have to take religion classes as part of the curriculum, but religion will not be taught in your nonreligious classes. You can also choose to take bible classes to satisfy the religion credit. I have non-LDS friends who are considering attending BYU.</p>
<p>You might want to check out the BYU honor code (which includes no premarital sex, no alcohol, no drugs, no cheating, certain clothing standards) and make sure that’s something you can commit to. If your values align with the honor code, that shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>BYU’s film program, especially their animation program, is very good and nationally renowned. It’s probably the best you can get for so cheap. If you are okay with all of the other stuff than you will be very happy at BYU.</p>
<p>I think that you could enjoy going to BYU, but I would definitely look into other schools if you are interested in film. My reasoning for this is that the BYU honor code HAS TO influence what types of movies are made there, and the requirement of no sex and little violence will be prevalent in the projects. If you are into “realism” in film, you may want to find a different school.</p>
<p>If you are looking for an environment relatively free of sexual freedom and drug activity, then BYU is the perfect choice. I had two kids attend BYU, and as Mormons they knew what to expect and enjoyed their time there. But they have told me stories about their non-mormon friends feeling kind of weird. You will NOT get the typical American college experience at BYU. Some may prefer it that way – others will be very frustrated by it.</p>