NON LOCAL — Georgia
I don’t know whether to apply to the Television and Film major, or the Multimedia major for SDSU in order to have the best chance.
The Film major had a 40% acceptance rate in fall of 2020, but had 600+ applicants
The Multimedia major had a 24% acceptance rate in fall of 2020, but had 182 applicants.
I’ve heard time and time again to pick the major with the smaller applicant pool, but does that have the absolute advantage over the acceptance rate?
I plan to switch my major to multimedia even if I do initially apply with the film major (and I’d minor in film), but I REALLY want to get into SDSU and I know my applied major choice could heavily impact that. I also know that SDSU now looks more at the amount courses you took relating to your intended major and how well you did in those classes. In this case, I’d do better to put my major as multimedia, since all my film pursuits were outside of school (unless one counts theatre, but even then it’s less than the amount of courses I took relating to multimedia)
So with this in mind, which would be the best major to apply to SDSU with to broader my chance of getting in?
Pick the major that you wish to initially study. The majors are relatively small compared to the other majors as a whole. Don’t try to “game” the system because you may not be able to transfer into the major you want.
Just to let you know that as an OOS student, at a California public university, you wont receive a penny of financial aid. Are you okay with that? It’ will be about $43K per year plus the expenses of living in California (not cheap).
I agree with @aunt_bea that you should select your first choice major since acceptance rates can be misleading. You do not know the stats of the applicants accepted to the multimedia major vs the film major which could be very different. Average CSU GPA capped weighted for SDSU all majors is around a 4.00 so it is best to calculate where you stand. As an OOS applicant, only AP/IB courses will get the extra honors points in the calculation. The capped weighted CSU GPA= UC capped weighted GPA so I like to use the Rogerhub calculator: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub
Ahhh alright I see, I’ll probably apply multimedia then. And really? I thought SDSU was on the cheaper side in regards to cost of attendance in California. My heart is set on California, but I definitely don’t want to graduate with huge student loan debt, so I’m looking seriously at CSU schools as they tend to be more affordable.
I’ll probably end up selecting my first choice then. And that’s very true, how I wish I could know where I stand in terms of competitiveness within those majors.
Thank you for the link! As soon as junior year is over I plan to request a copy of my transcript and calculate my scores to see what UC/CSU GPA I have.
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As a non-California resident, you are not eligible for instate resident tuition at any of the California public colleges and universities.
Non-residents pay full fees at all of the public California schools (UC’s and CSU’s) which are funded by state taxpayers. The CSU’s will be $43K per year and the UC’s will be $65K per year.
Because the state is always lacking in educational funds, OOS students foot the bill for their full education.
Federal loans will not cover the costs of California public universities. You can only borrow a total of $27K divided over 4 years. ($5500, $6500, $7500 -Jr/Sr year).
That will not even cover your first year’s tuition. You won’t be able to borrow this kind of funding on your own.
You may want to consider some private colleges if you are set on California but expect that the costs will be extremely expensive and uber competitive.
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I see. Thank you so much for this information, I’ll be modifying some plans accordingly.
$43k including living. But college ALWAYS cust more than they estimate.
Why SDSU? What state are you from ? It’s not a money making major. Perhaps there’s lower costs and just as good choices.
What I had liked was the area, vibe of the campus, courses offered, and majors. I HAD liked what I thought was semi-affordability, but, I suppose not anymore. I’m a Georgia resident, and I tend to major in either graphic design/multimedia design/any variation of this. I intend to make money with it, as I’ll be acquiring extensive coding skills and combine that with all the digital design knowledge to then become either a UX/UI designer, a product designer, or something of a related field. From my understanding, than can pay quite well since I’ll have skills in technology.
Mmmm, I’ll look at more private colleges in California. I’d avoided them since I thought they’d be more expensive. I also think I’ll try to apply to be a resident, so I can then receive in state tuition. Any suggestions?
Not gonna happen unless you are there 12 months, working, and 100% supporting yourself.
Private will be tough. Don’t know if they have the major but U of Pacific. Then there’s USC but aid is hard. USD. LMU
Dang. If affordability an issue, UGA a way better school than SDSU with a great program. Save your $$ with the lottery scholarship. Go to CA after.
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If you come to California for educational purposes, you will not receive in-state tuition or residency. If you are under 24, then your residency is determined by where your parents live. They would have to move to California 366 days prior to you starting any CA public university to be eligible for in-state tuition. It is very difficult to gain California residency. You could always do Undergrad in your home state and get a job in California post graduation.
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Oooof I see. That definitely can’t happen then. I talked to my parents about it (I was too scared they’d say I couldn’t go because of this, so I put it off until I could find something of a solution) and they told me they can afford the CSUs, and so not to worry.
LMU and USD are both on my list, I’m glad to see those are good recommendations (though they ARE more of hard target schools)
And you really think that about UGA? I feel weirdly proud because of that!! However, my parents are also set on me going to California because of the film industry/internship opportunity and how much better the film programs are in California, also the alumni network of some schools. So they basically told me “don’t worry about it, get good grades, and get into a well known school in California (an exception being NYU).
My father came from Nigeria and found it easier to get a job once he went to a certain college for graduate school as opposed to the undergraduate college he went to, so he’s set on me going to a college in California with a good film program (I personally think you can make the most out of college no matter where you go, and that it isn’t too important where your first two years are spent. I mostly want to start off in California because I want to make deep, lasting friendships, and have fun in my location. Even so, I admit these friendships can be made at any stage of your college career. But as my father is set on it, I think I’m mostly slated to go to California.
Yes I hadn’t realized it was that hard 
. I’m blessed to have parents that are financially stable enough to be able to handle this (my parents said that it was very doable, and to just focus on my grades), I hadn’t asked before hand because I was scared they’d say no to the cost.
But if they weren’t, I would most likely have done what you suggested. Or two years at an instate school (or just cheaper college in general for me) and then transfer into a California school.
You know a lot of film has moved out of CA. GA. LA. Canada. But ok
I mean USC is the best of the best.
I do realize that, however I do not think there are too many good film programs in Georgia—at least not from my research. Even if there were, I would hate to stay in Georgia if I could help it. I want to be a screenwriter, and I think that industry is more in California as of right now, while production does branch out to other states (Georgia, primarily).
Moreover, I REALLY want to go to California for college. Might seem trivial and like a childish mindset, but I can’t help that 🥲.
Still figuring everything out though, 17 as of right now with MANY interests I want to pursue, and I haven’t actually gone to college to narrow down which exact industry is where, and which exact plan to enact to ensure most of my career goals are reached.
If that’s what you want and your family supports it’s not childish.
You might go to a bookstore or library. Get a Barron’s book and thumb through California.
Here’s a list too that might be helpful.
https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-for-film/
Btw u of az has put a lot in Hollywood. It’s got great merit and is beautiful.
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You haven’t provided us with any of YOUR stats….do you have a current Film portfolio you can submit? What credentials do you have now for applying for this field?
What is your GPA and SAT or ACT score.
If I were applying for film school in CA, I would be looking at Chapman. But you would need to have some decent credentials when applying. Do you? It’s an expensive private college but they do offer aid to students.
Are you eligible for Hope or Zell Miller in GA? Of so…find a school there that offers your intended ideas for a future. I know that GA economic development has done a lot to get filming done in GA.
Yep. What I think. Ok I’m in TN. the ga kids make out and UGA has a great film school. They go free.