What are some good film schools in the US?

What are some good film schools that aren't super competitive?

• I'm going to college next year and I've always wanted to go into filmmaking. My grades aren't bad but I don't have a 4.0 GPA either so I know I'm not gonna be any college's first choice. I'm thinking of doing 2 years in a community college and then transferring to a university because I heard a lot of colleges offer that. After doing some research, I found that even though UCLA and USC offer that community college transfer program, the acceptance rate into there film programs are near impossible. What are some other universities or colleges that have a good film program that aren't super competitive?

• Answer:

  Chapman, Loyola Marymount, Columbia College Chicago, Emerson, CSU Northridge and UT Austin all have pretty strong undergraduate programs that are less competitive than UCLA, NYU and USC. I've worked with Chapman students and they all had really strong technical preparation, and the facilities at that school are really nice. I don't know if I recommend the community college transfer route, although saving money is always a good idea. The thing is, you'll have half as much film school experience as your competition when you graduate. One note on the competition level at the top schools—your program is only as good as your classmates. Those schools are on top as much because they don't have to accept any subpar students as because they have great faculty and classrooms. If you really want to go to film school—and you can learn the trade and work your way up without it—I recommend emailing admissions counselors at each of the schools you are interested. Tell them your situation, ask how good your chances are, and see if they can give you any advice. Visit the campuses and discover specific things that make you interested in the schools (which will make your personal statements for the applications much, much stronger). Apply to any school that you think you have a chance at and go to the very best one you get into. When the 15th best school is just as expensive as best programs, how can you justify going to the lesser school?