go to and why: NYU/Tisch, Chapman University/Dodge, U of Texas, Austin or Northwestern?

I am asking on behalf of my son who was accepted to all the schools above. UCLA too, but can't apply to film school yet. And, he was offered a full tuition scholarship at Chapman.

???????

yep, we have similar questions at our house...
daughter was accepted to Emerson, Temple, and Pitt and everyone was thrilled she was going to Emerson until the NYU acceptance showed up today. Now she doesnt know what to do! (personally routing for Emerson- I am from Boston!)

mrcas- I have lived in Austin and have friends who went to the film school there...they say wonderful things about the program. Honestly, my daughter applied and was not accepted and was very disappointed. (she is a native Austin-ite)
We have some family friends who work in different parts of the film industry, they say grad school in film is the way to go, but if you are looking at undergrad programs, USC, NYU, and Emerson have great networks that help the grads get jobs. A couple have said UT Austin is a great program, but may not have the same network after graduation...

evaluate what your son is going to film school for. Is he specifically a director, cine, editor, sound designer, production design, etc etc.
I would also say to check out the schools if he hasn't. if he has ever been to a tour of the school and see what they have to offer, that would help him decide as well.

I agree with Mike_V. A tour would really help out in the decision making process. Chapman, offers a solid education and is very well located as far as being in the greater LA area but NYU has a stellar reputation. Emerson is considered very good and I have heard that they are setting up an LA extension. Can anyone comment on that? UT Austin is supposed to offer a great education but does not offer the industry contacts. Visit the schools and see which ones seem like a good fit. My daughter is in production. Chapman looked great but she preferred living in LA and she loved USC during her visit so she enrolled in the USC program.

I am currently in my second semester of my freshman year at NYU film/TV, and honestly, I can't recommend it enough. Obviously I am biased, but if you ask me, if it's between those schools (Emerson, Temple, Chapman, Northwestern, etc) and NYU, there is simply no comparison - NYU is entirely, 100% the way to go. However, there are a few pros and cons to consider:

PROS:
- Location. There is nothing quite like living in Manhattan, especially for a film fan who will have every independent arthouse theater at his or her fingertips. In addition, wonderful internship opportunities will be available in later years at the school, which are totally worth it.

PROS:
- NYU has excellent professionals, all of whom are working filmmakers who really know their stuff. The facilities are also very accommodating and the school offers a wide variety of equipment for use - it may not be as new nor as flashy as say Chapman, but what it lacks in shine it totally makes up for in quality of the teachers and the other students attending the school.

- If your son/daughter is interested in writing/directing, I would definitely recommend NYU. The other schools are all good for getting your feet wet in the technical filmmaking craft, but if you're looking for a place that will encourage creation of quality content, this is the place to go.

CONS:
- NYU doesn't have a traditional college campus. This isn't an issue for most film students, I have found - honestly, I personally couldn't care less about the lack of a quad or of organized school sports events - but if that more "traditional college experience" is what your son/daughter is looking for, consider that it is virtually nonexistent.

- NYC is expensive. NYU is not very generous with financial aid, and even simple expenses in the city such as transportation, food, haircuts, movie tickets, entertainment, etc. can really rack up, fast. In my opinion, the location is totally worth it and if you can money manage accordingly, this shouldn't be a problem.

- If your son/daughter is interested in mainstream, Michael Bay "Hollywood"-style filmmaking, California is the way to go. NYU encourages a more writer-director-oriented "indie" mentality. Which just isn't what some people are looking for.

Hope this has been helpful! Good luck with your decision!

I agree with Monotreme mostly. The only thing I have to add with this is that, as much as NYU has a great faculty team, so does Chapman. Our professors are either still in the industry, used to be in the industry (and sucessful) or even hollywood legends (Tom Mankiewicsz [i probably butchered his last name]).
I think in terms of faculty, we have a team that is just as good.
Off the top of my head, for Cines, we have Bill Dill, Kodak's posterchild and also professor at both chapman and afi.
for editors, we have Paul Seydor who did films like White men can't jump, guess who, obsessed, Tin Cup, etc.
in terms of other names, we have people who worked on various films like Foley for the Child's Play series, director for the NYPD Blues TV Series, various writers of varying degrees of sucess, and more.


the rest is really up to you.
I would say if you go to a west coast school, you're not specifically looking at "Michael Bay Hollywood" but more commercial. Michael Bay's kind of movies are based on grinding all senses down and call it a movie, commercial movie making is entertainment in all forms, visually, story, editing etc. Essentially you're making movies that are geared towards making profit and providing entertainment.
East coast schools are more artsy and are easily considered the "avant garde" type films. Ones that you see in art houses and such.

UCLA - cause, it's UCLA.

Or UT Austin - cause that's where I wanted to go and Austin is such a cool town.

But, film school is a very personal choice. Go where "feels" right and that's the best place.

I was accepted to UT Austin 13 years ago before I was interested in becoming a film maker. Ended up going somewhere else. I kinda kick myself for not knowing my future.
Great school and great town. It's like a little L.A.