I'm an international student in Hong Kong who wants to do a BFA/BA in Film Production/Photography, here's my shortlist currently:

Concordia
Ryerson University
Sheridan Ontario
NYU [Tisch]
Emerson
SCAD
Chapman

What are the best places on this list for an international student? I mean.. the whole package, good city, good social life etc?

The shortlist isn't finalized, I'm also looking at

- Florida State University
- Art Institute of NY/Tampa

If you have any information that would help me understand my choices a little better that would be great, obviously I don't have the luxury of visiting them whenever I want so an insider's perspective on the academic/social aspects of these schools would be really awesome.

Thanks.
- Avy.

Hello Sevenstrong,
I am not too familiar with all the schools ou are looking at but I can tell you what I do know.

Although NYU is one of the best film schools, it is because of their Masters programs, the BA is not worth all the money you will have to spend (and the time)

These days the BA is basically a prerequisite to be able to get your MA or MFA. If you are planning on doing one of these, then I would suggest you do your BA as efficient as possible.

There is Full Sail University, which provides an accelerated program and you can get your BA in 2 years instead of 4. I am an alumni here and I can tell you it is completely worth it if what you plan is to continue your studies.

Otherwise, if BA is as far as you want to go then I would definetely recomend Columbia, NYU, UCLA, USC and AFI.

I know Concordia (canada) is also really good and the University of British Columbia (canada) as well.

Hope this helps and good luck

Hey there Groovy,

Thanks for replying, I took a look at the Full Sail site and it seems quite impressive. What are the requirements like, and is it a competitive school? My SATS were around 1756 and my predicted IB scores are around 34-35. What's the city like, and the social scene?

Thanks again for the info :]

The requirements are just to fill out the application and your TOEFL and high school grades. I dont remember if they asked me for SATs... but im sure you'll be fine with your score.

It is somewhat competitive but we get an advantage for being international... you can even apply for a scholarships they've got which can help you pay... i know theres one that gives 10,000 so you might want to check that out.

Winter Park is great, we have got the theme parks like 15 minutes away and simce there is the other university ( University of Central Florida) there is a lot of young people and students.