Hello all.

I'm a high school senior currently in the process of applying to the film programs at Emerson College, Chapman, and Loyola Marymount.

I'm really not sure about which major I want to select and would like some advice. I'm kind of terrified, honestly.

My ideal career would be a filmmaker who writes and directs her own material. Writing has always been a passion of mine and I've dabbled in student films.

For each of the three schools, they have a Screenwriting major and a Film Production major. I'm curious if anyone knows how much flexibility there is within each program. I want to major in screenwriting, but I also really want get a good education on the technical aspect of film making as well as visual storytelling. And, if I choose to major in film production, I'm curious if anyone knows how much access you get to take other classes (that are writing based).

And, if I was interesting in possibly double majoring in English (regardless of whether I chose screenwriting or production), is this a realistic goal?

If anyone has any info/advice it would be greatly appreciated!

I'm no expert on any UG programs, but I have some pretty general advice.

Contact the schools.

I'm currently a graduate student at Chapman, and I know that they're leaning toward a sort-of writer/director track in the graduate program. This may extend to the undergrad level too, but regardless, shoot every school an e-mail and see what they have to say about your goals. Take what they say with a grain of salt, because they all want your money, but if one school responds with a "you can't possibly do that" and another with "we have a program just for you," then it'll make your decision a lot easier.

Good luck.

Yeah, I have contacted two of them. Mostly, I'm getting general info but I am visiting Chapman in a few weeks so that should help!

Thanks for responding!