hi, any idea from when will they start accepting applications; the website is silent on it ..

I was told the online application will be available on October 1st. So they will be accepting applications after that.

thanks man, r u planning to apply this year ..

No problem. And yes, I do plan on applying this year.

Hey guys awesome thread, I just found this site and its pretty epic. I just visited Columbia and NYU as well... must say NYU was at my top before and now Columbia took its place.

I am applying for the Screenwriting/Directing program for Fall 2011 as well and was a little confused about the application but thanks to you I understood they haven't released any info.

A little about me My name is Paula and I am currently finishing my BA at Full Sail... 21 years old and god do I want to get in Columbia.

Keep posting how everything goes, it is really interesting to know more people who are going through the process.

Keep up the good work and the good energy!

Welcome to the forum Saintman and GroovyDazzle, nice to have you with us.

Finished up at Columbia a couple of hours ago. It was a great visit and very informative.
I spent about 40 minutes with a 2nd year student discussing the overall minutiae of classes/housing/learning objectives and the like. Then i spoke with an admissions officer (who is a recent film studies grad) for about 30 minutes discussing the application and his experiences in the program.

The campus is beautiful and I ate lunch on the library steps while watching a crew of students do some filming. I spoke to one of them briefly and she was very friendly.

I have not seen NYU yet, but it would have to be pretty impressive to top Columbia. Definitely my first choice!

Post about nyu later in the weekend because i fly back home right after the visit.

MAlbie

Malbie- glad you liked it! I'm a first year at Columbia (I was on campus from 8:30am to 9:30pm today!). I'm sure most of your questions were answered today, but feel free to ask me if you have any more!

Thanks Robot_M, if I have more questions I will

I was there from 10:00 until 12. Every time I saw the students I kept wondering "Is that someone from the forum?"

I meant to post a mini-note about NYU the day after I returned but my MBA program swallowed my free time and I am only now coming up for air. So here we go:

I spent about an hour and half with NYU admissions officer and had a fantastic time. We went through the entire program from application to graduation. He answered all of my questions and extremely helpful on solving a couple of nagging issues I had. We spent the last 20 minutes talking about upcoming movies and films that we had recently seen.

Then he wrote me a note that allowed me to go across the street and visit the school itself. I spent about an hour roaming the halls and talking with students, but unfortunately did not get to speak with any faculty or staff.
I was impressed by the facilities and the caliber of the students.

So impressed in fact that I now am back to square one. I was torn between NYU and Columbia before I went up there and as I posted earlier, I felt like Columbia was my first choice after that visit. But now that I have seen NYU and spoken to the students I must say that I do not have a favorite.

While they are very different schools with very different philosophies, they both appeal to me. So I have decided to apply to Columbia for the Film MFA and to NYU for the Dramatic Writing. I will concentrate on screenwriting regardless of the school.

A couple of notes for future readers:

1: Make an appointment before you visit and arrive an hour or so early. I was able to walk around both campuses and get a feel for the school. At Columbia I was even able to watch some students filming a scene on the steps, which was a great experience.

2: Take a digital recorder with you to record your meeting. I use a Sandisk Sanza Fuze MP3 player which has a microphone and outputs to MP3. I was able to record all of the conversations at both schools instead of having to write them done. It let me give the person my full attention and now I have the recordings on my hard drive to make sure I didn't miss anything. Just ask the person before you record.

3: Remember to thank whoever you speak with for their time and to send a Thank You email/note.

4: Come with a list of questions already made out and organized.


Alright that is it for now. I did my NYU application this morning and its 90% complete (still tweaking my Personal Statement). Waiting patiently for Columbia to open theirs up in October.

Hey MAlbe,

I'm applying to Columbia and possibly NYU as well. I'm also 35(!) and studied business undergrad, an underwhelming experience at best.

I was just going to be the old lurker in the shadows, but you really inspired me to speak up.

After working in media for over 10 years, 5 in television as a news writer and producer...I've decided to go to film school. I'm working on my applications now, and I wish I was 90 percent complete. It's a lot on the old ticker.

Best of luck!

do we have to take the GRE for this program?

quote:

Iboogs

Welcome to the board Iboogs and I wish you good luck.

I know that Columbia has at least one student over 40 and that NYU has one over 50 (or maybe I have those reversed) but either way we are both younger than at least two current students.

Groovydazzle - Neither of the two main New York schools requires the GRE for their primary programs. I think the Film Studies at NYU (and maybe their dual MBA/MFA program) require the GRE, but the directing/writing/producing track does not seem to.

This may sound like a ridiculous question, but I'm wondering if anyone could guide me to the application. I'd like to apply for the MFA program but all the paperwork and online app seems to be for 2010. Any ideas???

The 2011 online and paper Application are not out yet. When it is, you will see it on Columbia's School of the Arts Admission's page.

But hang in there KrisKelvin, it should be out any day now.

Yeah, I don't think the 2011 application becomes available until the end of October. But usually the only thing that changes are the story prompts. They just did a complete overhaul of the School of the Arts website that went live today, so maybe they have the application up now...I haven't gone and looked at the new page yet.

MAlbie - both Columbia and NYU are great programs, as I'm sure you know. They are somewhat different though. I'm not sure how the dramatic writing program differs from the rest of the school, but from what I understand, NYU is a lot more technical with their instruction (which is why so many great DP's come out of NYU). Columbia's curriculum, on the other hand, is entirely based around the story. Even the directing classes emphasize using your direction to serve the story. Everyone writes at least one feature film.

You probably already know this, but it's worth repeating for people who won't have a chance to visit before hand: Everyone at Columbia has the same first year, so everyone tries directing, everyone tries writing, and everyone tries producing. If you entered as a writing/directing concentrate, you have until the end of the first year to pick your concentration (writing or directing, though you can cross over some classes).

I'm sure this can be said at any of the top film schools, but there is a lot lot lot lot of work. I'm sure you can relate since you're getting your MBA, but it's a huge test of your time management skills.

The new website seems to have minor glitches, but the online application is available. I accessed it via the old website.

Yeah, they said it was going live tonight and it would take them a week or so to work out all the glitches. I've noticed a few myself, but so far the new website is much easier to navigate.

It's up!

Good thing since I'm asking two people for rec letters today...

Hi everyone,
I found this awesome forum since last year and applied for 2010 fall producing program(ended up admitted by FSU, waitlist of Columbia and rejected by USC,ucla,NYU,AFI.)
After finishing an indie feature, I'm going to reapply to Columbia and USC this year. I've emailed to both offices of admission, asking about some reapplication details, but got no response so far...

Hey guys ! This is an awesome thread ..cleared a whole lot of my doubts .... Well i still had some doubts unclear....

my background: I am chaitanya, a second year, Mass Media student from Mumbai,India.

my problem: I am keen on doing a Masters in this genre... but i am confused over Production,cinematography and editing. As a part of my Undergrad course.. i have done direction, cinematography and editing but i really figure out what i want to do .....so i'd appreciate it if you could help me out with colleges.

I have been through the USC production site, however i could not find out the tuition fees and the average cost of living in big cities like NY or LA.

Thanks for reading my post and i want to thank all of you for your posts and replies....