Question about film school and screen writing programs, and flexibility

[LLJsmom]

I’m not familiar with this industry so I’m hoping to get some input. My daughter is interested in screenwriting and media arts and got accepted to Emerson and UCSD. Emerson is very small, about 5000 students. Ranked 6-7 in film schools with an excellent screenwriting program. UCSD is a huge public school with a program that encompasses more, visual arts, comp sci, media, with nice interdisciplinary programs. Tuition at UCSD is $15k for an in-state student while even with her scholarship Emerson is more than double at $40k a year. Amounts don’t include room and board. I’m worried about Emerson being too small and focused and if she changed her mind and lean toward comp sci, which is her second choice, she leaves her a lot fewer options. 50-70% of kids change their majors at least once in college. But she seems to want a really strong screenwriting program (for now). UCSD is ranked in top 35 schools while other than film Emerson is 112. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[LilAlex]

From an "n" of several:

Our kids came from a big, somewhat-impersonal public HS and thrived in outstanding, big, impersonal state university systems (similar to UCSD, and not our own middling state university). There is an art to getting anything done, administratively, in one of these and it takes a lot of initiative and ingenuity and peer input to navigate it. Spouse and I are both the product of enormous state universities and maybe that informed our kids' decisions.

Other kids require the guidance, attention, and hand-holding that only a small, private college can offer. There, they are truly invested in your success whereas at a big state U you need to fight for your place at the table. (All the maneuvering around course registration at a big state U seems little changed, apart from a web interface, from when I did it decades ago.)

Is yours a gentle soul who needed prodding through the application process? Or a ferocious and fearless doer who could not be held back?

I think in this case -- and the way you present the two options -- it is more about the kid than the relative merits of the two milieus. (Both options, btw, sound excellent, and congrats to yours on this success -- and a top UC school for an in-stater is a prize, imo.)

Also this: Our kids changed majors many times and it was so nice for them to be in an environment where they could hop from one super-strong department to another without a lot of "if only's." That said, none of their options were in the arts -- but they did span the sciences and the humanities.

 

[LLJsmom]

Thanks for your input @LilAlex. I appreciate it. I agree that large state schools do teach survival skills. My husband and I were both products of large public HS and the cut throat UC system. You were either a self starter and took advantage of opportunities or you hid and ended up jobless and directionless after college. No one babysat you. I was first gen and my parents could not help. My daughter, introverted and creative on the other hand has our experience and advice to rely on, but even so a UC is an easy place to get lost in the crowd or become complacent. Those are clear cons. The pros at UCSD are an awesome program for a techie creative (she loves programming) and screenwriting. Emerson being small will seem much less overwhelming, but I worry that the very big personalities at a lib arts college that focuses on film and communication may overwhelm her in a Different way. And comp sci options at Emerson are practically non-existent, so she won’t even get a chance to explore that interest and develop that side of her brain. My gut says that she will more easily find “her people” at UCSD just cause there are more types of people to choose from. Whereas at Emerson, what I keep hearing is “passionate” when describing people, and although she has a strong interest, she isn’t obsessed.
As an aside my son is currently at Northeastern which was such a great decision. Although expensive, the program requires each student to get two half year coops before graduating. He’s applying for his second co-op and will be staying another year to get his masters in CS. Switching and adding majors is not a problem (even ones that are totally impacted at the UCs) which is a huge pro for private schools, provided the school has the programs you want. He’s totally career minded now, which is such a surprise from my gaming obsessed teenager.

 

[LilAlex]

My gut says that she will more easily find “her people” at UCSD just cause there are more types of people to choose from.

This is so true. If she is in a high-achieving cohort already, they all know to pursue clubs and activities. It's a resume-builder to start a club at one of these big state U's (and I am not saying do that) so there are hundreds and hundreds of them (like night frisbee and you name it), with intro fairs for freshmen, etc. Our kids were great about putting themselves out there immediately and finding the niche groups that aligned with their interests. (They had small, super-tight friend groups in HS so I was a little surprised how well they adapted.) And everybody is in the same boat -- everybody is friendless at the outset (or, worse, they are stuck in a rut with their one or two HS friends) and eager to make connections. It is totally unlike high school. And even the big schools do a much better job now than they did "back in the day" in terms making space and bandwidth for these extracurricular connections.

For our kids, it was super-helpful to be part of multi-year cohorts (either through housing or clubs or even Greek life) where they could talk to kids one or even three years ahead and learn the ropes. Upperclassmen (women) at UCSD will be a phenomenal resource for everything (careers, internships, on-campus research opportunities). Our kids did not follow in our footsteps, career-wise, so I knew very little about the job/career prospects for their interests but they had already sussed it out. We played zero role in their majors. It was not a flawless plan on our part but it was good for our kids.

 

[qubitasaurus]

It sounds like she has moderately diverse interests. She wants to study writing and creative arts, but she likes computer science.

I honestly think a larger university would be better for her.

I don't feel like her relatively bimodal (and opposite ends of the spectrum) interests are going to match up with the vast majority of creative writing majors. She will probably do better at a larger university where there is good solid programs for a diverse range of topics. She'll find a wider range of perspectives represented. Also computer science isn't something to half ass -- it's quite involved. It's not great to close that door before even starting, by going to a university which realistically can't teach it at the appropriate level. I feel I should say small universities need to pick and choose what they're going to excell at (and what they're consequently not going to waste effort on). By virtue of being small they're going to be more concentrated on a few core programs -- so this isn't a short coming, just a strategic decision. I dont think this strategic decision was in her best interest though.

 

[nala]

Congrats to her!!

I’m biased towards the UC system because of ranking, cost, and I do think their academic rigor rivals any IVY league, if not more so. I am a fan of academic rigor. I’m a fan of a big university bc young adults can really explore who they are without fear of a small town setting.

I would recommend a double major—and choose the university that offers both of her interests.

Or. I would suggest a community college for her general, which will afford her the time to discover if she really wants to pursue screenwriting. If she does, she can beef up her portfolio and transfer to a university that offers the best program in screenwriting or the best program in whatever interest she discovers. I think that if she is faced with that choice, she might be more inclined to make a better choice between these two now.

 

[LLJsmom]

Congrats to her!!

I’m biased towards the UC system because of ranking, cost, and I do think their academic rigor rivals any IVY league, if not more so. I am a fan of academic rigor. I’m a fan of a big university bc young adults can really explore who they are without fear of a small town setting.

I would recommend a double major—and choose the university that offers both of her interests.

Or. I would suggest a community college for her general, which will afford her the time to discover if she really wants to pursue screenwriting. If she does, she can beef up her portfolio and transfer to a university that offers the best program in screenwriting or the best program in whatever interest she discovers. I think that if she is faced with that choice, she might be more inclined to make a better choice between these two now.

Thanks for your thoughts @nala . I agree with you. Academically, it would totally be on par with the Ivys. They have TONS of super bright kids that don't want to spend a quarter mil on college.

That is exactly what I was thinking, a double major. That would be a challenge to find a UC where she could double in CS and screen writing, but I should look at UC Riverside, where she was accepted as a CS major. It's near impossible to add an impacted major in any other UC. At private universities, it's much easier to add any CS or engineering major.

And the idea of junior college is a good one. Very practical. Will definitely keep that on the table as well.

 

[Showshen]

The question about film school and screenwriting programs. Flexibility can be a big deal when you’re trying to juggle classes and personal projects. From my experience, some programs allow you to explore your creativity while still getting the essentials down.