# Film School MFA course in Direction for fall 2018



## Ray (Oct 4, 2017)

Hi I an international student. I am applying for the courses in the US for Masters in Direction for fall 2018. I have following colleges in my preference list .

1. Please let me know if I need to add or omit any college from the list. 
2. I have started the application now. Is it too late?? 
3. Is it fine if I apply to these many colleges??


1.University of Southern California
2.University of California Los Angeles
3.American Film Institute
4.New york University
5.Chapman University
6.Loyola Marymount University
7.Emerson College
8.Columbia College Chicago
9.Boston University
10.California Institute of the Arts
11. Ringling College of Art and Design

Thanks in Advance. Would appreciate any views or suggestions to apply.


----------



## Operator (Oct 4, 2017)

First thing I have to ask is, are you going to back to your country after you graduate, or are you going to stay in the United States? If you are going to stay, I suggest you omit any schools that are not close to New York City and Los Angeles, as those are the main film/tv hubs in the US and have better connections for internships and a better alumni networks. Atlanta is a close third in my opinion since a lot of filming is being done there as well. Savannah College of Art and Design has an MFA in Film & Television at their Atlanta campus. 

Now, I know some schools, depending on their program allow you do a semester or two in Los Angeles, such as Emerson College and Boston University. You'd have to call them and see if they line up any internships for you while you're there.


----------



## Ray (Oct 5, 2017)

I am planning to stay in the US after my graduation. thanks for your help appreciate it. Do you think there is any other college in the LA that I have missed out and I should apply???


----------



## Ray (Oct 5, 2017)

Also do I have to give GRE???


----------



## Operator (Oct 7, 2017)

I think the only school on your list that requires the GRE is Loyola, but only if your undergraduate degree is under a 3.0.

Cal State LA has an MFA in Film, Television in Theater. There, you will learn directing for film, television, and theater.
MFA in Television, Film and Theatre


----------



## Operator (Oct 7, 2017)

And an edit to my above post. Columbia College Chicago also has their final semester in Los Angeles. If you end up in Chicago, don't live anywhere in the southern part of the city. Stay north, or north west.


----------



## Ray (Oct 8, 2017)

Operator said:


> And an edit to my above post. Columbia College Chicago also has their final semester in Los Angeles. If you end up in Chicago, don't live anywhere in the southern part of the city. Stay north, or north west.


Thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it.


----------



## Alok NR (Apr 6, 2018)

Operator said:


> And an edit to my above post. Columbia College Chicago also has their final semester in Los Angeles. If you end up in Chicago, don't live anywhere in the southern part of the city. Stay north, or north west.


thank you so much for this  as I am currently considering joinging DePauls in Chicago. I have also gotten through San Francisco State University, Could you suggest which would be a better option ?


----------



## Operator (Apr 6, 2018)

Alok NR said:


> thank you so much for this  as I am currently considering joinging DePauls in Chicago. I have also gotten through San Francisco State University, Could you suggest which would be a better option ?


I'd say Chicago just because there's a lot of filming there. Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Shameless all film there.


----------



## Alok NR (Apr 6, 2018)

Operator said:


> I'd say Chicago just because there's a lot of filming there. Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Shameless all film there.



Wonderful! Thats valuable information as I am an international applicant and I am not too familiar with the productions there. Also would you know how well are these colleges reputed in the industry? Another thing I wanted to ask was about how expensive Chicago and SF would be respectively. Any insights would be greatly helpful !


----------



## civetta (Apr 6, 2018)

Alok NR said:


> thank you so much for this  as I am currently considering joinging DePauls in Chicago. I have also gotten through San Francisco State University, Could you suggest which would be a better option ?


SFSU is #22 in the Hollywood Reporter's top 25 film schools, and they always feature in this annual list. Also, according to the THR, they accept only 15 students, so you should really research both schools


----------



## Operator (Apr 6, 2018)

Alok NR said:


> Wonderful! Thats valuable information as I am an international applicant and I am not too familiar with the productions there. Also would you know how well are these colleges reputed in the industry? Another thing I wanted to ask was about how expensive Chicago and SF would be respectively. Any insights would be greatly helpful !


Oh, that fact that you're international will make it very hard for you to get work if you're here on a student visa. In fact, you might not be allowed to legally work at all. 
San Fransisco is the most expensive city in the United States. A studio or one bedroom apartment can be near $3,500 USD a month.


----------



## Chris W (Apr 7, 2018)

Operator said:


> . A studio or one bedroom apartment can be near $3,500 USD a month


Wah? For a studio? That's more than my mortgage and I'm in LA. Crazy.


----------



## Operator (Apr 7, 2018)

Chris W said:


> Wah? For a studio? That's more than my mortgage and I'm in LA. Crazy.


SF is insane. You can even find reports of Google employees having to live in their cars so they can save money and not live paycheck to paycheck on a $100k salary.

10 Most Expensive Cities to Be a Renter


----------



## Chris W (Apr 7, 2018)

Operator said:


> SF is insane. You can even find reports of Google employees having to live in their cars so they can save money and not live paycheck to paycheck on a $100k salary.
> 
> 10 Most Expensive Cities to Be a Renter


Well Google's employees practically live at work anyways.


----------



## Alok NR (Apr 10, 2018)

Operator said:


> Oh, that fact that you're international will make it very hard for you to get work if you're here on a student visa. In fact, you might not be allowed to legally work at all.
> San Fransisco is the most expensive city in the United States. A studio or one bedroom apartment can be near $3,500 USD a month.



Being a state school SFSU tuition is abt 8.5 k a year, which is crazy considering how expensive film school usually are. So I believe I can spare sm money I save there for housing. (Still in the process of finding housing info). 

Could you tell me more abt the situation with international students getting a job post graduation? How hard is it to get legal work  permits if your not from US? How do the tons of international students who come to filmschools in US normally go about it? Any help would be greatly appreciated in this regard. 

I'll post more info about DePaul and SFSU as I discover.


----------



## IndecisiveElle (Apr 11, 2018)

Operator said:


> SF is insane. You can even find reports of Google employees having to live in their cars so they can save money and not live paycheck to paycheck on a $100k salary.
> 
> 10 Most Expensive Cities to Be a Renter


have you seen this story?

https://gizmodo.com/a-burned-out-husk-of-a-house-is-selling-for-800-000-in-1825172674


----------

