Fitchburg State University

I was a student there from 2018-2022 and had a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone, especially people living within Massachusetts. It's super affordable compared to the rest of film schools in the area.

The school has a great reputation and many alum work in the local film scene. The alumni network is strong in New England and is ever-growing throughout the United States. Once I graduated, I discovered I was working the same jobs as graduates of expensive private schools in the state (minus the debt!).

The professors really care about you and are always trying to help you with your work. One of my professors even read my screenplay over their summer break when they had no obligation to do so!

The film program is special and small. You feel like you are truly a part of a community. I learned so much about myself as a creative person and found my voice as a writer. It was a great experience and I feel like it has prepared me for a career in the industry.

The equipment isn't as fancy as what you would find at a private school, but is still good. The school uses Blackmagic cameras throughout their production courses. Students learn how to edit on Avid initially, but can take courses to learn Adobe Premier and DaVinci Resolve. I specifically enjoyed the writing courses.

In terms of the rest of the university, I think that the real shinning light is the Communication department. I found my general education requirements to be tedious, especially when all I wanted to do was grow my filmmaking skills. However, I was an honors student and was limited to only one course per general education requirement. The best professors in the school are definitely found in the Comm Media Department.

Came in as both a transfer and commuter, so my experience was really lessened by that fact.

Your time and success here is really up to you. Students, in my experience, are given a good amount of independence to do whatever they want. This lets driven students excel, but on the flip side the ones that are less so are free to drag everyone else in the group down (and all film stuff is group work).

Most professors are eccentrics. That has its ups and downs when it comes to classroom learning; but at the very least they're all good and understanding people who want to see their students succeed.

I highly recommend dorming and it is super important you get to know your classmates (especially those in other Comm Media Majors like acting). Get involved with as many student productions as you can!

The required internship program at the end is okay too. Once again, you need to push and advocate for yourself to get into a good internship.

Don't take the back seat in your education here!