Originally posted by KrisKelvin:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Colin Oh:
Also, AFI rarely takes people straight out of undergrad. Don't let it get you down. You just need to get out into the real world and work a for a while and then apply again. They like people who re-apply.
I'd posted a much longer response but will pare it down to this:
If AFI (or any school for that matter) did not accept me solely because of my age, and/or based on the assumption that I would reapply at some point in the future, then I sincerely hope they consider increasing the minimum age for application. I spent a lot of time fine tuning my materials, when clearly there are other things I would have been doing had I been told in advance "sorry, but you're too young".
And that concludes my mini-rant for the day.
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KrisKelvin,
I haven't posted on this thread previously, but I have been following it and many of the other threads for awhile. I'd just like to assure KrisKelvin that while ColinOh is correct about the average age of AFI's Fellows is something like 27, for many, many years, they have accepted 22 year olds either right out of college, or who had not even graduated from college yet. And, they have also accepted Fellows in their 30's and 40's. This year alone, AmiraAlexandria finished undergraduate school in 2010 and was just accepted to AFI, and UCFFilmgirl hasn't finished her undergraduate degree and she was accepted to AFI! Also, if you look back in the AFI blogs from prior years, you'll find similar instances of this demographic. You'll find a screenwriter from Phoenix in his late 30's who was accepted to AFI. He gave up a fairly successful career and moved to L.A. to follow his "dreams" as a screenwriter. The point I'm making is that the average age of AFI's Fellows may be mid- to late-20's, but that average is comprised of Fellows ranging in age from 22 to perhaps, 40. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that AFI's Conservatory of Film has been around since 1969, it has graduated more than 3,000 Fellows since then, and it is ranked consistently among the top 5 film schools in the U.S. The admissions decision-makers have too much at stake to consider an applicant's as a criteria of who it accepts to its prestigious program. They would NEVER be that shallow.
I wish you good luck on your decision. I also totally agree with those who have said that once UCLA, Columbia and Chapman make their acceptance announcements, AFI will have to accept additional people. Each of the top grad schools have a different approach to teaching the art of filmmaking, and each of them has a reputation for being the "best" in one or more disciplines. AFI is a fantastic school, but there are some people who will choose UCLA, Columbia, or Chapman over AFI. Therefore, my best advice is to try to relax as best you can and let the process run its course. It's NOT over yet for you or anyone else who hasn't already been rejected.
