American Film Institute (AFI) - Directing Applicants 2021

[Chris W]

I GOT IN!!!!! WAAAHHHH I’m over the moon. Won’t hear about financial aid/scholarships for another 10 days, but holy sh*****t

Woohoo! Congrats! Here's the link to gain access to the private AFI forums so you can meet your classmates:

PRIVATE CLUB - AFI

www.filmschool.org

To those that didn't get in don't give up and you can try again next year. We're interviewing AFI admissions this week so if you have any questions for them please let us know here:

What questions do you have for the AFI Conservatory Admissions office?

The AFI Conservatory Admissions office has graciously agreed to be interviewed for an article on FilmSchool.org similar to the one that we have with USC. What questions would you like to ask them? We're compiling a list of questions now and would love to add any questions you might have for...

www.filmschool.org

Also everyone be sure to add or update your Applications in our database to help others and so we can gather the best data about all the different film programs.

Application Database

A database of thousands of film school applications to calculate acceptance rates to film programs and the minimum GPAs, minimum SAT and GRE scores, experience of accepted applicants, and much more....

www.filmschool.org

 

[Pguillen]

Accepted! I was delaying checking my email because I was so nervous. Still processing it honestly.

 

[ScriptToScreenDream]

Rejected but no surprise there since I wasn't interviewed haha. Let's try again next year!

Congratulations to everyone who got in and everyone waitlisted!!! I look forward to seeing y'all do AMAs in the future!

 

[ScriptToScreenDream]

P.S. If anyone who was accepted or waitlisted would be willing to share (privately or publicly, however you wish) the links to the projects you submitted, I would be very appreciative!!! I'd love to see the quality of storytelling I need to work up to

 

[Chris W]

Also be sure to update your applications in our database if you got Waitlisted or rejected. It'll help the site tremendously with the stats for each film school and will help us figure out how many people who are Waitlisted are accepted off of the wait-list for each film program.

Application Database

A database of thousands of film school applications to calculate acceptance rates to film programs and the minimum GPAs, minimum SAT and GRE scores, experience of accepted applicants, and much more....

www.filmschool.org

Don't give up! Keep creating. And remember film school is just a step in the journey. (And not even a necessary step)

 

[madawon]

Does anyone know when the deadline to commit to AFI and put in a tuition deposit is for people who were accepted?

I'm also really curious about this !

 

[Pguillen]

I'm also really curious about this !

April 15.

 

[mayisch.kl]

Hi everyone! I've been following all the different decisions coming in today, it's been a busy day! I got rejected by AFI today, was waitlisted/accepted for spring at USC (and will definitely go!).
Something that caught my eye that I thought was really interesting: from what I can tell so far, people who applied to both AFI and USC seem to by accepted/waitlisted to only one of these schools! There's a really peculiar pattern of people who got rejected by USC now getting into AFI and vice versa. Did anyone else notice this or was this your outcome too?
What are your theories? Secret back channel between the schools? Or are they just looking for something different in applicants in general?
Interested to hear some thoughts on this!
Congrats to everyone who got accepted today!!

 

[hugofaraco]

Hi everyone! I've been following all the different decisions coming in today, it's been a busy day! I got rejected by AFI today, was waitlisted/accepted for spring at USC (and will definitely go!).
Something that caught my eye that I thought was really interesting: from what I can tell so far, people who applied to both AFI and USC seem to by accepted/waitlisted to only one of these schools! There's a really peculiar pattern of people who got rejected by USC now getting into AFI and vice versa. Did anyone else notice this or was this your outcome too?
What are your theories? Secret back channel between the schools? Or are they just looking for something different in applicants in general?
Interested to hear some thoughts on this!
Congrats to everyone who got accepted today!!

That's an interesting theory. I was rejected by USC after my interviewer said I had very high chances of getting in. And I was waitlisted by AFI. I think you're into something.

 

[mothersuperior]

Hi everyone! I've been following all the different decisions coming in today, it's been a busy day! I got rejected by AFI today, was waitlisted/accepted for spring at USC (and will definitely go!).
Something that caught my eye that I thought was really interesting: from what I can tell so far, people who applied to both AFI and USC seem to by accepted/waitlisted to only one of these schools! There's a really peculiar pattern of people who got rejected by USC now getting into AFI and vice versa. Did anyone else notice this or was this your outcome too?
What are your theories? Secret back channel between the schools? Or are they just looking for something different in applicants in general?
Interested to hear some thoughts on this!
Congrats to everyone who got accepted today!!

Probably just looking for different sorts of applicants. USC is very much focused on a breadth of production interests while AFI appears to like applicants who are very passionate about a single discipline. Likewise, USC seems more industry-minded and focused on getting students employment in Hollywood after graduating, while AFI is basically an art conservatory.

I know my personal statement and production experience felt better suited to the sort of student USC is looking for so I'm not at all surprised AFI rejected me and USC waitlisted me for fall. In fact, my interviewer from USC all but said that would be my result back in late Jan, specifically telling me that if I see a waitlisted decision, I should remain on the waitlist because I'd receive the spring spot.

 

[Vicky H]

Anyone like me still not hearing the decision? So confused

 

[ss01]

Anyone have any insight into how likely it is to be accepted from the waitlist at AFI? Also can second that I was rejected from USC (and probs NYU from the looks of things) so I assume each school look for v different qualities from their filmmakers

 

[madawon]

Hi everyone! I've been following all the different decisions coming in today, it's been a busy day! I got rejected by AFI today, was waitlisted/accepted for spring at USC (and will definitely go!).
Something that caught my eye that I thought was really interesting: from what I can tell so far, people who applied to both AFI and USC seem to by accepted/waitlisted to only one of these schools! There's a really peculiar pattern of people who got rejected by USC now getting into AFI and vice versa. Did anyone else notice this or was this your outcome too?
What are your theories? Secret back channel between the schools? Or are they just looking for something different in applicants in general?
Interested to hear some thoughts on this!
Congrats to everyone who got accepted today

I was accepted to AFI and waitlisted at USC, but it seemed from the interview that each school was into very different parts of my app.

 

[sallyfilm]

Anyone like me still not hearing the decision? So confused

I would reach out to the Admissions office and ask. They sent out all notifications on March 15... maybe went into your spam folder?

 

[JPY90]

Anyone like me still not hearing the decision? So confused

My decision email was in my spam folder.

 

[catmom]

Mine was sent to my promotions folder on gmail

 

[Vicky H]

I would reach out to the Admissions office and ask. They sent out all notifications on March 15... maybe went into your spam folder?

My decision email was in my spam folder.

Mine was sent to my promotions folder on gmail

Thanks for your reply. I checked everywhere but still found nothing. Already send an inquiry email to AFI. And congrats to all the acceptances!

 

[malfeasanttoaster]

Just got in off the waitlist. So... there's hope!

 

[Chris W]

Be sure to update your applications on the with as much information as you have as it helps the site calculate a lot of important data for each school. See how the site uses this amazing data in the article below:

Your Chances of Getting into Film School: Acceptance Rates, GPA Requirements, Waitlist Data, and More...

You've been wondering how hard it is to get into film school and what your are chances getting into top film programs such as USC. Maybe you’ve heard that their acceptance rate is 2% — but what is it, really? You've been wondering what is the lowest GPA a film program will accept and what is the...

• Chris W
• Jun 3, 2021
• Category: Admissions Data

If you could update your application with all the important notification dates, your final status (accepted, rejected, off waitlist, attending... etc), how much scholarship money was awarded (if any), your undergraduate degree, GPA, test scores etc that would be AWESOME and very helpful to the site's members. If you could update your application with examples of your submitted material that would be even more awesome.

The Acceptance Rates & Data page for each school uses all this data to help future applicants. To see the data for a particular film school, find your school in our film school database and select the Acceptance Rates & Data tab. If there are enough applications in our database, you enjoy access to valuable tips and information.

 

[J-C]

Hello,
Do anyone know if the directors write their own short film at their thesis film?