Cal State Univ Northridge vs J.C. then USC

[Phil]

Hi I am a junior in high school, I am already working on a short film to build up my demo reel and get experience. I am interested in dircting but I am a little confused about college. I want to go to CSUN or USC but I cannot get into USC right away: I would have to go to a JC then apply to USC after my sopmore year at Junior College. Or I could go directly into CSUN for four years. I am just wondering if going to USC for film would really give me a better jump start? I mean the programs are comparable, and CSUN was rated higher as far as the quality of their program, but anybody famous has come out of USC, and very few are from CSUN. I am just a little confused about what to do. Any advice?

 

[Phil]

Hi I am a junior in high school, I am already working on a short film to build up my demo reel and get experience. I am interested in dircting but I am a little confused about college. I want to go to CSUN or USC but I cannot get into USC right away: I would have to go to a JC then apply to USC after my sopmore year at Junior College. Or I could go directly into CSUN for four years. I am just wondering if going to USC for film would really give me a better jump start? I mean the programs are comparable, and CSUN was rated higher as far as the quality of their program, but anybody famous has come out of USC, and very few are from CSUN. I am just a little confused about what to do. Any advice?

 

[video_filmmaker]

I've seen amazing work from USC. None from CSUN.
I'd go with USC but if you dont get in use CSUN as your back-up plan. It's still a great school just not on par with USC. I hear CSUn topped USC only because they got a grant and bought a bunch of equipment. I dont wanna say CSUN sucks because it doesn't. I hear many good things.

 

[NotaMono]

I assume that these options are due to financial restrictions? If not I don't see why you couldn't transfer to USC from CSUN if you decide you'd like USC better. Best of both worlds that way.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phil:
CSUN was rated higher as far as the quality of their program <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Where'd you get that information? I don't believe it for a second. The primary downfall of sticking your hopes squarely on USC is that, even after you get into the school, you still have to apply and get into the major. That's a particularly big deal if you take the CC route at the expense of someplace else.

Good luck!

Nota "Shoudn't it be called CSMOG?" Mono

 

[Phil]

Thanks for the insight. I would love to attend USC even right now but the problem is not so much money as it is getting into USC. I have a 3.5 average GPA and they dont even look at you unless you have above a 4.0. I just feel like I dont even have a chance.

 

[Baloo]

im a film student at northridge. a lot of people have misconceptions about the program, so let me clear it up.

for starters, i was in the same delema at the end of my 2 years at jc: usc, or northridge? i was going to apply to both, but after weighing the possibilities and doing some research, i settled on northridge, and here is why: usc does of corse have a rep for putting some big names into the industry; what they dont tell you is that their program is gear for industry only movies, and not the independants. what this means is that everyone who goes there ends up with the grand delusion that out of school, they are going to land a huge picture in hollywood, and it doesnt happen. of course, when they are forced to enter into entry level jobs in the industly, they end up having to work on indies, which their education was not tailored for. other disadvantages of usc are that, since they pay for the cost of making your films, they OWN your films. that sucks a lot.

good things about usc are: the well funded program, the alumni, the faculty.

now on to csun (where i decided to go). i knew right off the bat that i wasnt going to make hollywood type movies, and i also knew that northridge has a rep for being more geared toward the indie sort of filmmaking. i had an awesome gpa coming out of junior college- it may have gotten me into usc, but it definatley got me into csun. anyway, what people dont know about csun is that you have to apply to the film school with a portfolio just like you would have to at usc. also, you cant start the film program at csun until youre a junior anyway, so it may be worth it to save the money going to a jc for your first 2 years anyway.

as far as the csun film program quality goes, id rate it very highly. other than the fact that we are feeling the squeeze from the recent california budget cuts, the school is nearly perfect. the faculty is great; the equipment is okay (in the next 2-3 years it will be awesome- since they are still in the process of perfecting things), the classess are excellent (you chose your emphasis early -cinematog, sound, editing, directing, producing- but you end up learning a bit of all of them) im just entering my senior year at csun and i hve to say ive enjoyed it a lot. one of the other reasons i hear northridge is really good compared to usc is that there is less competition and more cameraderie among the students- which is very nice.

and whoever said that csun has their rep because of their new facilities is half correct, their new building is the nicesnt one on camupus. however, the program itself is known for being very hands on and practical, yet also well rounded with theory and historical perpectives.

one last thing to consider: when working on your BA, it doesnt matter where you go to film school: USC, UCLA, CSUN, wherever, the programs are all similar and all respected. if anything, i would chose based on the kind of filmmaking you want to do (indie vs hollywood). where the schools really become distinctive is their graduate programs- and northridge doesnt have one yet. after i get my degree at northridge, im planning on heading over to ucla for a masters. then after that, who knows!?

ask questions if you have them. i remember once weighing whether to chose usc or northridge, but now i wouldnt change my mind for anything.

 

[angefong]

hmm. i'm pretty sure that usc would look at ur application! 3.5 gpa is not bad. i applied to usc for undergrad 5 years ago with a 3.4 gpa, and i got into their honors program. i know that college has gotten more difficult to get in with each year, but i would really give it a shot. usc isn't a totally academic institution... they do look at how well rounded u are etc. so i wouldn't count usc out quite yet.

 

[Archimmes]

Phil, do yourself a favor and stay away from CSUN. As a recent graduate, I must say that I should have chosen UCLA when I had the chance. First off, the whole portfolio thing is messed up. I got in right before it became mandatory so I didn't experience firsthand who gets chosen or not, but the ones who did complained that the faculty picked basically the students who are willing to kiss program director's ass. Second, the equipment is shot to hell. YEs, there was a grant, but it was spent right away and nobody seems to know on what it was spent. All equipment that was promised still hasn't arrived yet, except couple of Avid 9000s that are rented only because so many of senior student complained and protested last semester. No one knows when or if there will be new cameras, all eclairs and cp-16s are broken.

Anyways, I can go on and on about my disappointments with CSUN. Granted, it has a very nice Cinematography and Directing class, and film theory classes that are taught by Dean of Film is truly remarkable, as it is tough to pass . The only thing that I can mention about CSUN, probably the worst thing about it, is that the people there are some of the most obnoxious and arrogant there ever can be. Everything is based on politics, who kisses up and who actually works. Both students and faculty claim that UCS and UCLA have most arrogant students, well I've been to both and its nothing compared to CSUN staff and students. Sometimes, you cannot help but wonder what some of them are doing in film in the first place as it is evident that there is no desire or will to learn filmmaking as a craft, but as an excuse to use school's (broken) equipment and get free crew. Shouldn't film school students have some sense of unity and collaboration among each other, not judge because of how many films that guy/girl has worked on or which producer he/she knows?

Ok then...Sorry if I seem a bit critical, but I had a chance to visit some other campuses for comparison, so believe me, I'm not making this up outta thin air. Good luck!

 

[Baloo]

to tell you the truth, it doesnt matter where you go to undergrad film school because youre going to learn the same things everywhere, more or less- and you will make good contacts everywhere (more or less). the distinctions in programs is in their graduate programs. some people see grad school for film a waste of time, but im getting ready to apply to ucla for grad school (and if you thought undergrad programs were hard to get into- you dont know anything till youve seen an admittance list for a grad school). anyway- yeah usc and ucla are good schools, but at the undergrad level, there are almost no disctinctions except for the $$$ you pay. as i pointed out, gad school is a whole nother ball game.