Hi everyone! I'm definitely in the same boat but I'm debating between USC and Chapman right now (waiting to hear from AFI). The biggest factor for me is cost and, with my acceptance letter, they also included a fellowship amount which sways my decision considerably! I was pretty gung-ho about USC but I am not trying to fund my entire degree on loans (especially when it's three years).
That said, I'm going to give a call to USC to see what their deal is. I want to be able to weigh my options. I really liked Chapman - the only thing that worries me is the location. Orange (The city) leaves a lot to be desired and reminds me a lot of my hometown (which I'm trying to get away from to be honest). When I applied, I thought it was a benefit to be out of LA (because I'm not a fan of the city) but that's where the action is...
Love to hear your guys' thoughts!
Hey Tayo, I'm in a similar position. I've applied to USC and Chapman Film Production MFA. I've been accepted by both, although without any scholarship. For the last week I've been talking with current students and alumni from both programs, so maybe compiling the pros and cons here will help me as well.
Being in LA might be a bit more expensive but you're close to all the events and internships you might get, you'll have at least an hour of driving otherwise (this is also true for any actors you cast and equipment you rent). I'm gonna be a cinematographer, so if I go to Chapman I'll be mostly limited to Chapman student sets if I don't wanna get up even earlier in the morning and drive to LA (and drive back at the end when I'm very tired).
About the equipment, Chapman really excels when it comes to it. From what I was told, USC's equipment is outdated. For both programs, the first year is kind of a leveling ground. Even if you've been shooting all kinds of stuff before school, now you're extremely limited on the equipment and the type of film you're gonna shoot. USC makes you shoot on Sony EX1's (which might've been a good camera when it came out 8 years ago) but I'm not sure what you use at Chapman so maybe
@danieldrummond knows about it. For the first semester you shoot several 5 minute shorts at USC and about 9? smaller exercises at Chapman, you also crew on 2nd year films (it's mandatory at Chapman, not at USC). Second semester at USC you team up with 3 random students and be director/writer, dp/editor, producer/sound on each other's films. At Chapman you shoot a 3/2/1 (3 pages, 2 actors, 1 location). Difference here is, at Chapman you know your emphasis before you start so you're also taking specific classes from semester 1. At USC all the students take the same classes at year 1 and start specializing from year 2.
At second year it gets very different due to the selective nature of 546 (Production III) at USC, but it's kinda complicated so I won't get into that right now (unless anyone wants to know more). But at USC you have electives (for theory classes as well as production classes) so you can kinda shape your curriculum as you go. At Chapman everyone's program is set so it's more structured and focused.
It's true that Chapman is the up-and-coming school, but it has a long way before it reaches the reputation and network that USC has. USC is known worldwide and has much more alumni in the industry (it's been here since 1929, whereas Chapman only started to get recognition and facilities in the 2000s with the Marion Knott building and whatnot). I've heard equally great things about the faculty in both schools.
Like I said, I don't know where I'm gonna be attending yet, and all these are objective views and research of a person half a world away (I didn't even visit the schools, but I've been in LA before). Subjectively, I like the curriculum of Chapman more, it's structured, more focused and there's not much ambiguity. With that said, I really think the network of USC and living in LA matters. My knowledge might be outdated so please correct me if I'm wrong about anything. Hope this helps.