Hey Kaiser, I had actually also applied to law school also and that's where I am now. It was REALLY tough to turn down Columbia, if money, etc. didn't matter I would have gone to Columbia. But things got complicated because of finances and the fact that I'm Canadian (can be difficult to get to stay in the States unless you're sponsored by your job but with the recession and the nature of the film industry, it may be tough to get someone to sponsor you, otherwise you have to go through O-visa (artists visa), complicated. It wasn't that I didn't know how much $$ Columbia cost, but with the recession, the money became a more real issue I guess you could say--from the time that I applied to Columbia to when I got in, they had raised the tuition and fees and that increase alone equalled what I'd pay for a year of law school (in Canada). I talked to as many people as I could--quite a few current and former Columbia students, and some producers and execs. WHen one student found out what the new overall cost was, they said that as much as they loved the program, they did not think they could recommend spending that much on it. It is just a huge amount of money with no job security in the end. I think everyone who goes into it knows how tough the industry can be, but we want it so badly that many of us are willing to pay tons for a really good education (and the connections that go with it). I also spoke to a producer who works on a very successful TV show. He didn't want to tell me what to do but he did say that the industry is pretty chaotic right now (esp. with the recession), and that both a law and film background are good backgrounds to get into the industry. When I told him what I had decided, he told me that that was what he wanted to tell him (law--he just didn't want to make the decision for me). BUt it's not like a law degree=automatic entrance into this business either! It just gives you more options and maybe a different way to get involved (but more in a producing/exec sense (you get training in financing, business, taxes, etc, not directing, and only writing if you happen to make connections and happen to be able to write--ie the same producer I talked to is also working on a new show created by a former lawyer).
Anyway, that is some of how I made that decision. If I didn't have to worry about being able to stay in the country, giving me time to build a career and work in another job while trying to get film work, then I think I would have been more willing to put up that kind of money. Somethign to think about is whether you have another way of breaking in if you don't go to film school--can you intern, work your way up at a studio for ex--film school will give you connections and training faster but if you don't get in/get in this year, try other avenues too.
Who knows if it was the right choice, it was really tough and some days when I'm trying to learn constitutional law I want to hit myself over the head for not going to Columbia lol.
are curious to know
). But from my research last year, it appeared that absolutely no one got in without an interview..
