Emerson College MFA Film and Media Art 2020

[yintao]

Just out of curiosity, did anyone who got accepted today apply for advanced standing in the program? If so, was it included in your acceptance whether or not you had been approved?

Yes, it is included in the letter

 

[DylanJ]

Yes, it is included in the letter

thank you! Was just curious if that process had different timing. Well here's to hoping no news is good news I guess

 

[qsjourney]

Congrats guys!! Spent my undergrad years at Emerson, so if you have any questions regarding school/culture/neighborhood/city, feel free to ask!

WELCOME TO THE EMERSON MAFIA! (Yeah that's how we call ourselves lol)

 

[Boydstu9]

I got my letter on Monday as well! I was fortunate enough to get the full tuition scholarship as well

 

[Chris W]

I got my letter on Monday as well! I was fortunate enough to get the full tuition scholarship as well

Full tuition!!!!! That's awesome!

 

[Ian_Qin]

Do you know if they’re still sending out acceptances (or waitlists for that matter) or is that wave over you think?

 

[Boydstu9]

Full tuition!!!!! That's awesome!

Thank you

 

[jn0pe]

Has anyone decided they definitely are (or aren't) going to attend Emerson? What influenced your decision? I'm stuck trying to decide between a couple places

 

[bmac]

Hi! Congratulations to everyone that has been accepted. I received my acceptance letter sometime in March.

Has anyone decided they definitely are (or aren't) going to attend Emerson? What influenced your decision? I'm stuck trying to decide between a couple places

I was deciding between LMU, Emerson, and Chapman, but I have decided to commit to Chapman! USC was my dream school but unfortunately I was not accepted. When deciding which program to commit to, each school had an even plane field since they were all my back up schools. It was difficult to decide because all of my interviews were online and so I was unable to see the facility and the faculty members/current students in person. So my decision has solely come down to the schools alumni, scholarships received, location, reputation of the program, and the gut feeling I felt during the interview.

When considering the schools alumni it is personally important to me to attend a program that is pushing out a diverse group of story tellers. Chapman's alumni include Matt Duffer (creator of stranger things) Justin Simien (director of Dear White People), and Ben York Jones (screenwriter of Like Cazy and Breathe In). These are very contrasting narratives and so this is what initially attracted me to the program, because as someone who is interested in directing and writing, I want to be in an environment that encourages diverse, genre bending stories. Emerson and LMU on the other hand personally did not attract me when it came to their alumni. At least not in terms of directing, which again is my focus.
Location was another big factor for me. As most of us know, most film related jobs are in hotspots such as California and New York, so typically when aspiring filmmakers attend a film program elsewhere, they end up having to move to one of the hotspots in order to work. Emerson is located in Boston, which isn't bad; in fact Good Will Hunting was filmed in Boston! But attending a program that is already located in one of the hotspots allows me to build connections earlier rather than later, as well as provides 10x the opportunity to assist on film sets, meet like minded people (as well as different people that can broaden my perspective), and improve as a filmmaker/storyteller. LMU, like Chapman, is located in California, but at this point I had a better feeling about Chapman.
The next thing I considered was the programs reputation. Chapman is known for being well rounded, mentorship based, and hands on. Instead of forcing students into one track, the students play each role within their first year; which I appreciate as it allows students to fully understand each role of the industry, as well as switch tracks if they prefer a different role. I think the most important thing I appreciate about Chapman is their mentorship program. Pretty much all film schools focus on teamwork and story, but a lot of them lack in the mentorship department. Chapman has an alumni mentorship program, in which past students who are currently working in the industry mentor current students.
I also took into consideration the vibes I got from the interviewers. Unfortunately I was not interviewed by Emerson, so I do not have anything to go off of. I was interviewed by LMU, which went well. It was a simple chat, but nothing stuck out to me. I was lucky enough to be interviewed by chapman (I know that they do not interview all of their accepted candidates). The interview went really well! The faculty were so natural and it was the only interview I had where we actually laughed. I felt comfortable to ask certain questions and to voice my opinions. I left the interview feeling good rather then uneasy like my other ones.
The last thing I looked at, which is probably the most important thing to many of us is the scholarships that I was awarded. Emerson awarded me the most, Chapman second, and LMU the least. At this point I declined LMU because I felt that it was not a match, both financially and personally. This left Emerson and Chapman. Despite Emerson awarding me the most money, I felt that in every other way Chapman's program had more to offer in terms of their alumni, mentorship, location, and their factually. Although I was unable to tour any of the schools in person, I was able to see them virtually and Chapman looks petty solid!
Sorry for the long post, but this was my thought process! I hope it helps u in some way!

 

[jn0pe]

Hi! Congratulations to everyone that has been accepted. I received my acceptance letter sometime in March.


I was deciding between LMU, Emerson, and Chapman, but I have decided to commit to Chapman! USC was my dream school but unfortunately I was not accepted. When deciding which program to commit to, each school had an even plane field since they were all my back up schools. It was difficult to decide because all of my interviews were online and so I was unable to see the facility and the faculty members/current students in person. So my decision has solely come down to the schools alumni, scholarships received, location, reputation of the program, and the gut feeling I felt during the interview.

When considering the schools alumni it is personally important to me to attend a program that is pushing out a diverse group of story tellers. Chapman's alumni include Matt Duffer (creator of stranger things) Justin Simien (director of Dear White People), and Ben York Jones (screenwriter of Like Cazy and Breathe In). These are very contrasting narratives and so this is what initially attracted me to the program, because as someone who is interested in directing and writing, I want to be in an environment that encourages diverse, genre bending stories. Emerson and LMU on the other hand personally did not attract me when it came to their alumni. At least not in terms of directing, which again is my focus.
Location was another big factor for me. As most of us know, most film related jobs are in hotspots such as California and New York, so typically when aspiring filmmakers attend a film program elsewhere, they end up having to move to one of the hotspots in order to work. Emerson is located in Boston, which isn't bad; in fact Good Will Hunting was filmed in Boston! But attending a program that is already located in one of the hotspots allows me to build connections earlier rather than later, as well as provides 10x the opportunity to assist on film sets, meet like minded people (as well as different people that can broaden my perspective), and improve as a filmmaker/storyteller. LMU, like Chapman, is located in California, but at this point I had a better feeling about Chapman.
The next thing I considered was the programs reputation. Chapman is known for being well rounded, mentorship based, and hands on. Instead of forcing students into one track, the students play each role within their first year; which I appreciate as it allows students to fully understand each role of the industry, as well as switch tracks if they prefer a different role. I think the most important thing I appreciate about Chapman is their mentorship program. Pretty much all film schools focus on teamwork and story, but a lot of them lack in the mentorship department. Chapman has an alumni mentorship program, in which past students who are currently working in the industry mentor current students.
I also took into consideration the vibes I got from the interviewers. Unfortunately I was not interviewed by Emerson, so I do not have anything to go off of. I was interviewed by LMU, which went well. It was a simple chat, but nothing stuck out to me. I was lucky enough to be interviewed by chapman (I know that they do not interview all of their accepted candidates). The interview went really well! The faculty were so natural and it was the only interview I had where we actually laughed. I felt comfortable to ask certain questions and to voice my opinions. I left the interview feeling good rather then uneasy like my other ones.
The last thing I looked at, which is probably the most important thing to many of us is the scholarships that I was awarded. Emerson awarded me the most, Chapman second, and LMU the least. At this point I declined LMU because I felt that it was not a match, both financially and personally. This left Emerson and Chapman. Despite Emerson awarding me the most money, I felt that in every other way Chapman's program had more to offer in terms of their alumni, mentorship, location, and their factually. Although I was unable to tour any of the schools in person, I was able to see them virtually and Chapman looks petty solid!
Sorry for the long post, but this was my thought process! I hope it helps u in some way!

Thanks for sharing your input! Chapman is one of the schools I'm thinking about as well, but I have a question about something you mentioned. Can we really switch tracks at Chapman? I was accepted into the Editing emphasis, but that's actually one of the things holding me back from choosing Chapman because I was hesitant about committing to that discipline from the outset, whereas at another school I'd have the opportunity to try out different roles. I tried calling admissions, but no one picks up (I guess they're out of the office because of the virus).