First Choice vs Safety Schools

[Impossible Protagonist]

Hey Everyone,

As the interview season begins, I'm losing sleep and seriously harshing my calm. Also, doing alot of thinking.

I applied to six screenwriting/film programs for next year. Out of those, four are where I really see myself, and two were safety schools that I think I have a better chance of getting into. I guess I approached the project a little like an undergrad, hedging my bets.

Here's what's been running around in my head. When you consider the cost, the risk, and everything else we're hashed out on this forum, is it worth it to accept admission to a school that isn't your top choice. Is it a better idea to decline and apply to your preferred schools next year, or to jump into the program that welcomes you with both feet?

I'm not going to name schools, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Everyone here has been so supportive through this whole process, and I hope some of you will be my classmates somewhere.

Anyway, what do you think. Safety school or no school?

 

[Neville26]

What are your safety schools? I applied to ten programs (8 Screenwriting or Screenwriting emphasis, 2 film/cinema/production ones). What schools can't you see yourself at?

 

[levimfs]

It's really up to you, but I figure that even if I go to a safety school I am still focusing the next two years of my life on improving my craft, in a new city, surrounded by like-minded people. So to me it seems that a safety school is likely to be as fertile a place for creativity and new experiences as one of the elite programs, you just won't have the "brand name" to go with it. At the same time, I have already been accepted to my safety school and am desperately holding my breath for the results of my other applications, so who knows how I will feel in a couple of weeks.

 

[wannabe2]

Impossible- I will echo your question. Unlike previously, I applied to 2 safeties, 4 Hail Mary passes. All of the schools I applied to seemed to honor the type of film I hope to engage in. I have the same concerns. Is getting in and attempting to go to a non top 5 five school a wasted effort? Would it make more sense and be less expensive to just move to LA or NYC and just PA and grib and work my way up? For after all, once school has concluded, this is what we all face. The 2 real benefits of achieving an MFA are contacts (and will you make the right contacts at a non top 5 school?) and that with an MFA you can teach. The idea of being an academic is not appealing, to me.

 

[Jayimess]

It's not hard for anyone to find what schools I applied to versus those I considered if they look, but I will be vague in the spirit of the OP.

I originally had 8 schools, only one of which I considered a "safety" school when I began this endeavor. But as I really started to get deeper in my research and really defined my goals, the safety school fell off immediately. My attitude boiled down to "If I'm gonna go to film school, I'm gonna go to one of the best or not go at all." I went to a safety school/sure thing for undergrad and wasn't going to do that again. But that's me.

One thing that really came clear to me was that I needed to get out to LA eventually, and I figured it made little sense to incur the expenses of relocating to one city, only to have to pack up and move to LA after graduation, where I would in fact be starting all over again from scratch with no local networks or references.

To play devil's advocate, several of my film classmates from undergrad...ten in all, have come out here. Only four of us pursued film school, 2 at AFI, me at USC, and one other at Chapman. Everyone else just came out here and started working.

So, the moving and PAing your way up might work too.

I think in your hearts and minds, you all know where you want to end up if given the choice. I always did....somehow I was fortunate enough to gain admittance to all three of my chosen programs, if you're really looking for a distraction you can probably track my journey on this site.

But I got into the programs via a very slow eventually: straight up at one school, waitlisted at one, rejected from the last. When I had no choices, I was content to commit to the one school that wanted me. When the waitlist school bumped me after I'd committed, I opted to go there, because I knew it was where I wanted to be. My certainty didn't waver even when the school that rejected me offered me admission some weeks later. I didn't even consider their offer.

You know where you want to be, but the presence or lack of choices can change that.


So, lots of anecdotes, not any concrete advice, methinks, but I still hope it helps ya'll.

Best of luck.


PS...Film production and writing profs don't tend to be academics in the traditional sense, especially not in the NYC and LA programs, where they're still working professionals. They all seem to do it not because they need the cash (here at USC they seem to NOT need it), but because someone mentored THEM and they want to give back by mentoring the next generations. I'm not reciting a party line, this is a general rule in the business...people tend to want to help people if they can, because they remember how hard it was when they started, and that person(s) who took THEM under their wing.

It's surprising, actually. Refreshing.

Okay, enough rambling.

 

[pleiades]

I didn't apply to any safety schools for film. I applied to three schools with the "go big or go home" attitude.

The way I see it, the major draw of film school is the network you build there. I think a lot of schools will teach you how to write and make great movies, but I don't believe they will all give you equal chances of getting to know the right people... to me, that is a moving target that you can miss even if you go to a top five. But that being said, with the location and reputation of a top five school, I think you've bought yourself a good chance that you'll be able to get a little closer to living the dream.

I guess it all depends on what you wanna get out of film school, right? If what matters to you most is that you become the best film-maker you can be, then I think you have a lot of options. For myself, I believe that talent only gets you so far and your network, your location, and luck are major factors that play into whether or not you will be able to build a career after film school, and that's ultimately what I want, not just the knowledge that I have honed my skills. I think I'd only want to make a bet on a school that offers me every advantage to be employed afterwards in the area that I studied. I'd also hate to end up at a safety school staring out the window from time to time asking myself "what if I had gotten into U of Awesome..."

Maybe this is an unartsy and totally disgustingly pragmatic approach to the question, but it's just a bit of honesty.

OK that being said, while we are being honest - you, me, the internet at large - I'm going to confess that I too have applied to (and am applying to) safety schools, but they aren't in the film industry. So I am not against hedging your bets, but for me personally, it didn't feel right to hedge with programs in my mind that fell into a sort of (entirely subjective!) 'second best' category.

interesting question, and I hope my response doesn't offend as it isn't meant to.

 

[SomeKindaWriter]

Originally posted by Impossible Protagonist:
Anyway, what do you think. Safety school or no school?

If you can wait around a whole year to reapply to the school you really want to go to then go for it. Would you plan on doing more film/writing stuff on your own in the mean time? Or would you just be waiting to apply again? Do you feel you need the structure of school to pursue film? Or can you wing it indie-style for now?

I only applied to one school this year and I'm pretty sure I won't be applying ever again after this. I think if grad film doesn't pan out, I'll just run with the indie-route I was following for the past year...shoot my own stuff no-budget, write scripts, and cross my fingers that it will all work out. It's a risky plan (and so is pursuing film), but the idea of potentially sinking a lot of time/effort/money/favors into applying for schools each year really doesn't appeal to me.

Depending on your motivation, current location, and experience, the safety could be a lot better than no school at all.

 

[Impossible Protagonist]

Thanks everyone, that was quite a bit of insight, and much of what was said is exactly what is bouncing about in my head.

Here's what it comes down to for me. Eventually, someday, I want to teach this stuff. Writing, mostly. I need the MFA for that to even be an option.

However, I am also concerned with the "U of Awesome" melancholy that pleiades describes. That is very much my personality.

That's where my heads at right now. Of course, fate may decide for me, but for now, I'm pursuing all available avenues until I make a decision.

Thanks for helping me hash this out.

 

[Julian Walker]

i would definitely go to my safety school if i didn't get in to my top choices. the way i look at it is like this: if you are talented, you will succeed anywhere. i don't come from film production background but i do come from a film theory background. so being in a grad program that focuses on production for 2-3 years will help me hone my craft, get a nice body of work, connect with other artists, and make mistakes without heavy consequences. also, i am from Arkansas and i attend school in North Carolina, so neither of those are options for staying to make films. i need to be in a larger industry city. even if the school I choose doesn't have name recognition or a vast alumni network of industry professionals, i have confidence in my networking skills and my talent, and i know i can get my foot in the door. film school can't teach you how to be talented...talent is inherent. all film school does is help you hone that creative energy to make great pieces of art. you can graduate film school and not find work just as easy as you can move to LA or NY and fail looking for a way up the ladder..

ps. film school provides resources such as equipment, actors, crew, and faculty that would be harder to obtain if you start out on your own. you are paying more for it, but you generally have easier access to it. also, enrollment in a graduate program will defer my undergrad loans!

in the end, no matter what school i attend, i'm going to make films. and that's all i want to do.

 

[brittak]

A quick scenario. I would be more inclined to attend a "safety" school that provided me a considerable amount of money than a big five school that was going to send me barrelling into debt.

Think about where you want to be when you get out of school. If you're $60,000 in debt, you need to find a job right away, and a good one, and it might not be a job you're particularly interested in (or even related to your field).

But if you're in the black, you have options. If you can't find work right away, you can work at a coffeeshop and write, write, write your specs. You can gather together a crew of your alumni contacts and make a microbudget indie. You're not making life decisions based on money, you're making them based on your career. Personally, that's more important to me than the name of the school I went to.

 

[wannabe2]

I do agree with brittak's opinion.

I mean who wouldn't want to attend U. of Awesome. After all, why are we all applying there. Reputation, success rate of working artists post degree, connections, similar philosophies. However, for some of us, it's simply not a pragmatic choice. Student loans can often times dictate the pursuit of art. It is the unfortunate conundrum of attending college in the US. I'm not going to lie, I would love nothing more than to attend NYU, but $200K in loans is an extreme gamble. Particularly when you are receiving an education that prepares for a starting salary (if fortunate) in the mid 30's to mid 40's.

But like film, it's fun to dream. We'll see. Perhaps it is not my dream to fulfill.