UCSD, CSUN, CSULB, CSUF which film program do you prefer?

Filmgirl

New Member
Hello fellow undergraduate film students!

I was accepted into film programs in UC San Diego (Visual Arts/ Media), CSUN (Cinema and Television), and CSULB (Film and Electronic Arts), CSUF (Cinema and Television). I would love to hear your voice as which school did you choose and and why.

Thank you for your feedback! Looking forward to hearing from you.
 
Congrats on getting in to multiple UC schools! Each of those are solid schools in their own rights, so it all depends on what you're looking for.

What exactly are your career goals? I would definitely suggest picking the school you go to based on which one you think will give you the best prospects for future success. When you speak with the administrators and professors at some of the schools, you can usually start to get an idea of what they focus on, and how much of a fit that would be for you and your personal goals.

If you know for sure film is what you want to go into, you'll probably want to be located in Los Angeles, since that's where the jobs are. Make sure you take advantage of any internship opportunities you can get while you're in school, so that you can leverage those contacts you've made to help you get a job once you leave school. I didn't realize the importance of this when I did my undergrad, and I didn't get the contacts I should have gotten, so that made it much harder to get a job when I got out of school.

The reason I mention this is because I'd say an important consideration would be the closeness to internship opportunities. Northridge, Long Beach and Fullerton are all 30 minutes outside central LA, but all from different directions. I know I hear from Chapman students that going from Orange County to LA is difficult for internships, so the same principle would apply to Fullerton, and probably Long Beach too. Just be aware of where the school is in comparison to the available opportunities. As far as San Diego, it's honestly too far from LA to realistically intern there without completely exhausting yourself. A few of my friends did manage to keep LA internships while living in San Diego, but they didn't have a life outside of school and their internship.

Another thing to consider would be the relative strength of each of the programs. None of these schools made the 2017 THR film school rankings, but Northridge was at #22 in 2016.

Another factor I would personally think about would be living conditions. Like for instance, do you have any preferences for the type of neighborhood you want to live in? You'll be spending the next 4 years at one of these places so it'd be helpful if you have a general idea of the campus culture and surrounding neighborhoods. I did my undergrad at a school not far from UCSD, so I'll just point out that San Diego is America's Finest City, and basically everyone I know who has lived there loved the city. But at the same time, I wouldn't say it's as conducive to a long term career in film making, unless you wanted to do corporate work in and around San Diego.

Lots to consider, I'd just suggest thinking about this as a plan for your future. Think it through and make the decision you think best sets you up for success. I wish I'd done that when I first went to undergrad, so maybe you can do better than I did :).
 
Last edited:
Hi sharkb8,

Wow! Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Your insight and input are in the same line as what I've been thinking since I applied many months ago. One of the reasons that I only applied schools in California is precisely because of location, location, location. I know it is very important and never too early to be in the area where I would want to make connections and build my network. Thank you for validating that.

I finally decided to write in this forum to gain some insights from fellow film students specifically about these 4 film programs: UC San Diego (Visual Arts/ Media), CSUN (Cinema and Television), CSULB (Film and Electronic Arts), and CSUF (Cinema and Television). I am very aware that out of these 4 film programs, only CSUN made the THR film ranking in 2016 and not 2017. I would not choose a school based on one ranking either. Rather, I would love to hear from students that have attended or are attending these programs. I want to know which of these 4 programs are hands on, productive, challenging, and encouraging creativity.

Thank you again for your input. I hope to hear back from you if you have more to say or anyone out there have anything for me! Thank you and Aloha!
 
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