John
Should I go to L.A. Film School or USC?
I have started to look into USC as well and off of its stats and the fact that it is a university, I can tell it's good. I'm just worried that I might be setting my goals too high. I'm pretty sure their Cinematic Arts school has a three percent acceptance rate and while I could prepare for high school and get a 4.0 GPA and all that, I would still have low chances of being accepted. Are there any other ways I could increase my chances of getting in? And if I don't get in should I then go to L.A. Film School or just keep trying to get into USC? Oh and also Michelle Marotta if you're reading this, thank you for answering every one of my questions. It really has been great advice.
2 answers
Karin P.
Karin’s Answer
Quick answer on the choice of school: you'll of course apply to more than one school to make sure you get in somewhere. You should at minimum apply to a reach school (where you would like to go but where chances are not good, e.g. USC), a match school (where the requirements are such that you'll most likely get in) and a safety school (where you will definitely get in if everything else falls through). You can of course apply to more, e.g. 3 reach schools.
Good luck!
KP
Karin recommends the following next steps:
Michelle M.
Michelle’s Answer
If it is between USC and the Los Angeles Film school, I would advise the Los Angeles Film School. Although USC is an excellent school for film, it is expensive and in a different section of Los Angeles that you may want to look into. USC is in South Central L.A. whereas Los Angeles Film School, on the other hand, is conveniently located on Sunset and Vine, in the heart of Hollywood, right in a commercial area with lots of businesses and TV studios nearby. There may be film studios nearby at this time, but you can look into that. The L.A. Film school does have a lot of film studios that you will be able to use, however. USC is close to LAX Airport. I remember USC being kind of far from Hollywood. It is 7 miles away, though. It must have been the traffic that made it seem far.
My advice would be to compare the tuition and costs of both schools and consider your budget. You will be well trained at either school, but a lot of times, expense is a factor. The acceptance rate for L.A. Film school is higher than USC. As a matter of fact, USC film school only takes about 30 something students who apply. What I can see for L.A. Film School is that they accept over 4,000 students who apply. That's a huge difference.
Los Angeles is huge. You should visit before moving there, or if not, realize it is an enormous city broken into various sections. Both the good and the bad sections of Los Angeles visually look good to an East Coast eye, so find out more about the areas before you move there. Looks can be deceiving because everything in L.A. looks good. I lived in Hollywood at the foot of the Hollywood Hills when I lived there. That was in the Los Feliz section of Hollywood. It was an excellent place to live. It's been many moons, so I don't know how much L.A. has changed but Los Feliz is still a desirable area. You should plan to buy a car once you get there.
My final answer is (LOL): Los Angeles Film School. Naturally, you will be the one deciding on this after you check every single thing out - especially tuition and expenses. Just like New York City, Los Angeles is quite expensive.
I hope that this has been a help and I wish you all the best !