Hey there... I absolutely love the site. It has helped me make a ton of decisions where to apply, but I wanted to get a few opinions from you guys on how I look compared to where y'all go.

Stats

5 foot 11

My school doesn't rank, doesn't do GPAs, and has a weird grading system (private school), so I'll translate them into ABC etc...

Freshman year: 90 average
Sophmore: A- Average
Junior: All a's except a b+ in Pre-cal
Senior: looking to go for all a's

4 on History AP

SATs:

1920 score

670 writing
660 math
590 reading

SAT IIs

Math Level II: 580
History: 660

My school is very, very challenging (not the normal high school), so I think I have an advantage in admissions there. I've taken film for two years and have been making them forever. I took an internship at a video website over the summer (www.dadlabs.com), where I redesigned the website in addition to editing/posting videos. An example of my short film is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxhQjz9hq44

Thanks in advance for your comments! I appreciate them all!

-Mark

Wow... sorry forgot to tell you what schools I'm applying to...

Chapman
USC (maybe)
NYU
FSU?
U Miami
UT
BU
Northwestern

and any others you all might suggest!

To start, look in to retaking the SATI. Those scores aren't bad, but better SAT's are always helpful.

Other than that, I'd simply start applying. Ultimately nothing we here say will have any impact on you getting in - getting a head start on your essays will. For the actual film schools, it really is all about the essays.

Last year I applied with similar stats like you, (1940 SAT, weighted gpa about 93, unweighted 92) Now I'm in USC, and got rejected from NYU, accepted into BU with a 12,000/year scholarship, accepted into FSU, accepted into u miami, rejected from northwestern, rejected from Syracuse (which actually surprised me).

Anyway, I'd say you should concentrate more on your creative materials for the schools like USC, Chapman and FSU, schools that won't automatically overlook you for your gpa and sat. NYU does seem to put more weight on academics, and you'll especially have a tougher time with northwestern, since you're not considered a "film student" when you apply but rather just another kid trying to get into northwestern as a communications major (since film is in their communications dept.). You should get in miami, and bu no problem. Focus on USC, that's what I did, and what got me in was my writing. They make it clear that they do actually HAND SELECT every applicant. (why is USC a maybe?, c'mon now, its THE BEST!!!!!!!!!)

The only reason why I had USC as a maybe is because it's such a crapshoot getting in there! It makes me feel good seeing someone with almost my exact stats in there though. I guess it really is all about the creativity. Thanks a lot! Any others?