i've been thinking a lot about this. im an american but straight after high school i applied to study my undergraduate program in saint petersburg, russia. so right now i'm in russia but the work and living conditions were much too challenging for me, and to be honest, i was just getting fed up with the whole situation - it wasn't nearly as exciting as when i first arrived here. so after my first year i applied for european universities but it was simply too expensive to live/study in Scotland (though i was accepted into a third-rate university in Glasgow). so i applied to universities in the states, thinking i would get in without fanfare - yet was rejected by nyu and bard, so, as its too late to apply (of course) for other universities, it looks like I'll need to attend a community college and "hopefully" a state school will accept me after attending a community college. i am looking at attending either suny or cuny in new york city but i have no idea as of yet. do these state schools have the facilities i need to excell? when I look at their undergraduate listings and see that hundreds of thousands of undergraduates are attending, it really makes my heart sink because i would rather attend a prestigious, highly-selective, academically-rigid private college/university - which is more personal and customized to suit my specific needs. i wonder whether a second-rate university (i.e. a state university which is all i'll be able to get into considering i'll be applying from a community college and considering that i was rejected from private universities nyu AND bard despite being a joint/FT student at bard, they still rejected me? BEFORE i attended the community college) i wonder whether state universities will do enough justice to my rigid academic achievement at high school? 220,727 students? and it's even worse at suny - 414,171? i doubt all of them are as academically gifted and hard-working as me... sigh. i deserve sooo much better.

Uh, are you sure about those student listings? I'm pretty sure those are wrong. I don't think any university could house that many students. That's bigger than most cities.

Those numbers reflect the total Suny and Cuny systems, I believe. There are multiple SUNYs and CUNYs throughout the state and city.

Also, I gotta say that while you may be bright and talented, it sounds like your ego might be hurting you a bit. Try to loosen up a bit.

Agreed. We all need a piece of the ole' humble pie every once in a while. It wont make you any less intelligent, but it will make you more appealing to others (and colleges).

Why do you want to focus on NY city? San Francisco is a great city. Afterall the West is the Best. And San Francisco State University has an up and coming film program. City College of SF is also good and could help you get into State. Of course, SF is nowhere close to the contacts of LA and even further away from NYC's contacts.

Relax! Your success in life does not depend on whether or not you go to NYU or Bard. Besides, if you're talented you can go to any "second rate" undergraduate program and get your graduate degree at NYU or USC, etc. You want to be a filmmaker right?? Focus your energy on writing and life experience. You don't have to go to NYU to make a kick butt film!

I agree with the ego thing. Tossing around words like "prodigy" and "gifted" when referring to yourself is a turn-off for a lot of people. I know it's hard to express who you really are through college applications and whatnot, but arrogance really is not the answer to that particular dilemma.