Got my apps out to NYU, and others, but the more I read about Chapman the more I'm interested. Couple of things. Chapman seems to be getting alot of buzz, and I really only want to apply to the directing program. I'll be honest, I have little or no background in film. I'm just going for it, something I've always wanted to do. Do any of the current or former students have any vibe on if they only take experienced film folks, or do they look at a variety of factors. I was always a good student, Ivy alumni, what are my chances?

Also, any suggestions on the transformative moment piece they ask about? Or the narrative piece? They say you can choose your format, but do they have a preference?

Any advice is welcome.

I think just about everyone did the narrative as a screenplay.

As for the directing program-- I've heard that everyone accepted has had some film experience. If you are gung-ho on Chapman you may want to look in another area of production such as editing or cine and then try to transfer to directing as they get to know you. The first semester all the tracks are basically the same so it wouldn't hurt to try to go that route.

The one bit of advice I'll give you is the school has a strong focus on narrative, so be sure that your story is strong.

So far Chapman has been great-- I'm loving the experience. So the best of luck to you-- be sure to visit the school if you get a chance.

So, would you say they have a preference for the screenplay format?

Also, any idea about the transformative piece, what they might want to see? I'm sure a visual essay, but anything else?

Hey Winterreverie

Do you know if Chapman's application writing submissions need to be single or double spaced?

I actually called hgsouth. Double spaced.

Ughhh that blows!

Oh well, thank you for the heads up. I'm probably going to call them myself just to confirm (i'm a worrier...not that I don't trust ya)

But until I can get ahold of them I can plan for double spaced.

Well, I called them and they said there was no spacing requirement, but it would be better to do double spaced for easier reading.

I'll admit I wouldn't want to send them pages of solid text.

I'm a little concerned that people who don't double space will be able to put more content in, but since I was planning for double spaced (and since all my stuff is pretty much done) then I'm going to send that in.

I'm just wondering:

My Dramatic Scene and Favorite Film are double spaced, but my Transformational Moment is 1.5 spaced to fit it into the 2 pages.

Is this difference going to make me look unprofessional?

Chapman is my top choice and I really want to have my best shot at getting in.

Favorite Film description: more review-y or more "why this is my favorite film"-y?

I wrote this piece as to "why it was my favorite film", and why I thought it was so ground breaking during the time of release. Not sure if that is what they're looking for, but so be it.

What is your favorite film anyways?

I actually ended up writing not about my favorite film, but about a film I recently watched that, for several reasons, I loved. It's not my number 1, but it's a favorite at the moment.

when I did the fave film assignment I gave primarily a review of various aspects of the film - Script, Cinematography, direction, acting, and production design.

I wrote on Hedwig and the angry inch

I sort of included what I thought was interesting about the cine, but mostly I wrote about whay I thought it was so powerful, and how the themes are still relevant now. Hope it works. It did win best picture, so hopefully they'll like that.

hey...i just started my own topic about recent chapman applicants because I forgot about this post... but I just sent out all my stuff last week and I guess now its time to play the waiting game.

Winter - it seems like most of the ppl that applied last year with you got in(from what I saw on last years forum posts)...would you agree?

I think a have a pretty strong background and im set on chapmans program...Im just nervous and not really prepared to wait 2-3 months to find out....

Chapman is my top choice as well. I'll be pretty bummed if I dont make it!

I'd say about half the people who applied for chapman who were on the forums got in. The ones who don't get in tend to find out a LOT sooner and for the most part leave the forums. 5 of us got in regular admit, 3 got in after being waitlisted. There were over 1000 applications and our incoming class had 97 people, so that should give you the general odds, although I have heard they will be even more exclusive this year.

The one thing about the forums is that the people you find here are passionate about film school and do their best to create competitive applications-- in fact thats how most of us FOUND this site.This may account for why so many people on the forums are accepted into schools. In fact, I would say of all the people I met last year on here, 80% got into top film schools.

I'm glad Chapman is your first choice. I definitely recommend taking a tour at the school, meet faculty, and keep in touch with the Joe if you have any concerns. I know at least one student who got in this year on persistence alone.

Best of luck!

thanks for the information...I live in Florida but I actually have been on a tour, unfortunately the only tour that was available was the undergrad so I really didn't get a chance to meet any faculty or anything. I made sure to talk about it in my statement of intent though.

Maybe a stupid question, but I'll ask. Does Chapman send you an "application complete" e-mail like some of the MFA programs I've applied to, or are they like NYU "no news is good news"?