I am Sahirr. I have been reading the forum threads since quite some time... am assuming there are plenty of MFA students from UCLA around... hence its you guys who can answer a few of my queries...

I have applied for MFA -Directing at UCLA and its been a month since i sent in my applications... there has been no confirmation of it being received by the admissions dpt yet. When i called them up... they said they would get back to me only if they hadn't received the supporting materials. Was wondering whether it was the same in your case as well?

Also, I am an Indian... hence was wondering how many foreign students are admitted each year, etc. Are scholarship opportunities available to them... and what are the chances. Do you know any international student who has been able to fetch a chunky amount?

How effective are TA's in helping a student financially. I am a lil hesitant when it comes to the money as the fee is quite steep for a poor lil Indian boy like me...( i paid $1000 in total for my entire undergrad as tuition fee) :-p Are there any other ways a student can support oneself. Does one get funding for their short films?

I read that a direction student can also attend cinematography classes. So is it true that a direction student can also shoot his/her own films? This opportunity excites me.

Lastly... the question that has been bothering me the most. I haven't applied to USC yet... as i haven't given my GRE's yet. How would you rate UCLA in comparison with USC. Most of the people i have met favor USC over UCLA... as they believe it gives better networking opportunities via its alumni. Well personally i am not interested in networking as much i am in resources. I would like you to tell me more about the infrastructure and knowledge resources UCLA provides in comparison with USC. Are students in UCLA mad available to the best possible equipment and faculty? To me this is more of a decisive factor.

(Is it true that UCLA doesn't have 35mm film cameras?)

thanks

Sahirr

I applied as well for the program but am not foreign. They told me the same thing when I asked if they received my application. Just need to play the waiting game with the.

I applied to UCLA as well, on the website they specifically ask applicants not to call to verify receipt of application. As what they told you on the phone, you will only be contacted if you are missing something (they know you've applied via the online system).

I didn't apply to USC because I didn't feel like taking the GREs. Maybe a mistake. USC definitely has better resources than UCLA since it has way more money. I have heard that UCLA doesn't have 35mm cameras. But the UCLA tuition is way cheaper than USC, so you can probably rent 35mm cameras for less than the tuition difference.

I can't tell you much about the financial stuff, but I do know UCLA is one of the least expensive [top] film schools.

I'm not a current UCLA student (yet... hopefully) so my answers probably aren't the best, they're just based on extensive research on their website and things I've heard here. Hope this helps.

You'll get a little yellow postcard from UCLA in January or February confirming they've received your complete application.

No other school I applied to last year sent me such a nice reassurance, unfortunately.

As for your other questions, I'd do some research on your own about these t

UCLA is only cheaper than USC if you have been a California resident for quite some time.. otherwise it is pretty expensive..

Being an international student makes things way more difficult because there is no financial aid, not many scholarships available and you also will have to pay the full amount of tuition and fees plus the living expences that are VERY high in Los Angeles!

The thing that you might be able to do is work as a TA but I am not sure how much that actually will cover..

Good luck to you!!!!

UCLA is cheaper than USC, California resident or not. True, tuition for out-of-state students is higher than that for in-state students, but it's still way cheaper than USC. Someone correct me if I'm wrong (I haven't done that much research into it...) but I believe UCLA for non-California residents is $17,444, while USC is $47,844.

The total non-resident budget for UCLA (and I just checked it on their website) is: $43,623

USC has about the same estimation because I went there.

Here´s the link on the UCLA website. If you look at it you will see that the difference is not so significant in comparison to USC. USC still might be more expensive but very, very slightly if you are a non- Californian..

http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm

My conclusion therefore is apply to both schools if you are a non resident!!! And even if you are financially in need USC has a very big financial aid program that helps a lot of students that can´t afford USC in form of University grants.. I know a lot of people who only had to pay half or less of the tuition and fees based on financial need..

Good luck to both of you guys and I hope you get in to UCLA!!! It is def. one of the best film schools!!

Chen, are you sure about the half or less for GRAD students? That's not too common among my friends.

Re: USC budget estimates...the website grossly overestimates the tuition. My tuition bill for 10 credits fall/12 credits spring (exactly one half of the 44 credits required for the screenwriting program) amounted to less than 24K, and I believe the estimate was thirty something thousand...a nice surprise.

The living expenses are where they get you, and ironically enough, Westwood is one of THE most expensive areas in LA...so you might find your non-tuition costs being the variable between the two.

Personally, thanks to UCLA's generous offer, actually, USC costs more than twice what I would've paid had I gone there.

But the thing is, USC was ALWAYS the program I wanted for various reasons, namely their flexibility in cross-discipline integration and study. I thought screenwriters were isolated at UCLA. So I put the money aside and went with the education that was the best value...less money spent isn't worth not getting what you want from a program.

Haha my bad!!! I was basing my facts on the undergraduate program because I got my bachelor at the USC film school in May 2007. I don´t know if financial aid works the same for the Grad degree though.. I just know that they handle it like that for the Undergraduates at USC

I was referring to graduate school on both counts.

Hey guys thanks for the responses. But i guess the discussion is bending more towards the money matters rather than the real crux of my queries.

It would be great if someone could tell me about the double-major... and how it works.

Also... like i said earlier... i am interested in knowing more about the faculty and resources made available at either film schools. Because i have read a lot of thread responses on this site and i guess most of the replies are laden with jingoistic feelings... since everyone wants to be the best. It would be great if someone could specify the basis of their judgments... as in how do they arrive to a conclusion that USC is better than UCLA or vice-versa.

There are PLENTY of threads that discuss the differences of the schools, pros and cons. I can think of one that literally has USC students and UCLA students weighing in on pros and cons.

The thing is, there is no "better" film school in this country, there is only the best film school for each individual.

Yet you want to know why people think their schools are the best. Your question is inconsistent. How can you ask which school is the best and not expect opinions? Facts are available on the schools' websites, if you believe that the comments of those who have preferences toward and/or actually attend/ed one of the schools are jingoistic. However, even those are dipped in self-promotion.

The thing is, even with "fact based" awards of supremacy, the school that's better for you depends on you.

I personally wrote in my last comment on this thread one of the biggest reasons I chose USC over UCLA...the integration of the disciplines.

If that's jingo, oh well.



Figure it out for yourself.

Hehe. I am always amazed when people want to decide which school is "worth it" before they've been accepted anywhere. I remember this sort of thing back in the day during undergrad applications. It's weird to me. I have my first choice, but I will be thrilled if I got into any of the schools I've applied to.

hey am sorry i guess i didn'y word myself out properly. And no Jayimess your response didn't sound jingo to me... so its all good.

ok plainly i am curious to know what makes USC and UCLA special... the USP's of each of these places.

Suxako... i agree with you to a great extent... but curiosity is a strong driving force. And its not about going to the 'best' film school. Its about choosing the one which fits your needs... and hence becoming the 'best option/choice' for an individual. I am trying to do the same... by knowing more about them from students already studying there...

peace