4. Public versus Private

There are a few things to consider when you weigh the benefits of going to a private school versus a public school. One of the most obvious is cost. Normally, a public school is less expensive if you are an in-state resident. However, a private grad school ended up being cheaper for me because they had the funds to pay me to be a teaching assistant. I mention this because private schools often have more money, can offer more financial aid, and can give you access to state-of-the-art equipment. I know that funds helped the crew team be undefeated and first in the nation when I was at Yale. I also know that having access to an AVID editing system and other state-of-the-art film equipment benefited me greatly when I was at USC.

It is also worth mentioning that many public schools are located in some of the most expensive cities, or at least the rent is often outrageous, thus causing people to sleep three to four people in a room—yikes! By contrast, many private universities are located in areas with inexpensive rent (often because they are in bad neighborhoods. For this reason, I would strongly recommend taking a self-defense class prior to your freshman year, like the awesome course I took at Bay Area Impact here in Northern California).

Another perk to attending a private college, especially a smaller one that focuses on its undergrads, is that it will prioritize alumni relations because of alumni donations. What that means to you as a perspective student is that it might pay off later to attend a school where you are a name, not just a Social Security number or student id number.

On the other hand, I had initially leaned towards UCLA Film School because I wanted to be around other middle-class students after feeling quite out of place around so many over-privileged students as an undergrad. Public schools also tend to be more representative of the community that surrounds them, so if you like the surrounding city, you are likely to like the student body.

My experience with private schools leads me to advise applicants to consider that you may end up in an ivory tower surrounded by angry and impoverished townspeople, which may be an uncomfortable situation for you. However, you can always volunteer in the community and make a positive difference.