SFAI Film Program

redcap

redcap

Well-known member
So.. I went to an open house at the San Francisco Art Institute., had my portfolio reviewed and they would like me to file an application ASAP to be considered for their Merit Scholarships (A dead-line which has passed, but since extended.) They want everything done by monday. Which is a tall order considering I'm a transfer student and have to get transcripts from schools that are across the country.

Anyway.. I've heard good things about this program, that its the most prestigious art school this side of the mississippi, and that the film program is one of the most rigorious in the nation, and that the school was the first art school in the nation, and its celebrating its 135th anniversary next year.

Down side is.. its almost 13,000 a semester!

Is it worth it? Should I get so horribly in debt if I don't get the scholarships? I won't have mommy and daddy paying, so its all going to come out of my pocket if I can't get loans and grants.

The alternative is community college and state schools. I wasn't impressed by their facilities or the student body. SFAI, on the other hand, is a different story.
 
I got accepted in the same manner that you did. Something that I later realized about AI (or almost any trade school for that matter) is that they always make a big huff about you going there. "You've got talent spilling out of you, get all your paperwork in now! Sign up! Do it!"

I haven't met a single person that's ever been rejected from there. I could be wrong, but that's just what I've seen. I decided that it was far too much money for too short of a time. I'll be starting at CSUN for film in the Spring, but I've been doing community college up here in Northern California for 2 and a half years... we'll see if I've made the right choice.

Though I will say this, I have worked with many INSANELY talented VFX artists that came out of there. I've seen amazing things in general come out, but I've also seen some crap. It's really a personal choice on your part.

My .02
 
Did they recommend you for the Merit Scholarship Competition? At first they approved my portfolio, but after they saw some of my video work they then scratched out the "Approval Box" and checked in the "Merit Scholarship Competition"

Do you think they're just buttering me up? Reguardless, I would not be able to afford to go to that school unless I received enough scholarship money/loans.
 
They were telling me about scholarships, though I don't remember the names of anything, or there being a competition (perhaps it didn't exist back then?)

In any case, I don't know that I would call it buttering up. I mean talented people apply there all the time, though I don't know that they're told anything different than the people who have no skill set at all. They're running a business, and you don't make money by turning people away. I mean they got aggressive towards the end, when I told them that I wouldn't be attending.

BUT, that's just me. I went the community college/ CSU route because I want to REALLY take my time once I get into the program. I don't want to be in an accelerated program. I want to fine tune my craft. Plus there's WAY more scholarship/ gov't funding opportunities for state schools.
 
Are you sure you're talking about the San Francisco Art Institute, or the Art Institute? They're two different schools, completey.

The lady who reviewed my portfolio didn't really even look at any of my traditional print work, but once I told her I had worked on a german short film in high school, and she saw it, she changed her tune and check box choosing. Their degrees are more fine arts/ cutting edge... whereas other institutes are more mainstream (think hollywood video model vs. artsy fartsy abstract crap.) I figure I already know the mainstream stuff pretty well, and I'm finding I'm much more limited, and its time to break out and do something completely different.
 
For a good resource on filmschools check out Film School Confidential. The book is online, minus the descriptions about specific filmschools. I think I remember this online version mentioning San Francisco Art Institute. Here's the link.

http://www.tomedgar.com/fsc/

It's a good book for anyone seriously considering spending the money and taking on the debt of filmschool.
 
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