Customer Reviews

Film School Confidential: The Insider's Guide To Film Schools

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In "Film School Confidential," Karin Kelly and Tom Edgar offer a decent exploration of 26 of the most highly-regarded graduate school film programs in the country. All of the basic information is here -- admission deadlines, enrollment, program requirements -- and yet, the book carries a few serious flaws. First, Kelly and Edgar restrict their focus to graduate programs, but ignore undergrad programs in film. Also, the authors focus solely on film production and directing programs, yet ignore the many other aspects of film taught at these universities, especially screenwriting. (Some of the reviews even fail to mention that the schools provide other options within the film major, leading the less cautious, non-production oriented reader to dismiss those schools as an option.) Edgar and Kelly's laid-back, ultra-personal writing style and narratives about their individual film experiences may appeal to some, yet I find the style much too informal and the tone ultimately discouraging. But it may be a matter of taste. Those who seek a more formal and comprehensive guide to film schools should take a look at Ernest Pintoff's "The Complete Guide to American Film Schools."

During my senior year of college, while I was applying to film school, this book proved quite helpful. Very little is written about graduate programs in the arts (at least that I've been able to find) compared to Law, Medical or MBA programs and, beyond the Internet, word of mouth and professors, it is good to have an additional source to consult (especially one written by two MFA film grads from NYU!)

So far, I have found Film School Confidential to present a fair, accurate and honest portrait of what I have expereinced. The authors want to make sure a potential MFA candidate in film knows what he/she is signing up for. I did not find this book to be discouraging: just realistic.

Schools are reviewed in depth. One thing I found to be of particular help was the discussion of how production staff roles were determined. In some schools, a student might never get a chance to direct, even if that student came to study directing; whereas in other programs, students rotate through postions and have the opportunity to learn to edit, write, direct, produce, etc,... I found that the literature a school would make available to its applicants did not cover this information. It was only when I specifically asked the question to the film department itself that I determined how they approached this VERY important aspect of a film student's education.

For me, learning to ask that question alone was worth the price of the book. But, in fact, there really is a lot more - especially with regard to the mission and philosophy of each school (yes, they really are quite different.) If you are seriously considering getting your MFA in film, this book is an excellent resource.

The writing in this book is smooth and accessible, and the authors did gather a great deal of information about some things. But not enough, or even very much that is consistently applicable. All they said about undergrad programs was that you should not attend them. Well...a lot of people do though, and those high school students should not be told that their decision was wrong.

They assume that individuals attend film school with the sole intent of a) being a director and b) directing features. There are four other traditional areas that aspiring artists choose to specialize in, and some schools are better for things such as editing, cinematography, design, and sound than others are. They also don't mention that a film degree has value beyond a film career -- one can enter advertising and other creative fields with it too. In addition, there is not enough coverage of other institutions. Los Angeles City College, an under-appreciated community college has the most graduates working in the industy, more than USC and UCLA combined. So what if they don't have an MFA program? Looks like the place gets the job done.

I advise film school potentials to read through the few interesting parts in a bookstore, instead of buying it.

If you consider going to film school, this book can save you a lot of head-aches. It helped me a lot in narrowing down my cirle, and it damn sure gave me new perspectives on how to look, and what to look for, and how to approach my search for the right place. The best thing is that it doesn't only give you sheer facts and dry data -- it will also include personal info that schools will never tell you, because A) they don't want you to know; B) it is not related to education, therefore they don't think it is important (I know now, as a senior in college, how important every detail can be -- trust me, that's all there is to it: details). The book also will try to open your eyes to the fact that film school is not for everyone and you might not even need it (because it's a huge investment). It is a nice resource for film-related "stuff" (competitions, awards) as well, and it will introduce you to what is AFTER you completed school. But most importantly, it will be able to hook you up with the right school, if you ever really gave a thought to what and how you imagine in your film-career (and if you haven't, it might very well open your eyes. Just don't be like: "I don't care", 'cause that will not get you far anyway).
The authors also have a friendly style of writing and addressing matters, so you will feel like talking to film students instead of a machine spitting out preprogrammed info and facts, that the SCHOOLS as institutions would want you to know about.
I wish there was a newer edition, though. But their web-site is updated, so you can look there... and after reading this, you can pretty much go into the extra effort, and make a couple of calls to find out about things for yourself. Trust me! If you have ten dollars only, and want to save yourself more for film school or making movies -- this is the book to put you on the right track. Thanks guys. You helped me out a lot!

PS: Don't listen to the whiners. You can find flaws in anything. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS A BOOK FOR POST-GRADUATE STUDY (and it also explains in the book why, so even if you're an undergraduate -- get it! It will be a great help in planning your whole college carrer).

When I first read the reviews, just as all of you are doing right now, I was hesitant on buying this book. It turned out to be a great guide to the top film schools, and provided the necessary info for anyone aspiring to go to film school. The only problem I would state is the fact that it only focused on the graduate school, rather than giving it some insight into the undergrad programs.

This is the first of the literature I read while thinking about a career in film. This book is brutally honest about the highly competitive film industry and I'm glad because I don't want false ego-lifting encouragement. The bulk of this book thoroughly explains the major film school in the US including the cost, curriculum, reputation, available equipment, professor/student relations. What I found to be most useful are the little tips and tricks you can use to gain an edge on pursuing a career in film. Buy this book if your thinking about pursuing film and you want unbiased advice.

I am a high school senior applying to film schools across the country, and I found FILM SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL to be a very helpful book. Not only did it rate the film-schools in various categories , but it also gave an in-depth analysis on each program and an HONEST review of each program. The reviews of each film-school are given from the perspective of a student, rather than a perspective from a teacher. Unfortunetly, the book focuses on Graduate-film studies, rather than undergraduate studies (but the book is still helpful). About 40 of America's top film-schools are reviewed. In conclusion, I would have to say that this book is a MUST-BUY for anyone who is thinking about attending film-school. It gives concise and honest reviews on most of the top film schools in the country.

The profiles on 26 different MFA programs make up the bulk of this book, and are easily the most valuable thing about it. Incidentally, this is the only section not included in the online version of FSC. These profiles give you exactly the kind of info you'll want on the film schools before applying and then after getting accepted. In addition to some interesting background material, the authors list the best & worst thing about each program, rate the programs on access to/quality of equipment, and calculate a comprehensive program cost (factoring in useful things like whether or not you'll need a car). Although the profiles were written in 1998, they seem consistent with what people are still saying about the schools more recently. Of course, things like digital equipment available at the various schools will obviously have changed quite a bit in the last five years.

The other sections of the book mostly contain advice from the authors on how to approach film school. (...) The authors' message in these early sections is simple: Don't go to film school, but if you do, make sure you make a good short film and write at least one good screenplay. The second half of this message is presented very well and makes a lot of sense. The first half of the message, on which the authors, in apparent post-film school bitterness never seem to let up, can get extremely discouraging. My advice: get this book for the school profiles and read the rest of it with a grain of salt and a belief in your own abilities. My guess is that film school, like anything else in life, is only what you make of it.

Hey everyone!

There are so few books about film schools available out there ----- FSC is really the only book that actually provides real feedback on the better film programs throughout the country

Unfortunately, the book is very dated ----- I am currently a graduate student in Chapman University's film program, and the info inside this book is very different from what Chapman has become ---- while the book talks about Chapman being an 'indie-filmmaking' school, Chapman has actually made the decision to focus much more on commercial-industry filmmaking

In making that point, I don't know what other film programs are doing, but many are changing and revamping their systems and philosophies, which due to the date, this book fails to capture

Overall, the book is a good reference, but realize that its not up-to-date

For a more complete listing of film programs around the country, as well as feedback reviews, I suggest looking at the LOAFS section on [...]

it can be found at -

web address-[...]
Despite being riddled with cynical film students, LOAFS is a very comprehensive guide to all film schools/programs and its FREE!

otherwise, I recommend FSC, but do some more research, outside of that book, if you're serious about film school

Happy reading!

I'm not sure if this is a copyright friendly website, but you can preview the full text of this book here: lather.com/fsc. Good luck!