Big dreams for Animation: Weighing NYU Tisch, CalArts, and LMU against one another?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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yo so i dunno if the general sat-obsessed superficial-extracurricular-participating population of this website gives a hoot about art kids (prob not, understandably) but maybe somebody with a little more life experience can help me?

im very good (not just “for my age” but in general) at creating art and drawing cartoons and producing animation-relevant work in general. im very serious about it and i have BIG aspirations for the future involving filmmaking and animation – understanding this fact is important for anyone reading.

because of my solid stats and my talent and the ingenuity of my goals, i think i have a solid chance at being accepted to CalArts for character animation, NYU for Tisch film&tv, and Loyola Marymount for animation.

in the event that i get accepted to all 3 (lets just pretend/assume i will), i have no idea where id go.

heres how i weigh it:

CalArts PROS: unbeatable program quality, unreal connections to the industry, convenience of being somewhat close to the industry, finally being in school with fellow artsy kids who (hopefully) arent socially awkward weirdos.
CalArts CONS: socially awkward art kid population??? (do not want), like 3 clubs to join, boring surrounding area, tiny campus, like 45+ minutes away from anything cool or fun, probably no traditional WOO! CRAZY! fun college experience.

LMU PROS: super close to LA + the industry, lots of clubs and sports etc., fun & diverse student body, i think i can easily work my way to being the top animation student (unimpressive facilities and teachers and student work output paves the way for getting a lot of attention from my teachers), more rounded college experience with classic frat parties and all that jazz.
LMU CONS: program is blah, job opportunities and connections are blah. matters a lot tho, but how much???

NYU PROS: international opportunities!!! (i love traveling and international experiences), grad school in singapore???, lively city life which rocks, school is entertainment-heavy, peers would probably be super cool.
NYU CONS: far away from the hub of film & animation industry, shitty new york weather (i LOATHE winter and the cold), too close to home, no new environment.

help me out??? im sorry this is so long like i genuinely apologize LMAO

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also i sincerely apologize if anyone from the lmu animation staff reads this but this is the impression ive csrefully gathered and i see no point is sugar-coating it. your school is still gorgeous and it rocks hard. would give u my $ so

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Okay, I’ll weigh in. My D attended Ringling for CA. I’m sure the experience is similar.
You seem to think Cal Arts is tiny and low on clubs, party atmosphere, etc. The reason is that you won’t have time to breathe much less join a club once you get into your major of CA. You will be working 24/7. If you don’t, then you probably won’t make it through the program. This is one reason it has industry connections–high caliber students who work. But they are the ones who get hired first after being put through their paces.

I don’t know about your other school choices except to say that being at the top of a class that isn’t great from a school with “unimpressive” facilities or faculty (most important) doesn’t say much for your degree when you do earn it. CA is a small community–you should want to attend the best you can afford. You want classmates who can get you jobs–not ones that are competing for the same jobs you want.

Many animators/film makers/TV is in NY. Don’t kid yourself. But if you wanted big film animation it is centered in LA.
There are many facets to the animation industry. Not everybody ends up with their first choice job.

At the end of the road/day/your CA journey you’ll have a “reel” that is your thesis/ showcase of your talents. It better be good. It is your resume. The top schools have a bigger draw of top companies that come to their campuses not just at graduation time but during the school year to check out the talent. And they don’t look at everybody’s reel. They want to see the best. The better faculty and better facilities turn out students with a better product.

Do you HAVE to go to a top school? No. Can you get by without school? No idea. Depends on how fabulous you are without having high level instruction and counseling. But in a competitive field you need a step up the ladder. Talent always counts but so does work ethic and connections.

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If you are looking to be primarily a character animator, you should go to CalArts. It is consistently rated #1 or in the top 3 schools for animation. Check out animationcareerreview.com, it does an annual rating and I think CalArts was #1 this year. My D is thinking about animation but not totally sure she wants to do it. She looked hard at CalArts, LMU, Otis, and UCLA in California and thinks CalArts is the best of those. The cool thing about it is that it is also a music school, so you aren’t just around “art kids” 24/7.

I don’t think NYU is as highly regarded in animation as SVA or Pratt if you want to go to school in NYC. And it is hugely expensive.

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Graduating senior or junior? Not much argument that Cal art is tops. Animation or filmmakers don’t really have time for frat stuff if they are serious. Both d who graduated from Lmu and s currently there live and breathe film. Animation is another thing altogether. Can,t argue Lmu has been behind, but this year student at Liu tops at s rye identification academy awards. Reality is you will go as far as your talent training perseverance and a little luck takes you. Go to the best school you can afford. Or get into.

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i hope i didnt create the impression that parties and social life go above work and education in terms of importance,
lol

thank you for your feedback!! super appreciated

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Student at LMU tops at student academy awards to correct my gibberish. Didn’t want to give impression it’s all work and no play

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Each year, animation programs in art schools and colleges graduate 20 times the number of animators needed in the industry. So a student has to be that in top 5% with an unbelievable reel (which comes from TALENT and hard work in school) and the aggressiveness to get that reel seen. Typically, that comes from connections, ESPECIALLY those made in college with the best students in the program and from one’s work being seen/noticed/awarded in festivals and competitions. A friend got hired (first job out of school) working on “How To Train Your Dragon” by attending SIGGRAPH and presenting his resume/DVD reel/links to his online reel in a nicely-presented package to people working booths in the exposition area. The links to the reel are important; people in general won’t go to the trouble of trying to fiddle with a DVD when clicking on a link is so easy. Plus (important point) links can be emailed to others. With my friend, someone watched, called, interviewed, and then hired him. Be aggressive, talented, and show your talent with your demo reel with two minutes of your best stuff (attention spans are short).

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To be absolutely forthright, that friend got hired as an INTERN working on “How To Train Your Dragon” at $10/hour. Ouch. But that led to much more lucrative jobs in the future,

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Hey, it beats $8.75 at Chipotle. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I doubt the Chipotle job led to a more lucrative job. But I don’t know.