Help match artsy International student to East Coast universities

Chance Me / Match Me
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I’d like to major in Film

Not a lot of film schools out there so incase I don’t end up a film major I’d like to major in something that will offer me creative freedom postgrad.

Preferably want something on the East Coast, with pretty nature and opportunities for hiking/mountain climbing, in a city or near a city, nice arts scene, offers financial aid to international students
I also live in a very hot country and prefer autumn/winter so I’d like a place where it’s actually cold most of the year and maybe has snow and all the seasons actually show…I do not want to go to a hot/beachy place

Demographics

International student

Residency: Egypt

Gender: Female

School: International school

Intended Major(s)

Film/ general arts major (???)

GPA: 40/45 IB predicted, I’m guessing equates to a 4.0 gpa

ACT/SAT: Haven’t started studying but plan on taking the ACT

Extracurriculars: Leadership academy, internship at bank, MUN, english tutor, volunteering, self taught art, editor at school newspaper, editor at international literary magazine, senior prefect of Arts and Culture portfolio at school

HS coursework:

Higher level Mathematics Applications and Intepretations, English Language and Literature A, Global politics

Standard level Business, Chemistry, French ab initio

  • Theory of Knowledge

My list:

  • NYU (my dream school)
  • Emerson College
  • Pratt Institute
  • Wesleyan University
  • Depaul University
  • Boston University

P.S. By film I mean actually practicing making films, not film studies

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Welcome to CC! If you spend any time at all here, you know the first question will be: what’s your budget? Will you need financial aid?

Have you made any films already?

I do not know film programs, but schools with an “arty” reputation include Vassar, Oberlin and Bard.

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Purchase College offers an excellent, hands-on film program.

For generally arts-oriented schools with broad film programs, look into Sarah Lawrence and Bard.

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What is your budget?

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As others are noting, with financial aid budgets for Internationals being so limited (sometimes nonexistent), Internationals who could not be full pay private need to establish what they actually could pay, and then make finding colleges that will plausibly meet that cost their priority. Within those you can look for the best academic programs for you, but it can really be a damaging distraction to look at a bunch of colleges that would be great academically but would not be affordable, or in fact will not admit you, with too much need.

I actually think this is true for domestic students too, but it is even more pressing for Internationals because extremely few US colleges are both meets need and need blind for Internationals.

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Most colleges where you can hike/climb outdoors here are not near or in a major metro area, if that is what you are looking for.

NYU is very hot and sticky in the summers. Ditto Boston. Actually all the colleges on your list. You will be seeing all four seasons…but the length of these seasons will vary.

I can’t think of any US college where it is cold “most of the year”. Well…maybe Alaska…

What do you plan to do once you get a bachelors degree in film?

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Will you be going back to Egypt during summer break? Many of the north and northeast schools, with classes from Sept-May will be comfortable weather/temperature wise.

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The OP’s list runs the gamut from nationally recognized private colleges that offer need-based financial aid once they overcome a super-selective admissions process as well as several lesser-known colleges with excellent programs, better admissions odds - but with more limited financial aid across the board. A great list, if the OP is full-pay. A “meh” list, if the OP has a limited budget. They should probably lean into the lesser-known privates with lower sticker prices that might combine with some need-aware or even, merit aid, to lower the costs even more. One suggestion: Wagner College on NYC’s Staten Island.

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Agree, we need a lot more info. It might also help if the OP broadened her geographical reach. Macalester offers Media and Cultural Studies for those interested in film, is known to give aid to international students, and meets a lot of other criteria listed, though it is quite small.

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I agree, nowhere in the CONUS is going to avoid a warm spring/summer period.

That said, your post actually made me think of the city of Rochester, which is quite northerly, and good for snow (or as good as it gets these days). It is in the glacial Lake Ontario lowlands, but the Finger Lakes Uplands and Gorges region is only like 30 minutes away.

One possible option in Rochester would be the Rochester Institute of Technology. I know RIT has a lot of good cutting edge film/animation/digital media stuff, and I know they will offer combined need and merit to sufficiently well-qualified Internationals. What I don’t know is if that would be enough to get the OP on budget.

The University of Rochester also has need + merit programs, and actually a lot of Internationals, although I don’t know how many of those had serious need. I am not sure their film program is quite what the OP is looking for though.

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There will be lots of programs - can you get in? And can you afford them? Some names:

Boston U
Emerson
Hofstra
Ithaca
NC School of the Arts (more temperate but still some snow)
Rutgers
Syracuse
SCAD - but is in Georgia - but a solid film state and school (i.e. warmer weather)
Syracuse
Temple
Virginia Commonwealth
Wesleyan

Rather than say gives aid, it’s always helpful if you can give a price needed (and stats to see if they will help get you to the price). We could then help you better.

PS - Depaul is not East Coast - fine for film though - if it makes your budget.

Good luck

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SCAD, UNCSA, and Virginia Commonwealth will NOT meet this student’s preference for cooler weather year round…or much snow.

As I said upstream, something is going to need to be compromised.

Until the OP provides an annual college budget, I’m reluctant to add any additional college suggestions…I have some, but only with sufficient ability to afford to attend.

Wesleyan is on the OPs original list already.

If this poster is looking at Wesleyan, I would suggest they also look at Skidmore. Further north. Cooler weather…by a bit…

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Oh yeah, Syracuse is also in Upstate New York, basically right on the edge of the Uplands. Really well-regarded Film BFA but also a very well-rounded college. Also has merit programs for Internationals. Again hard to know what will work without a budget, but seems like an obvious fit for the OP to check out.

Edit: Oh, just to put out a big picture thought–the big cities in the Northeast usually developed first as port cities and thus were not particularly close to mountains. Then eventually European-origin settlers hopped the mountains over to the Great Lakes region, still on lakes or major rivers (also connecting up to the major eastern cities in Canada). Eventually the railroads followed by interstate highways gave rise to more landlocked cities, but not so much in the mountains.

So basically, for decent-sized cities in the Northeast, you are either looking at the older, bigger cities to the east of the mountains, or somewhat newer, somewhat smaller cities to the west of the mountains. In addition to the Upstate New York region, you can also look at Pittsburgh, which is not too far west of the mountains.

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Well…if they want to see snow, Syracuse is usually a safe bet.

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Depends - you have snow in Winston and Richmond - they have four seasons. I noted SCAD would be “warmer” but if in the Atlanta campus, they get snow. Not regularly but they do.

Til we know stats and budget…student may not want that…just more names to research and they have them.

The question will be (for them to research) - can they get in and if so, can they afford.

Hofstra is very generous domestically so might be the same internationally.

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Hofstra is likely not a good choice for someone needing need based aid…but we don’t know what this kid needs.

Hofstra does not offer full ride scholarship opportunities nor need-based financial aid to international students .

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Hofstra says this - it’s one school of many OP can investigate. They are very merit generous…very. Mine on their estimator was over half the cost discounted.

Their words:

“At this time, only academic merit-based scholarships are available; however, these scholarships can be very generous.”

Op asked for names.

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Yeah, cold air from Canada picks up relative warmth and moisture as it crosses the Great Lakes, then hangs up on mountains and dumps a lot of it. So really everywhere from Cleveland through Erie, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse is a good bet for snow–as in actually better than like Boulder or Anchorage.

But Syracuse is then even more particularly good since it is right up against the uplands, and sort of perfectly positioned relative to Lake Ontario for that lake-effect snow. In fact I think it is almost always ranked as the snowiest city in the US above a certain size.

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But not full rides. Let’s see how much the OP actually needs…if they ever tell us.