Screenwriting and Playwriting at Drexel

middleoftheroad
Sun, 23 Jun 2013 11:18:09 +0000

Redribbon had a very good and thoughtful post.

If you got a full ride at Drexel (both tuition and room and board, I assume, with guarantees of full coverage even with tuition increases) and you are an international student, they must want you to attend. There are many international students who have posted on this board who would very much like to be in your position. Even if you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, or here, a full ride at Drexel in any major is rare. What is your financial situation at other schools? Will you need significant financial aid? Are you re-applying this time around to your “dream” schools? What can you change on your application that will make a difference in your chances of acceptance?

In addition, screenwriting is a tenuous profession even for those who graduate from a USC or NYU or UCLA (and I speak as the parent of someone who just graduated from USC with a degree in TV and film production). You would be in a much better financial position to pursue your dream once you graduate if you are not struggling with debt. There likely will be years ahead spent gaining a foothold in the industry. USC was great for my son but it’s not perfect and it’s not in any way a guarantee of employment and it graduates LOTS of people.

I am a parent of a Drexel student whose major is in the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, not engineering. It’s worked out very well, but she’s not in screenwriting so I can’t really speak to that. The head of Westphal is a former TV production company executive named Allen Sabinson [Allen Sabinson | Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design | Drexel University](Allen Sabinson | Drexel Westphal) Why not try sending him a personal email asking some specific questions about the program, since you are not able to visit? His email address is on the web site. Can’t hurt.

If you have the full ride in your pocket for the fall of 2014, I’d go ahead and apply to other schools and see how they match up with Drexel in all ways. You have a long time to make a study of this and weigh your options. But it is really tough to not be able to see these schools in person, I must say.