5 Reasons To Go To Film School And 5 Reasons Not To

5 Reasons Not To Go To Film School

5. It's Expensive

A common argument against film school goes something like "instead of spending $200,000 for 4 years of film school, take that money and make a feature film with it instead." And though I disagree with the core concept of that argument (making a feature film takes knowledge, and not just money), I can't argue with the sentiment that film schools are outrageously expensive. Tuition for the top ranked U.S. film schools according to the Hollywood Reporter ranges between $30,000-$50,000 per year, and even the non-U.S. schools ranked on the list (such as the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield) require tuition costs in the $10,000-$30,000 range. Adding insult to injury, these costs usually do not include the additional costs required to actually make films. Students are expected to go out of pocket in order to pay for things such as food, transportation and props on their film shoots - costs that add up into the thousands of dollars. Of course, this is understandable to some degree - filmmaking is certainly the most expensive art form out there. However, as it is not the most lucrative of careers (at least at first), incurring that much college debt without having a secure career ensured post-graduation can be a very difficult decision to make.