If you’re thinking of applying to film school – either as an undergrad or for your MFA – we at The Ivy Coach just want to make sure you’ve thought it through all the way. We’re in the business of helping students gain admission to the colleges and universities of their dreams, and if you want to get into film school, we’ll help. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it some thought that maybe it’s not for you.

Applying to film school isn't for everyone. Some people rise to the top of Hollywood by working their way up. Please note that we have no idea why Kenneth has been an NBC page for the better part of 5 years.

Consider this — film school isn’t necessary. Whether you’re applying as an undergrad or for an MFA, you don’t need to attend film school to become a big shot Hollywood writer, director, producer, executive, or star. In fact, it could even hurt you. Many folks in Hollywood look down on people who thought they could rise through the ranks more easily by amassing fancy degrees. The people who work their way up from second assistant to the assistant of the PA (OK, that’s a bit ridiculous) to big time feature director are the ones who get the respect.

But that’s not all. Think about what you’re going to learn inside a classroom. Not to pick on Dartmouth (we happen to love Dartmouth and think it’s one of the very finest if not the finest college in the country) but have a look at what some of the Dartmouth Film and Media Studies professors actually teach. From “Curating and the Microcinema” to “Film as Poetry: Avant Garde,” these classes aren’t exactly useful come time when you’re answering phones for a famous director. What is microcinema anyway? And we promise nobody earning a paycheck calls movies “cinema” in Hollywood anyway. Does that mean learning about this sort of thing isn’t important? No. Not at all.

We understand the value of a great liberal arts education. And nobody does it better than Dartmouth College. But if you want to work in film, you don’t have to study it in college. Study something else. Get another expertise. You can learn film on the job. It’s not exactly rocket science. It’s not like J.J. Abrams or Aaron Sorkin are teaching courses at Dartmouth. And the vast majority of students at NYU or even USC aren’t learning from someone of J.J. Abrams’ caliber either.

Check out our posts on Film School Applicants and The Ivy League and Hollywood. And let us know what you think about applying to film school by posting below!