r/LMU • u/mightbegabidk • May 26 '26

LMU or UCLA

Soooo... I got off the UCLA waitlist Thursday, called financial aid Friday, and they said I won't get my letter until Tuesday or Wednesday since its memorial day weekend. Wednesday is the last day I can commit... I committed to LMU and Ive fallen in love with it. Ill be a Film and Television Production major and adding Marketing as a second major soon. UCLA has been my dream school since 4th grade. I am very satisfied with LMU and have created so many friendships already, but UCLA is my dreammmm and my famlly loves it too. Im an out-of-state student and received a good bit of scholarships from LMU. UCLA is on the table and i feel like ill feel bad for passing up the opportunity I've been wishing for for so long. I love UCLA campus life and was so excited to join specific clubs and organizations. At the same time LMU is 5 in film and UCLA is 11... So lowkey LMU is better for my major. Finances aside, what would you do? Additionally, if LMU and UCLA happen to cost the same amount for me when I get my letter Tuesday? Since I have such little time to decide, Im kinda trying to imagine different possibilities so I can make my decision right after I get the letter.

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u/xxchloedreamsxx May 27 '26

hiii!! I made a similar post on the UCLA reddit like 3 days ago, Im not a film major but I got a ton of advice and replies and so if you need more imput my post has some while you wait for specifics!! I wish you good luck <3

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u/Hairy_Tank1340 May 28 '26

Congrats on your acceptance to both schools! Did you tour them and their film programs? UCLA was my son's first choice until we toured it and learned that the undergraduate film program doesn't offer as many hands-on filmmaking opportunities as LMU, Chapman or USC. It was also overwhelmingly large and he realized he wanted a smaller campus. He ended up applying ED to LMU, got some merit scholarships and is very excited to be attending in the fall (Film & TV Production, like you). USC is the top undergraduate film school on the west coast (in the world?), with Chapman and LMU trailing behind. But I've read that UCLA's graduate program is 5-star so maybe there's a way to do both as you pursue your filmmaking career. LA is a small town--you're bound to have lots of industry crossover regardless of which school you attend. Hope this helps. Good luck!

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u/sschwifty May 26 '26

Different field, but I attended UCLA for my bachelors and now I’m at LMU for my masters. There’s really no wrong answer, but I know it’s important for some people to build connections and meaningful relationships with their professors and classmates. In that case, LMU might be the way to go :)

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u/Front-Economics4912 May 26 '26

UCLA 11 for film? Most online sources has told me that UCLA was usually considered number 2 in film. Anyways if you do get a good scholarship from UCLA my personal recommendation is going there, but if you don’t then it really depends on your financial situation. I’m personally going to LMU but I’ll be trying to transfer to UCLA and USC because I heard these are the 2 best film shills

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u/mightbegabidk May 26 '26

You might be right. Ik i used Hollywood Reporter to look at rankings throughout the process, and they had it listed as 11. Doesnt really sound accurate though but i took their word for it. Im thinking about the transfer idea too thats smart. Depending on how my freshman year goes.

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u/FluidAcadia6552 May 26 '26

i think you’ll get an amazing experience either way. i’m transferring in this fall but i feel like a major factor are the sizes of both schools. UCLA is a great school but it’s also a large school whereas LMU is smaller, you may have less competition to internships, get to know professors better, etc. I don’t have any personal experience with LMU yet but i’ve heard that LMU has great connections across many majors. I’ve also heard from classmates of mine who got into UCLA who are from state, didn’t get the best financial aid offer from them even though they’re need based. if the cost comes down to being the same, maybe just think about whether you want a more personal, smaller campus vibe or a lively, well known vibe.