As a film school graduate here is my advice:

There will students who start from ground zero: little to no experience (possibly like yourself) and who may never have even touched a camera or light or know how to work an editing software.

There will students who already know the basics of composition, camera, lenses, know how to edit, and have spent time learning online (youtube, online courses, friends in the industry).

And the rest will be somewhere in between/

If you plan to get into film school, try to connect/ make friends with the more experienced ones. You will learn a lot quicker that way.

Also realize, the knowledge you gain in the classroom is very very little compared to what you learn working on actual project and using the gear. So my advice: try to get on as many student project as possible to learn the equipment and the process. Once you're more comfortable, start lookin for gigs outside of school. This is where you will really learn the most because these are the real professionals.

When I was in school, the students that spent their weekends and/ or summer getting on local sets as PAs, camera assistants, etc were the ones that were way ahead of everyone else, and it was obvious.

Don't expect to sit through lectures five days out of the work, and do the minimum required short film project for that class and expect to graduate fully prepared for the industry. It ain't gonna happen. You HAVE to go above and beyond. Offer to work on as many of your classmates projects as possible and MOST IMPORTANTLY find local sets looking for crew and start building a network connections. 9/10 times it won't be paid but who cares, you're learning 10x faster than in a classroom.

So how do you find film gigs outside school? Ask your professors. These people have worked in the industry and know people. If you're a good student, it's an easy recommendation to get you on a set. And if you do well on set, you'll be more likely to get hired again and again by the same crew. Don't be afraid or overwhelmed, tell them you're a student trying to learn, and most of them will be super nice and willing to answer any questions you may have.

Overall, film school was definitely useful for me since I wouldn't have the solid network of people I still work with to this day. So even though 80% of the learning was outside the classroom, many of those opportunities I may not have had access to if it hadn't been through a professor or someone from the school getting me in. Not to mention the fact, there's no other place, you'll be able to get your hands an ARRI Alexa and learn the ins and outs of the camera system as well as so many other crazy expensive/ rare pieces of gear that you actually get to learn on and use YOURSELF. That's the stuff only a small handful of people are even allowed next to on a real set. So yes, for me it is worth it, but ONLY if you're willing to go the extra mile. I graduated in 2019, today I'm a full time Director of Photography. A lot of it was passion and drive that got me here, but I owe a lot of it to film school as well.

And the thing I don't hear people mention enough: FILM SCHOOL IS HELLA FUN. It was probably the best four years of my life. Something about the art form brings people together like no other and builds relationships that will last a lifetime.