<p>My daughter who is a Junior this year has declared Mizzou as her first choice of Colleges in the J-School. I must say that out of all the schools we looked at, this one has given me the most warm-fuzzy feeling out of any of them we have looked at.</p>
<p>I was hoping that we could get this board going (it seems a little slow compared to other's we were looking at). I think it would be fun to encourage and congratulate each other (whether parent or kid) as we go through the process together.</p>
<p>I'll start with an introduction.</p>
<p>We live in South East Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. I'll call my daughter T for now, since I don't want to give too much personal information. She is a junior graduating in 2010. </p>
<p>My husband is a member of the Air National Guard and since she was a middle schooler she has said she was joining the Air National Guard to pay for college. </p>
<p>For years she originally wanted to go to Yale. And then the City called her and it was Columbia or NYU. She switched it to NYU since they had some type of undergraduate Journalism program.</p>
<p>Fast forward to her Junior year. We started seriously looking at colleges this year. I really encouraged her to not look at the location, but to look at the program in Journalism since that was what was going to matter in the end. She can always get a job in New York City if she wants. </p>
<p>So after some research she was looking at Syracuse as her top choice. I think she really wanted to go to school in the North East - just not in Pennsylvania. I liked the idea of her being close, but I didn't want her to limit her school choises if there was another good school out there. She would definately have considered North Western, but any time I mentioned the word Missouri, she would say NO and not want to talk about it. So a month went by and we hadn't really talked about colleges. And one day she said - ok I'll look at Missouri. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was me saying every once in a while - you should just look at it. The few things I read about it made it sound like a really nice school. So that weekend we really hit the research trail and we learned a lot about Mizzou. Her eyes were really lighting up as the day progressed. By the end of the day it was on the top of her list. After a few weeks she now says it's the only school she will apply to. She is really excited about it now, and from everything I've read and learned it really seems like a great school and I feel very comfortable knowing she is wanting to go there. </p>
<p>I already know that she won't have a problem at least getting into the Pre-Journalism program just based on her 10th grade practice ACT test. I also feel that she has a great shot to get admitted directly into the Journalism program and probably getting into the Honor's programs. This is where we are going to spend our time in the coming year, is preparing her to have the best ACT or SAT she can get. It's really great to know that we don't have to worry about all the other stuff that goes into getting into a college, like the worry that your future comes down to an essay or a person's decision if you should be admitted. It's all up to her and what she gets on her test scores. I love that they made it easy enough to get in. She is around 19% in her class out of 400 right now, so her test scores are the deciding factor.</p>
<p>Mizzou 2012 parent here (j-school). Mizzou isn't the kind of school that attracts a lot of CC types. Just 2.5 months into his freshman year, my son is happy there. Though we communicate fairly regularly, I can't say I get tons of useful information from him! So far, I think these things are making his freshman year successful:
1. He lives in a FIG (honors journalism, in the honors dorm). He went online the very minute room signup was available, so he got what he wanted. In his FIG he seems to have peers who share his interests and focus on academics.
2. In a totally random roommate assignment process, he lucked out with a roommate who seems totally compatible.
3. He has a bike, and some of his friends have cars, so he's able to get out and about in Columbia. It's a very nice college town, though it's a big change from the urban environment he grew up in.
4. Two of his four main classes are small (under 40). He likes all his professors. He says the size of the other classes doesn't bother him much, and both have dynamic teachers.
5. He's thrilled to be away from the high school academic structure, which became boring and repetitive for him.
6. He's a positive, adaptable kid with a sunny disposition and a love of learning. He was very ready for college, and he seems to be enjoying his new independence.
7. He seems to have a fun social life even though he was not a partier or drinker in high school.</p>
<p>I'm happy to answer questions, but remember that I'm just a little bit ahead of you! (Notice how many of my statements are prefaced by "seems.") When in doubt, always contact the school--admissions office, j-school, financial aid, etc. They are all very helpful and extremely nice. Connfamily, I recommend a visit to campus if you haven't been. Go in the winter, so you'll have an idea of what midwestern winter weather is like. And since your daughter is only a junior, it would be worthwhile to have her visit some other schools for comparison.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the information. We are hoping to go for a visit in the spring so she can see the school in session before she applies. But we will see how things go. She has a lot going on with cheerleading competitions in the spring, including a trip to Florida for the National ESPN championships (as long as the get a bid and they should). </p>
<p>She is all signed up for her first ACT test in December, it will be good to see what her score is.</p>
<p>I realize that my list didn't have much about academics! The other stuff is so important to early adjustment to college. From what he (and I) have seen so far, Mizzou has excellent professors who engage students even in big classes, and everyone associated with the j-school is top-notch.</p>
<p>Mizzou mom of class of 09 here! My D has LOVED her years at Mizzou! She is a Walter Williams scholar and being in the Mizzou J-School has opened up numerous doors for her. She has interned for the past two summers at small newspapers and loved every minute of it. My general opinion is, if your child wants to be a journalism teacher, the school isn't so important. But if your child wants a shot at serious, "big-time" journalism, Mizzou is the school they need!</p>
<p>Geezermom, I am glad to hear it is all working out for you!</p>
<p>Trying to plan our visit to the school. Do most kids go in their senior year after applying or would we do better to go this April -Mizzou Day, Summer -easy for her to get out of school (and for our son we will drag with us-5th grade now)?</p>
<p>Would it be better to wait for Fall say in Sept or Oct? She will have applied by then though. She is set on going to Mizzou and I can only see this not happening if she hates it - but it seems like a great fit for her and she is excited. </p>
<p>We also have to coordinate a visit with an Air National Guard recruiter because she will be going into the Air National Guard. The one thing I worry is that she may have to defer college until January 2011 due to Basic Training and Technical Training. It really clouds the water trying to consider all that going into the Air National Guard will change how her process goes. In the end, she could potentially have most of her education paid for, so she is willing to do this to not have loans at the end.</p>
<p>I visited the summer before my senior year in June, which I thought was really nice because I wasn’t bogged down with lots of stuff to do and I was able to relax and enjoy the visit!</p>
<p>Visit NOW! I am a high school senior, and I have been accepted to 7 different schools (waiting on 2) and I have only visited 3 of them!! I have been accepted to Ithaca, Mizzou, Syracuse and NYU and have yet to visit them…And I have to choose in less than two months! Luckily, I have narrowed my choice to just Ithaca and Mizzou and am heading to Ithaca at the end of the month and am currently trying to fit a visit to Mizzou in. I have a strong feeling that I will end up committing to Mizzou without seeing the school.
So i definitly say visit now. That way she won’t be stressed out to get everything done later on.</p>
<p>Oh, and as far as Honors College goes…you said your D is in the top 19% of class? Automatic admission to Honors is for students in the top 10% and have a 29 ACT or higher. However, this is not a big issue. I am in the top 3%, but got a 28 ACT and I petitioned into the Honors College, which consisted of writing an essay as to why I deserved entry, and was admitted within 2 weeks. So if your D wants in, she just has to write an essay. 
Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>DD has taken two ACT tests and got a 25 on both of them. I’m thinking of having her take a Huntingdon Learning Center course, but not sure.</p>
<p>We are hoping to visit the school this summer or fall. Really, Mizzou is her only school she is considering. She really is happy and unless she goes there and really hates it - this will be the one.</p>
<p>I think from what I read, she really shouldn’t worry too much about not being directly admitted into the J-Progam. She will still get to take the classes and based on her GPA when she is a Jr., this will determine your order to pick your J-classes. </p>
<p>We will keep trying to raise her test grades and even have her take the SAT. She takes all honors classes in HS, so I was hoping she would do better on the ACT to get directly admitted.</p>