<p>i just graduated from a prestigious liberal arts school with a b.a. in international affairs and a 3.44 gpa. i am/was planning on applying to graduate school to pursue a master's in journalism, but i recently took the gre and was pretty unhappy with my scores. i also have limited experience in journalism (it was all i did in high school, but in college all i did was intern for my school's newspaper for one semester my freshman year before deciding to change my major from communication to international studies).</p>
<p>i've seen other threads that mention the top tier schools for journalism (berkeley, columbia, missouri, northwestern, etc.), but based on my (lack of) experience, i've pretty much ruled these out. my question is, for anyone who went to graduate school for journalism, what is the most important factor for schools when making admissions decisions? experience? gre scores? overall academic achievement? i realize it's some combination of the three, but what should i focus on improving the most? i'd rather not waste time and money applying to schools like american and u. of md. if i have no chance in getting accepted.</p>
<p>any suggestions or advice would be extremely helpful.</p>
<p>The questions you need to ask yourself is why do you want to pursue this degree? What type of journalism do you want to pursue (newspaper, broadcast, radio, new media??) Do you want to go into debt for a degree that may not guarantee you a job in this dismal economy? If you cannot answer these questions, I suggest working for a while in a communications-related field.</p>
<p>I have had a spotty, if sophomoric experience as a reporter and blogger and I still intend on applying to top tier schools. Most of them explicitly mention that experience in the field is not necessary. Indeed- many people see J-school as an alternative to hands on experience- and you should see a masters in journalism as a jumpstart to help you catch up with already seasoned journalists. </p>
<p>As for your application, I have been told that the SOP and writing samples are the most critical factors in determining your eligibility. If you have attended any conferences related to journalism or the media, those could go a long way towards strengthening your application. There are a plethora of conferences and teach-ins in Boston and I have mentioned them in my SOP. I suggest you do the same as well. </p>
<p>If you are still wary of your prospects, I think that you should still consider applying to some of the reach programs and expand your options to include other, excellent schools-USC Anenberg and UNC Chapel Hill (which is very competitive as well) immediately come to mind! Also, U of MD has an excellent program! Merill gives students the option of continuing towards a PhD in Journalism which most of the programs out there lack. </p>
<p>Your GPA meets the basic cut off for most of the schools you mentioned. Just focus on polishing the other parts of your application- and make sure you have references who could speak to your abilities as a journalist- and not just as a writer/ critical thinker. </p>