I am an admitted student of OU (University of Oklahoma), University of Alabama, and University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou). I am interested in journalism (not sure what but my dad is in the television/news business so I have that influence.), creative writing, and advertising. I want to stay close to home in Texas but also don’t want to be too close where I can drive 15 minutes back home. That is why these are my top options. I am waiting to hear back from University of Georgia but chances are slim. Anyway, let’s focus on these three colleges while I tell you about my goals for college.
As of now, I am a 3.5 GPA student with a 23 ACT and top half of my class of over 200 students. I am heavily involved in the arts and hope to continue being a part of that in college. I want a college that has a strong student body with lots of options to get involved. All three, from my viewpoint, have that. At college, I’m looking to be immersed in a strong program that can give me freedom to be creative along with giving me skills that can boost me into the “big markets” of journalism, such as in cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, San Diego, and Atlanta. I want academic rigor that will challenge me but also comfortable student-living outside of the classroom. The reason I chose these three schools is because of their proximity to my home state, Texas, and their renowned faculty within their J schools. If you are a student, alumnus, faculty member, or just someone who knows a lot about these schools/Journalism, please give your insight on where I should go. I want the whole package: academic rigor, football, proximity to home, and diversity. Your help would be much appreciated since I only have until May to decide.
(PS: If it matters, I have visited OU and Alabama but will tour Mizzou this coming month.) Thank you!
Mizzou is the place for journalism.
Mizzou is the best one for journalism
Hands down, go to Mizzou. It has the highest prestige/networking connections for journalism, plus TONS of options within the j-school so you can figure out exactly what you want to do. Plus, it’s especially good for broadcast journalism, if that’s where you end up. Their national reputation is A++ for JO.
This is a no-brainer.
Out of the three, Mizzou is definitely the strongest. I’ll preface this with saying that yes, I am a student at Mizzou, so I can’t really speak to the other schools, but I’m being objective when saying that Mizzou wins. If you were comparing Missouri with Northwestern, UNC, or some other j-schools, then I would say they all have equally strong programs. Alabama and Oklahoma have fine programs, but definitely not at the level of Mizzou. Mizzou, with its history of journalism, has more connections and a better program overall. They have more specialities and interest areas.
As far as other factors: Academic rigor is definitely something you can get. Mizzou is no Ivy, but especially in the j-school, you’ll get a good education. Football is a huge pastime here; we played poorly this past season and are no Alabama, but the football spirit is just as big and when you balance that with the j-school, Mizzou wins. I don’t know which school is closest to Mizzou, but there are a lot of Texas here; next to Illinois it’s the biggest OOS feeder school. Diversity…well. You probably have heard about everything that happened at Mizzou here this past semester. Diversity isn’t something we’re known for exactly, but we’re working on it and the diversity of the school is representative of the rest of the population in Missouri, for the most part.
If you have any specific questions about MU, feel free to ask or PM me, I’d be happy to help!
Mizzou.