advice please: usc vs missouri in JOURNALISM

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Missouri - Columbia
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<p>It's quite time for me to choose where to go. I don't live in CA nor MO. Things I care most about are the quality of education and accessibility to internships and jobs. I also do care about tutition fees but it's kind of minor; education quality weighs more than the fees. I am not eligible in both schools for scholarships.</p>

<p>Things I like about USC
: It's a private university - heard that professors care more about undergradate students.
Well known
Location in LA - however in the dangerous part(what I dislike)
alumni family</p>

<p>Things I like about Mizzou
: one of the best known J-schools
cheaper than USC (half)
Rural area - dedicate more in studies.</p>

<p>I have a lot of more reasons but these are the things I can think about now. I want to study in the place where I can prepare better for my carreer. Advise please!!!!:)</p>

2

<p>I’m debating between those two schools too!</p>

<p>One of the reasons I prefer USC though, is because MU seems very strong in journalism but not as strong in their other majors. Should I decide to switch my major from journalism (not that I plan on it!), I could get a better education at USC.</p>

<p>I’m from Southern California, so I can say that the weather is awesome, and there’s always someplace to go with something to do. My concern with MU is that on the weekends there won’t be anything to do except party.</p>

<p>However, MU seems like a good culture change for me, a lot cheaper, and to be the best known J-school.</p>

<p>What both schools have that I like is a huge atmosphere and awesome school spirit!</p>

3

<p>Dude, Columbia is NOT rural at all. I don’t personally go to Columbia, but as a MO student, I have been there (and was rather recently). </p>

<p>Columbia is not the biggest city/metro in the state, but is like a 2hrs drive from Saint Louis. Also, the surrounding city just melts into the campus. Like, there’s a campus building, and then there’s a bunch of restaurants to go to. This isn’t for all of campus; some of the campus is bordered by roads and Greek houses, though. Columbia is a city; there’s plenty to do there for most students.</p>

<p>Also, the uni from what I know has lots of events and orgs. to participate in. If you like to party, there’s definitely that. But it’s not a school where that attitude is so pervasive that you cannot escape it.</p>

<p>I haven’t toured the entire campus myself; nor do I know much about the Journalism dept (except that it is awesome). But walking about campus is pretty easy once you get the lay of the land (and you will). The Gen. Ed. classroom building can be pretty confusing because the two entrances start at two different levels. The commons is nice, not exceptional, but you can get food there and hang out (which is all you really need). </p>

<p>If you like sports, people all throughout Missouri support Mizzou sports. On campus, I can only guess it would be moreso. </p>

<p>Anway, I am rambling. But don’t think Columbia is rural unless you’re used to NYC/Chicago/Cleveland or some other sprawling metropolis. Considering the rest of Missouri (which can get so rural you see more Amish buggies than cars), you’re in a bustling city. </p>

<p>I think you would definitely do well at Mizzou. If you don’t think you can handle the Journalism coursework, I think most of the other programs are solid enough that you don’t have to worry about changing majors. (Also, you should know more about this, but I always though Journalism is a school you have to wait until your sophomore year to enter after other reqs are completed because it is such a competitive major).</p>

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<p>@smallfry711 : so… have you made up your mind? Decision making is SO hard</p>

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<p>I haven’t made up my mind yet, but it’ll really come down to how much money USC sends me (I still haven’t received my Financial Aid package).
I’m actually writing this from Columbia, MO; I’m visiting the campus this week!</p>

6

<p>S has been awarded scholarship for MU-J-School. Columbia is most definitely not rural… two hours from St. Louis to the east, and two hours from Kansas City to the west. Lots to do, and the school paper is the city paper for Columbia, not a university paper. S hasn’t made up his mind completely but is 95% sure he’s at MU. Met with J-School and honors college profs and both were great. Good luck with your decision, but don’t let the size of Columbia deter you.</p>

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<p>Sicne the programs are similar enough (and Mizzou’s is probably a little better since it’s #2 I believe), save $20k/yr and go here.</p>

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<p>Columbia is suburban. It’s not a “city”, but there’s a lot to do.</p>

<p>If you’re doing journalism (in this economy?) go to MU.</p>

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<p>@smallfry–Last year a friend of mine was in the same situation as you. She lived in Southern California and decided to go to Mizzou to pursue Journalism.</p>

<p>She had the same expectations as you, nice “culture change”–a new experience.</p>

<p>She is now transferring out of Mizzou and coming back to SoCal due to the disappointing experience of Mizzou.</p>

<p>For those who live in the Midwest, Columbia is a great city. However, for those accustomed to Los Angeles, Columbia, MO is a small rural city with no culture.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would pick USC over Mizzou any day. Just a warning.</p>

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<p>ALSO: Mizzou in NO WAY compares to USC in other academics. Like you said, if you DID decide to change your major–you’d be in Missouri.</p>

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<p>Our D. is a freshman at Mizzou J-school; and she is from Northern CA (Silicon Valley).
The last thing she has in her mind is to transfer to CA. Yes, it’s very different from our multicultural high tech environment, but it’s a very good change for her. Only now she realized how unique the place where she grew up and how it’s different from the rest of the US.
And how it can be boring at any place that occupied with 30K+ young people?! Something is always going on the campus as well as around Columbia. They also travel a lot: to see some performances in Kansas City, participate in parades and visit museums in St. Louis, even to spend a weekend in Chicago.</p>

12

<p>If you can’t find something to do, it’s a personality flaw more than anything.</p>

<p>If you want to do journalism, it’s not a choice, it’s MU.</p>

<p>However if you ever want to switch majors, USC for sure.</p>

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<p>I would say 110% Missouri. Even if I wanted to change my major I think Missouri would still be pretty darn good. It’s cheaper, better college town for sure, and you’re getting a GREAT education.</p>

<p>plus: Some may argue that Missouri is better world renowned for education than University of Southern California.</p>

14

<p>My daughter knows going in that she will be happy even if she decides Journalism isn’t for her. She loves the school and is 100% happy knowing that even if she would change majors she could live with it.</p>

15

<p>I may be the only one answering this question that actually went to Mizzou. I was in both the Honors College and the Journalism program. I’ve just left there.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what the above posters mean when they say Columbia isn’t rural. It is. It is a small town in the middle of Missouri - yes St. Louis is two hours away. So is Kansas City. That doesn’t mean Columbia isn’t rural. And it isn’t suburban either, because 'sub-urban means that there’s an urban environment close by; which there isn’t.</p>

<p>The Journalism program is good - the biggest perk comes in the connections (aka ‘Mizzou Mafia’). The first year and a half is spent in classes that really have little do with actual Journalism. They claim this is to “weed people out” - which worked because a great deal of kids I knew who started in as Pre-J switched during the course of fresh/soph year. But it can be tedious. In addition if you do research you’ll notice that many professional journalists have degrees in something besides Journalism and several professors noted that a B.J. isn’t really necessary to enter the field. </p>

<p>On campus I felt isolated, if you don’t have a car things can be difficult. If you’re a minority the social scene can be disappointing - the Greek system is mainly white as are most of the parties thrown on or near campus. Going anywhere else requires a car or friends with cars.</p>

<p>If I had the choice (and money weren’t much of an issue) I would choose USC. Annenberg is pretty well known; its not like you’ll lack connections graduating from there. In addition - the reality is that its tough to get a decent paying job in Journalism so you should be prepared to maybe work outside your field, in which case a degree from USC will go farther than one from Mizzou. Lastly, USC is more diverse than Mizzou, if for no other reason than students come from all over the country.</p>

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<p>Columbia is in no way a rural city. People who say that it is rural have no idea what the word rural means.</p>

<p>Here is a basic breakdown of the city of Columbia:</p>

<p>You have the University of Missouri campus. This bleeds into the “downtown” of the city, with lots of restaurants, theaters, stores, etc. Continue going north towards I-70, and that bleeds into the business district and some poorer housing. Then to the East of Campus, you have what is known as East Campus, which are a set of houses that students live in. South of the campus you have the big student apartment complexes, and a lot of townhouses as well. To the north/west region to campus you have the mall, and a lot of residential areas. </p>

<p>That is pretty much the gist of what Columbia is. Doesn’t sound very rural, does it? </p>

<p>As for the journalism, it’s pretty good. The staff will really challenge you to do better journalism. You will get real newsroom experience, and the j-school has a wide breadth of classes that can allow you to pick up some good niche skills.</p>

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<p>I just came back from a weekend visit to Mizzou, and I have to say (coming from a truly rural town) Columbia is NOT rural. Rural is a small town or countryside, which definitely surrounds Columbia, but I would say that Columbia is a large town. It seems like a place where there would be many events for college students (pizza place, many yogurt and icecream places). I heard bands playing numerous areas around town, there was a large park and a few glass-covered office buildings. There were many eclectic shops, and a mall and bus service that will take you there. You can walk right onto it. People were playing their instruments on the sidewalks. I can attest to the fact that rural areas don’t have sidewalks. They have pavement surrounded by farms. Trust me, I live in one of those areas, and compared to here, Columbia was amazing. I could totally see myself hanging out there.</p>

<p>As for journalism, every J student that I spoke with really enjoyed it. They are very impressed with the education that they are receiving. Most of them have had internships (a few even after freshman year - just because they had come from Mizzou). They all have tons of experience with online and multimedia journalism even if that is not their field (because that is where it is headed) and feel prepared to work at a real publication. They put have both the Vox, the Missourian, and the Maneater to employ them and to work on. It is all hands on. I was very impressed, and the tour of the J school made it my top choice (even though I am way out of state).</p>

<p>Sorry if this is confusing, or if there are errors. It’s Halloween and I keep having to jump up and hand out candy haha.</p>

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<p>mizzou has an amazing camous, and is by no means rural. Also the student rec center is tops in the nation</p>

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<p>^Agree on the rec center part. I visited some other colleges like Wisconsin and Northwestern, and their rec centers are complete jokes in comparison to Mizzou’s. However, it isn’t the best in the nation (although it is very nice). The University of Texas’ main rec center (yeah they have more than one) is simply awe-inspiring.</p>

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<p>I too am considering both Mizzou and USC for journalism. My interest in USC comes after my rejection from Northwestern. I took a visit to Mizzou over the summer and I absolutely LOVED it. And, for the rest of the people in this thread, I wouldn’t consider Columbia to be rural, but it isn’t suburban either.
I’m still trying to find info about USC’s journalism program at Annenberg so if anyone could perhaps enlighten me on that, I’d be appreciative.
But until that happens, Mizzou is my likely destination.</p>