can you narrow down my college list? looking at communication/journalism programs

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hi, i've posted a chance me thread a couple of days earlier....but then it turned out to be more a of a "please narrow down my list" and "give me advice" sort of thread...
i'm a new member and i realize that you can't delete stuff, which kinda sucks.</p>

<p>** so i'll just give you guys my stats, and can everyone please give me some advice on some good colleges with decent communications/journalism programs? and if you know anything about the programs i listed, whether they're good/bad, please tell me as well. just any general information on colleges with good communications programs would be fine. </p>

<p>also, i have a list of schools that offer com, and i'd appreciate it if you guys could chance me, or add/drop schools from the list, etc. **</p>

<p>so....stats time ;)</p>

<p>Personal Info
-Asian
-US Citizen abroad (no resident status; im OOS for every school)
-attending competitive/fairly prestigous international school </p>

<p>Class
-no class ranking, top 25%? im just guessing...we have too many over achievers
-class size around 300</p>

<p>Stats
-cum GPA: 3.65 weighted? if ap/honors +.5, its weighted right? we only have one gpa in our school and thats what we use to apply to colleges (sucky gpa i know, but will raise to 3.7)</p>

<p>SAT I: 1330/2050 (retaking in the fall. aiming for at least 50pt increase)</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math-730
Chinese-780
(Taking one more SATII in the fall)</p>

<p>By the time i graduate i would've taken these 6 AP/IB courses.</p>

<p>**ECs<a href="sorry%20im%20going%20to%20have%20to%20give%20you%20guys%20a%20VERY%20general%20idea%20because%20theres%20like%20alot%20of%20people%20from%20my%20school%20that%20go%20on%20CC.%20pm%20me%20if%20you%20want%20more%20info">/B</a>
-National Merit Commended (lmao...does that count as anything? I think like 10000 people qualify or something)
-Member of 2 service clubs
-Member of 2 honor societies
-Officer of class council for 2 years
-1 on 1 voluntary tutoring since 7th grade (I tutor languages, not math/sci, ranging from 1st to 8th grade)
-Newspaper staff for 3 years (10,11,12)
-Editorial Board member for Newspaper (12)
-Founder and Webmaster of Newspaper Online Edition; website has been active for 2 years, but i shut it down for the summer
-High School Advisor (one of 15 i think?) for Junior Newspaper (this is like, the junior high school newspaper)
-Representative of school at NSPA journalism convention (our newspaper didnt win anything lmao, but i was one of 6 selected from my school to attend)
-Internship with the English newspaper in my country when I was 16 (I have published works)
-Junior Varsity sports for 2 years (didn't make varsity because i suck and i won't say the sport because i'm being obvious enough as it is)</p>

<p>-If it helps, I am one of 2 students in my class on the newspaper staff; the rest are in other grades, more sophomores than juniors. the other student is most likely going to apply for journalism/communications programs too...so he's my competition? All the yearbook staff members in my grade have 1 year experience so i <em>hope</em> i stand out more.</p>

<p>COLLEGES that need to be finalized and chanced
Northwestern
Cornell
NYU
WUSTL
USC
BC
U of Wash.
UT-austin
BU
UIUC
U of Wisc - Madison
UF
UMiami
GWU
Pepperdine
Pizer
Syracuse (newhouse)
American
UMD-college park (philip merril)</p>

<p>anyways, please refer to the bolded stuff above for my questions. sorry for the long post! and pleaaaaaseeee reply or i'd be spending 2 hours (my longest yet!) on CC typing for nothing :(. </p>

<p>thanks!!</p>

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<p>bummmpp ????</p>

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<p>What state are you from? I think that the fact you want to go into journalism will help you in most cases. Send in some supplementary items as well. ( esp. your published work).</p>

<p>Northwestern- Keep - low reach. Your 20 points shy off of the 25 percentile. I think if you increased your SAT score and elaborate on how passionate writing is then you will be in really good shape.
Cornell- What school are you applying to?
NYU- keep- CAS I am presuming. High match to low reach.
WUSTL- Take out- other schools are a better match based on what you are interested in.
USC- keep- I have not resarched USC much. I sould say it was a Match though based on requirements, scores, and your passion.
BC- low reach. i don't have much knowledge of BC.
U of Wash.- Not sure - I would say Match. Your scores are over the 75 percentile. But I do not know how competitive it is for out of state students.
UT-austin- I would cut UT Austin. It's a great school. But it has a huge communication major and getting classes may be difficult. The fact that you are also out of state does not bode well for you either seeing that they are more likely to take someone from Texas with your stats. Also, I don't know if it is the best thing to pay OOS tuition for UTA.
BU-Keep. Match. Your current scores are near the 75 percentile. Its a great school and has your majors. </p>

<p>OK .. so I kinda got tired but I know people at most of these schools..
UIUC- Not enough research.
U of Wisc - Madison- Not enough research.
UF- take out
UMiami-take out
GWU-keep and low reach
Pepperdine-keep Match
Pizer-take out
Syracuse (newhouse)-take out
American- keep- high match to low reach
UMD-college park (philip merril)-keep Match </p>

<p>I would look into Hamilton College.</p>

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<p>ok, i'll bite and continue:</p>

<p>UW_madison: good for journalism: match
UMiami: decent communications school: match
GWU: only public affairs, not overall communication and journalism: low reach
Syracuse (newhouse): same level as Northwestern and USC...probably a low reach</p>

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<p>Owlie - to answer your questions: i'm originally from california but i dont hold resident status because my family and i have been living abroad for too long. For Cornell, i'm applying to CAS, they have a journalism major. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll def. look into Hamilton as well. </p>

<p>Rodney - thanks for that info about gwu! i'll look into it.</p>

<p>ohh and for everyone else who's willing to reply, every school on my list except for pitzer, wustl, gwu, nyu and cornell has a College of Communication or College of Journalism. Pitzer, wustl, nyu, and cornell (if im not mistaken) offer an undergrad journalism major in their CAS school. </p>

<p>darrrrn i really want to get in newhouse! or medill but thats pretty impossible.</p>

<p>thanks for the suggestions, everyone. im starting to love CC..keep them coming :)
bump.</p>

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<p>You should take out either UMiami or GWU because they're similar academically. Take out GWU if what the above poster said about communications is correct. And plus, UMiami is much more generous with merit scholarships than GWU, and it's more fun, more diverse, and in a better location!</p>

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<p>20091990: just a couple of ideas about Newhouse and Medill:</p>

<p>1) Both schools have ED if that works for you
2) At Syracuse, you can apply for a dual degree with Newhouse and either a&s, or Whitman (business)....not sure what acceptance rates are for dual programs though...may be just as competitive as single enrollment Newhouse......
3) Check out the threads from Northwestern about Medill's new educational philosophy; seems to be controversial (my D did not apply to Medill so I cannot give specifics)....</p>

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<p>rodney: thanks for the info, i'll go check out medill (i'm actually not sure if i should apply either since northwestern/medill is rediculously hard, and my stats aren't comparable to the 4.0s out there). just wondering, is your D studying journalism at any college right now? and if yes, what does she think of the program? </p>

<p>bump.</p>

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<p>2009: she's entering Newhouse in the fall.....FYI, she chose Newhouse over other journalism/communication schools for the following reasons:</p>

<p>1) she liked the idea that both journalism and communications/media were housed in the same school (newhouse)...at NU, Medill is separate from comm school...same at USC- Annenberg is separate from Cinema and TV...her interests are in both areas</p>

<p>2) Newhouse alumni network and recruiting for NY and LA are amazing; both for internships and for permanent positions.....</p>

<p>3) HATES the cold weather, but could not pass up the opportunites offered....</p>

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<p>yeah i've lived in a country with a pretty tropical climate year round...i've seen snow twice in my life. if i do get in newhouse though, i'll probably still go and worry about the cold when i get there. :)</p>

<p>the weather at syracuse is the reason that i'm refraining from ED-ing. i'd rather see what my other options are (ex. USC Annenberg) i wish they had EA but i dont think they do. </p>

<p>anyway, anyone have more suggestions? all help would be appreciated!</p>

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<p>not to make you crazy, but UMissouri @ Columbia has a journalism school that is supposedly top notch.....PM geezermom: her son is entering in the fall.....(I think he also was admitted to Newhouse, but chose Missouri)</p>

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<p>okay thanks for the tip...i'll go pm her later. </p>

<p>also, i prefer communications schools over journalism schools. i think philip merril (UMD Colllege Park) is pretty well regarded but they dont offer stuff liek advertising, PR, etc...only print/broadcast/online journalism. i wonder if UMissouri is like that? i prefer having more options in the communications field just in case i change my mind in college and stuff......anyway i'll go pm geezermom now. Thanks!</p>

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<p>bumpppp
anyone else?</p>

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<p>I don't have a ton to offer, but just a quick word about the few schools on your list I've visited so far.</p>

<p>I went to visit back in March for spring break. I loved the campus, the academics are good, and I was impressed for the most part. Unfortunately, I learned that the only newspaper that BC has publishes twice a week, and the impression I got is that it isn't amazing. So just keep that in mind when you're considering BC.</p>

<p>BU has both journalism and communications schools, and I think they're both good schools, so that's probably one of the best academic fits you'll find. The only thing about BU is that you'll need to know if you can live on such an urban campus. I personally couldn't, but there are some that love that type of campus.</p>

<p>The stuff for BU basically applies to George Washington.</p>

<p>American has a great journalism program, and I'm pretty sure it's the same for communications. You might want to do more research on them because I'm not certain; it's a pretty small school, so the two programs might be pretty combined, which could be a good thing for your academic fit.</p>

<p>Maryland has a good j-school and a nice campus; other than that, I can't say too much about it.</p>