<p>My friend at Berkeley didn't have that much journalism experience, but her GRE scores were better than the average student at the J-school (according to student body at a glance stats). I think working as a writer/editor for a magazine in Shanghai looks on a application. For some J-schools, experience isn't even important at all. I've spoken to people at Annenberg USC and journalism experience really isn't much of a factor in the application process. Their program is geared toward smart, hard-working people who want to gain journalism experience. So, every school has a different criteria. I would say, from what I've been told, work experience is more of a factor at Berkeley's J-school. </p>
<p>I can't comment on the admissions criteria for the Asian Studies program because I don't have any idea what they're looking for.</p>
<p>Bedhead, thank you for your thought-provoking questions. I will ask my D these questions after she hears from more schools. I think the problem is that she has many interests, such as Asian Studies, writing & PR. Why did your J-school friends think PR & advertising is a sellout? They don't think it is serious enough? Too commercial?</p>
<p>I know my D would choose Berkeley if she is accepted there because she is interested in reporting about China either in the U.S. or in China but she is concerned that her GPA & GRE scores are at the lower-end of Berkeley's range. She thinks it is a bad sign that she hasn't heard from them yet. But she does tend to underestimate herself sometimes. I do agree that Berkeley's dual degree program would be the best choice.</p>
<p>She also likes UNC because their students can pursue a path in health communication & she would like to help improve health communication in China. Berkeley has a School of Public Health as well so I assume she could take some courses there, too, if she is accepted at Berkeley. I don't know if she wants to return to China after grad school; right now she is feeling homesick after living in China for 4 years. But she may change her mind after graduation.</p>
<p>Her other concern is finances. She would like to graduate debt-free, if possible. We can't help her with grad school finances because we are still paying loans for our 2 daughters' undergrad education. And if we helped one daughter, we would have to help our younger daughter. If only we were rich!</p>
<p>It's just a feeling that they had the J-school was to train serious journos and that those who did not either stick with the plan or couldn't cut it and then went for the fall-back, the more lucrative but less courageous path.</p>
<p>By the way, that wasn't my view. I was just reporting it. If she wants to do that kind of stuff, more power to her. Who would I be to judge? I have no idea what the value of the degree would be for this kind of work. That's something to check out.</p>
<p>Economics, Public Health, Business, International Relations, Asian Studies -- these are all non-journalism class areas where I think she would do well to take classes so as to understand better different fields and be able to write more meaningfully. Again, my friends doing the best in journalism (and some of them are really close to the top of the heap, not to brag, but to give what I saying some credence) followed this path.</p>
<p>I think that UNC is a great school. I don't think you could go wrong. The other choices she might have sound good too. I think graduating debt-free would buy her a lot of freedom.</p>