Communications...HELP!!! (I'm desperate.)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! I am absolutely desperate for a response here, so any help would be much appreciated!</p>

<p>Without divulging my stats (unfortunately I’m not a 4.0, 2400 girl, but I don’t have bad stats by any means, and my ECs are my strong point) I need advice looking for schools to apply to. I want to go into Communications, and I’m having a really tough time finding any school that excites me AT ALL! I seem to find something wrong with every place I visit, and this makes me so bummed out and panicked. I’m not sure what I want to do specifically, but I know it’s going to be something to do with journalism (broadcast, probably not newspaper), magazines, or possibly advertising. </p>

<p>Now here are just a sampling of problems with some of the schools I’ve looked into…</p>

<li><p>Syracuse- I love the program, but I hate the freezing weather and have heard a lot of horror stories about the kids who go there (very snobby girls, lots of JAPs…eeek!) Also, I’m not crazy about the city. </p></li>
<li><p>BU- Liked it okay, but I’ve lived in a big city my whole life and I don’t really love the no campus thing. </p></li>
<li><p>Penn- Liked it, but once again its in a big city, although the campus is way better than BU’s. But come on, I can’t really plan on getting in! Also, I think their comm program is more rhetoric, and I would prefer more of a hands-on thing. </p></li>
<li><p>UNC- Haven’t visited, but I really like the looks of it. Problems are, not sure if I could get in, plus, I know most of the kids are in-state, and I want a more geographically diverse study body. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I’ve visited a bunch more, but you get the idea…lol. Am I being too picky here?! I think there is some sort of curse on me…every time I find a school I like, they don’t offer my major!!! I really like Duke and UVA, but I can’t apply to either of those because they don’t have my major. Also, I like Northwestern, but it’s too close to where I live so I don’t want to apply there. This is driving me NUTS. </p>

<p>Here are the things I’m looking for in a school…nice campus (trees, older buildings, preferably on the East Coast…I’m flexible), friendly kids (just normal people here, not super competitive), good program (great profs, interesting classes, etc). I didn’t think it would be too difficult to find these things until I started looking. I feel like I’ve spent countless hours on this, pouring over websites and guide books…I’m starting to feel hopeless. </p>

<p>HELP!!</p>

2

<p>um, hard one, HOW ABOUT Northwestern, its an awesome school, and I almost ended up there. That is one school that I NEVER PUT DOWN, b/c there is nothing to criticize--except the trimesters, but everything else is kosher lol :))</p>

3

<p>Umm...hard one, if you had read my post closely enough, you would have noticed that I live VERY close to Northwestern. That is why I don't want to apply there! Really, I am under no circumstances applying there...it would be like going to school in my backyard! </p>

<p>I appreciate the response though. :)</p>

4

<p>Anyone??? (I know everyone says they're desperate...but I REALLY am!)</p>

5

<p>I was going to suggest Penn, but it looks like you've already looked into it. On the city issue, though, just remember that Penn does have a real campus with grassy areas to contrast with the city outside. I'll be majoring in communications there, and their AnnenbergSchool of Communications makes it a pretty strong and well-respected program. </p>

<p>Also, I wouldn't say it's rhetoric - there's a pretty wide variety of classes, with lots of opportunities to gain practical knowledge through classes and internships. You get to choose an area to focus on, and can pick from useful fields such as Political Communications, Business Communications/Public Policy, etc. It's also great for prelaw, if that's something you're interested in. </p>

<p>For admissions, Penn tends to place a lot of emphasis on having strong ECs, so you might want to give it a shot. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions =)</p>

6

<p>Try USC. It has a good comm program but it's on the west coast. It's in a big city too, but the city is not too appealing so students tend to stay on campus and are very friendly.</p>

7

<p>I go to the university of scranton and they have a pretty good comm department. Im communication myself and I see a lot of students get great internships.. For example, cnn, bbc, conan obrien...</p>

8

<p>Thank you SO much everyone for the advice. I really appreciate it. </p>

<p>I wish USC weren't in California. It was on my preliminary list of schools to apply to, but then I read somewhere the a huge chunk of the graduates stay in California, and that the alumni network is almost exclusively West coast. This makes me wary about applying there, since I hope to move to the East Coast (hopefully NYC!!) and alumni connections would be very useful in getting a job. Also, I don't want to leave all my college friends in Cali and start fresh in NY...what a drag!!!</p>

<p>I'm curious to hear more about Penn...I loved the school when I visited, but I'm worried that I'm not a strong enough applicant!</p>

9

<p>If you want to live in NYC, think about NYU. I'm not sure how good the program is though, but you could always do internships in the city to supplement that. There's not much of a campus, but the city is fun.</p>

10

<p>I thought about NYU for awhile, but I've decided against it. I don't want to be right in the middle of a huge city. I want a definite campus, and NYU is just a bunch of buildings. They do have a good program, though.</p>

11

<p>i'm going into communications also. University of Maryland and UNC have good programs. Small schools like LaSalle and Quinnipiac have good programs. Northwestern, BU, and Syracuse have the most notable programs. Then there is Emerson which is a purely communications school. I chose to go to northeastern next yr because of there built in coop and their close affiliation with the boston globe</p>

12

<p>I'm going to major in the same thing as you and have been looking at similar schools...</p>

<p>try American Univ., George Washington Univ., USC, UT-Austin, Northwestern, USC, SMU, UMissouri-Columbia (best journalism school in the country), Columbia, NYU, UCLA...most good journalism schools are in large universities.</p>

<p>and to the person who said Annenberg is at Penn...you are completely wrong. Penn doesn't even have a communications school - you are thinking of USC.</p>

13

<p>I understand the campus issue, but why would you want to move to NYC after you graduate if you don't want to be a big city? If you go to NYU you would probably have friends in NY after you graduate...just something to think about.</p>

14

<p>haha good point ^^</p>

15

<p>I want to live in NYC after I graduate because I love the city. But everyone has been telling me that for college, it's probably not a good choice for me because I would never get to experience to real "campus" feel, it's not as easy to make friends as it would be on a campus, and that I would get too distracted by everything in the city to do my work! Not sure if the last part is really true, but I understand all their points. I have my entire life to live in New York, and I might even live there during the summers for internships. But, I only have 4 years to experience "college life." NYU is not really like going to college. It's like going to live in the city and taking classes while you're there. </p>

<p>However, there is still a part of me that wonders if NYU would be a good choice. It seems logical for me because I am crazy about the city. But I'm afraid I'll miss out on something else, or that I'll end up hating it there because it's not like I can goof around all day, and I'll have no money to anything I like to do there lol. Then again, I could love it. This is why I can't find a college I want to go to! My mind is crazy!!!!</p>

<p>Any suggestions that are easier to get into lol? I need some safeties.</p>

16

<p>kcirsh - when you correctly pointed out that Annenberg is at USC, did you happen to notice that the person who recommended it, and who said it was at Penn, actually said they were going to be attending it? They're going to be a little surprised come September.</p>

17

<p>yeah hayden...for all i know, none of the ivies have undergraduate communications or journalism schools!!</p>

18

<p>columbia has a journalism major i believe, i am not sure. My advice if you want to stay on the east coast (New York City) go to an eastern school, b/c the alumni connecitons will be better there. For example, when I was choosing between Northwestern and Cornell, I chose Cornell b/c Cornell will give me better alumni connections and is so well known on the east coast whereas Northwestern is well known but for other areas. Just to give you an idea of what i am talking about, when I was talking to a Cornell admissions person and i was talking about how i was choosing between NW and Cornell, he was go to NW for music or the arts. I mean that is what the school is known for.</p>

19

<p>The website for Communications @ Penn:
(Go here and click on our undergraduates)
<a href="http://www.asc.upenn.edu/asc/application/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.asc.upenn.edu/asc/application/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Yes...Penn does have a Communications undergrad major. </p>

<p>Way to give out false information and try to make me look like an idiot, kcirsch and hayden. Whoops, looks like that backfired..you guys are looking pretty dumb right now :D</p>

20

<p>pretty lame that they call it a school when it is really just one major though...</p>

<p>and considering that it is at an ivy league school, NOBODY talks about Annenberg @ Penn...ever. prestigious school, lame department.</p>