Hi! I’m a current high school senior from PA who is trying to decide on a school - planning to study journalism. My top three choices are currently Elon (Honors Fellows), American (Honors Program), and UNC Chapel Hill. I’ve visited all three and I really liked all of them for different reasons, so I’m having a lot of trouble choosing. I would appreciate anyone’s insight on what these schools are like, especially student life!! Thank you!!
I’m an incoming American student, but I live in NC about 30 min from UNC so I’ve got some insight.
Elon is in a very small town, the school is the largest thing there. It has more girls than guys. It’s very preppy. A lot of people there come from wealthy families. It’s very white, there’s not a lot of diversity. The campus is really pretty and they have a good study abroad program.
American is obviously in a big city so there’s lots to do. Like Elon, it has more girls than guys. It’s not super preppy or wealthy but it’s still pretty upper middle-class. It’s pretty diverse (about 50% white) compared to the other schools on your list. The campus is pretty nice and they’re carbon neutral if that means anything. They have good study abroad and internship programs.
UNC is arguably the highest ranking school on your list. It’s definitely a college town, but it’s close to Raleigh so there’s stuff to do especially in comparison to Elon. Since it’s public, its not super wealthy, but it’s a bit preppy. The campus is beautiful, but it’s super big. It’s basically a small town in itself. They have amazing academics.
Above post gave a great summary. I would opt for UNC unless a large school bothers you or the Honors benefits (financial and otherwise) are too good to pass up. Cannot speak to student life, but at UNC you should be able to find your tribe.
Thank you both for your insights! My biggest concern with Elon is that “preppy” aspect, especially since I’m an introvert and def not a party girl. With American, I think I would fit in well with the students, but I’m not sure how much is goes on for fun I’m Campus - when I visited, it seemed like everything fun was in DC. And with UNC, I know I could find my niche with that many people, but I’m just worried about being able to really connect with professors and things like that due to the large size and the predicted size of my classes. So… really have lots of thinking to do.
@2020hannah American is in DC, if you’re talking about the “foggy bottom” section of the city, AU students get free metro passes.
The kids from our area that go to UNC are much stronger academically than those who attend the other two. Do you see that as a pro or con? I think that’s a plus for you and UNC since you obviously are an excellent student.
At American, you also would be competing with Georgetown and GW students for local internships. Good point about class size at UNC – maybe less of an issue after the introductory classes. Depends on your major.
UNC is mostly in-state (over 80%), but there is much diversity within NC as well as transplants, so people who are in-state actually are “from” other states. Unless $ is a big factor from the other two, I’d vote UNC.
Academically speaking UNC is strongest.
Have you compared journalism programs at each…such as professors and their backgrounds/research, courses required for major, gen eds, etc? Go to the course catalog of each school to see how many courses are offered in the major and how often, as well as the size of each class/section. I expect you will have a preference after doing all of that research.
Lastly…are all of these schools affordable? What is the net cost of each?
The Fellows program at Elon is very good and will offer many opportunities, but the school is not as academically strong as the other two,…especially UNC. Post #1 provides an accurate description.
The journalism school at UNC is outstanding. Connecting and building relationships with profs at UNC will not be an issue at all. The students I know had great internships.
Students at UNC are busy…clubs are very active, lots of volunteering, research experiences (all majors) etc. You asked about student life…what do you enjoy doing?
Are all of these schools affordable?
thank you to all! cost is not a huge concern for my family, but after scholarships from American and Elon, UNC would be the most expensive, but not by too much. At this point, I’m leaning towards UNC, I think, but I’ll have to look more into @Mwfan1921 suggestion about exact specifications.
Another vote for journalism at UNC! After you get fast some 1st year classes, class sizes will drop a lot. If you seek out getting to know profs, it won’t be an issue.
UNC is pretty big but it’s a compact campus for its size and has so many amazing options in terms of people, activities, etc. Wonderful college town.
Go Heels! 
Keep in mind that at UNC you spend your first 2 years mostly doing Gen Eds. American and UNC are pretty similar in terms of Journalism education, but AU definitely has more internship opportunities. Class sizes at UNC do drop once you actually get into your non-GE classes. Cost of living is also important. Living in DC is a lot more expensive than Chapel Hill. I think you can pretty much get rid of Elon at this point, it’s just not on par with UNC and AU.
Source?
College Choice “Best Journalism Degrees”: AU rated #17, UNC rated #4
College Factual “2020 Best Colleges for Journalism”: AU rated #14, UNC not rated
College Magazine “The Top 10 Journalism Schools 2019”: AU rated #1, UNC rated #2
Degree Query “Top 25 Colleges For Journalism”: AU not rated, UNC rated #13
Prepscholar “The 12 Best Journalism Schools”: AU rated #8, UNC not rated
Testive “Investigating the 10 Best Journalism Schools for Undergrads”: AU rated, UNC not rated
So I stand corrected, AU is typically rated above UNC for journalism.
Generally it is best to not rely on ranking systems, as one can see they are highly variable, and often conducted with sloppy methods.
What is your source for stating AU has more journalism internships than UNC?
From the AU website: 98% of students participated in an internship during their education.
From UNC Hussman’s website: 94% of students participated in an internship during their education.
From AU’s website: 95% of students graduated with a job or going to grad school.
from UNC Hussman’s website: 94% of students graduated with a job or going to grad school.
There is also the subject of AU’s proximity to DC and many major media outlets. This does allow for internships during the school year rather than taking a term off for an internship or doing an internship in the summer.
Wouldn’t part of that be because UNC is…bigger?
Hi, my S is a freshman at Elon. He is not in the School of Communications but I can tell you that it is very impressive, their crown jewel I would say. Elon is not known nationally (just made it into the national ranking category this year) but is rising each year. Anyway, he’s an introvert, non partier (social guy, but with a small group of non substance using friends) and found his people very easily. He loves it. I agree that Elon in general isn’t really in the same category as UNC when you are looking at acceptance rates and statistics. But the school of communication definitely merits its own detailed look, and for a student who benefits from smaller size and closer mentoring (like my son), it was the right fit. The comments on diversity are correct…something the university is working on but diversity rates are low. Elon is highly ranked for engaged learning and “best run college.”
I would say check out Elon’s school of Communications a bit more before writing it off the list as it looks to me like it is their strongest major and everything I see about it is very impressive. We didn’t get a great vibe from AU about student life, but that just seemed like a personal fit thing. If you decide to keep Elon on the list and have any questions about student life, send me a PM. Good luck with your decision and congrats and three great choices.
@2020hannah The have similar journalism/communications populations. So no, they are comparable.