Fall 2016 Application Season

College Majors Journalism Major
1

Hey all,
I’m applying to Columbia’s J-school (among several backups) this coming fall and wanted to test my chances.
At this point I’m banking on CUNY’s journalism program since it’s very affordable and I may even be able to go for free if I get the NABJ scholarship.
I’m a junior English major at UMBC with a 3.4 GPA. Not great, but I made Dean’s List this fall, if that helps any.
I’ve completed two internships with local newspapers so far and I’m waiting for confirmation for a third this coming semester, as well as applying to a fourth for the summer.
I just applied for the Knight CUNYJ Diversity Initiative for this coming summer and, if accepted, I’ll work at an elite media outlet this coming summer! If I get it. IF!!!
Anyway, I also write for the campus paper and a freelance editor for the Visual Arts department. (I edit MFA theses before they’re published.)
I’m president of our English Council of Majors and a member of Sigma Tau Delta and the National Association of Black Journalists.
I’m publishing an English Lit research paper in our undergraduate journal this year and applying to be the Arts & Humanities Editor for said journal soon.
I have freelance articles published in local papers as well as small online publications and a forthcoming essay to be published at VICE, another at Broadly, and some reportage to be published through Pacific Standard.
Also, one of my essays has been chosen by a famous local street artist to be plastered on a building in Baltimore as a public installation! (I’m very stoked about that one, haha.)

As far as recommendations go, I have one by an ex-Associated Press reporter, an adjunct at Columbia’s creative writing department, and either our English department head who got his degree from Columbia or a Daily Kos staffer I’m working with for a freelancing project.
And I have a professional Twitter account with 1700+ followers and counting!

Am I competitive so far? I think one big internship thru the Knight CUNYJ program this summer would nail it, but you can never be so sure, especially with this meager GPA :frowning:

2

Can I ask you, why do you want a graduate journalism degree? Sounds to me that you don’t need it. You already have lots of great journalism experiences on your resume. Especially if you get the Knight CUNYJ Diversity Initiative. In my opinion, grad J-school is for people who have little to no experience and would like to break into the field. You are well-positioned to get a job right out of undergrad.