<p>Would appreciate some feedback as to Fordham for communications major ,i.e. Publishing, writing, magazines etc...</p>
<p>One of the most common majors on campus. Very, very well connected for internships and jobs. Publishing and Telecommunications. Big time connections in television. </p>
<p>Watch out for publishing…kindles and ipads are going to destroy that industry.</p>
<p>actually kindles and ipads are becoming part of the industry. Will always need content.</p>
<p>Yes…good content will always be in demand. But the gadgets are going to result in millions of lost jobs. Its already happening. People are in total denial what gadgets, computers and the internet have done to the economic infrastructure of our country. Millions of jobs gone…forever.</p>
<p>Whatever. But have fun.</p>
<p>Ya, don’t mind the millions of jobs created in the IT industry.</p>
<p>Its interesting. Its a change in the industry not an end to the industry. The key is not to have your heart set on a methodology that may be outdated,i.e. be flexible.</p>
<p>bleedblue:</p>
<p>Well those jobs are now going overseas too. Have you noticed? I know banks, law firms and accounting firms outsourcing professional jobs to India. </p>
<p>JSimon: agree that being flexible is important. I am of an age where old timey methodologies are stuck in my head too…and I reminisce about being patient for mail and knowing that people had jobs to do, instead of google or some computer chip doing it for them instead. </p>
<p>Having been through and survived decades of warp speed change, I have a different perspective and feel melancholy about our former independence and freedoms. </p>
<p>Now nothing is sacred or safe. Nothing. </p>
<p>My view is that gadgets just make a faster hamster wheel. They replace real content (journalism) with graphics and sound bytes. I digress.</p>
<p>Of course I cant fight this battle and win…so I am forced to acquiesce as changes come. But I lament the day, and its coming very soon, when books and magazines are all digitalized on an Ipad and printed materials are old…and libraries are shuttered. </p>
<p>In the good old days, students went into the stacks and had to locate and read books to do research. Now they mash a button and pull up something on their laptops. Something missing in the translation it seems to me.</p>
<p>If you had the choice between Syracuse’s Newhouse program and the weight that carries v. Fordham’s program and the benefit of NYC which is the better route.</p>
<p>Excellent question Simon. Its a tough decision for many students as Syracuse is on par with Fordham academically in many areas and is ranked very much in the same area as Fordham in USNWR. They are both private schools. But Syracuse is very cold and snowy. Yet its got superb athletics and lots of frats and sororities. So its a lifestyle issue as much as anything. No school is perfect and no school is as lovely as the glossy brochures promise…there are always issues, dorm dramas and so forth.</p>
<p>If you get into both then visit both schools during the academic year and talk with students. Fordham has an accepted student orientation weekend which is fabulous and really helpful. Speakers, tours, meeting students, administrators, professors etc.</p>
<p>Fordham’s communications programs are widely respected and they have superb contacts. Plus, Fordham is a very rigorous liberal arts college where you will take philosophy, english, theology, political science etc and write a LOT of papers during your 4 years there. Thus, you will be very well rounded and come out very prepared and have superb writing skills…and critical thinking skills. Being Jesuit, its one of Fordham’s great assets. I am very biased, admittedly. But I say nothing bad about any school and I happen to know people at Syracuse are also very happy there. </p>
<p>Its a personal decision and one that only you can make in the final analysis. You have time, so just relax, reflect and do your homework. No school is perfect for everyone…some will like it and some will say its not for them. </p>
<p>Fordham wants people who really want Fordham, because they make the best students. And they contribute something while they are attending Fordham. Which enhances everyone’s experience. </p>
<p>I believe in the general theory that certain students are attracted to and attend a certain kind of college with a certain kind of vibe. Of course there are always exceptions and room for individuals. Not that Fordham has only one type of student…not true…they are in fact very diverse…but they do seem to have that certain spirit of caring for others, of thinking independently and of being kids of good character. I remember what kids told me and my D1 when we attended the Orientation Weekend…and what they told us turned out to be 95% true…only a few things were slightly different. </p>
<p>Fordham will challenge you, I can assure you. You will be challenged on many levels as you learn and grow. And sometimes its learning from experiences that challenge your patience, your belief systems and your vision of the future. Its not disturbing, but it is going to make you “find yourself and grow up” quickly. I am amazed at how my D1 and her freshmen dorm buddies have grown. Transformational stuff.</p>
<p>I can tell you that employers highly prize and respect Fordham graduates for their personal ethics and work ethic. When you walk into a mall or an airport lobby or any public place, wearing a Fordham sweatshirt or hoodie or hat…people will nod and smile and sometimes shake your hand. I’ve seen it happen a number of times. Its a special gravitas. Yet Fordham kids are not generally full of themselves and boastful. Nor are they cutthroat. Competitive? You betcha! Serious and intense at times? Yes. But also good kids who have a good time and stick together when they go into the city. </p>
<p>These are the kinds of things you can’t really put into a brochure and don’t see in USNWR rankings. </p>
<p>If you see yourself in these words I have expressed above, then Fordham is an excellent place for you to attend college. If not, that is okay…or if you get a different vibe when on campus, that is fine. </p>
<p>Fordham kids are always glad to graduate and move on to the next phase in their lives…but they are also deeply emotional about leaving behind a lot of friends…its very common to have friends in all the classes at Fordham.</p>
<p>Its a very unique experience, particularly in the Bronx. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Its a tough decision. I’m ignoring ( at least initially) all the variable regarding campus life, weather, school spirit, etc… and instead simply focusing on the ultimate goal of, upon graduation which school and its program is most likely to carry the most weight for employment. Not ignoring the other stuff completely just putting it aside intially. Syracuse makes a strong effort to incorporate its alumni and the Newhouse is probably number 1 in the Northeast. Fordham is a competitive program (would rate it below Newhouse’s) but the potential for internships leading to career jobs via NYC has to count in its favor. That’s the weighing I’m doing.</p>
<p>JSIMON, to paraphrase former buffalo bills coach Marv Levy “where would you rather be right here, right now - in NYC or in Syracuse?”</p>
<p>[December</a>, not halfway gone, is already the fourth snowiest | syracuse.com](<a href=“http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/december_not_half-way_gone_is.html]December”>December, not halfway gone, is already the fourth snowiest - syracuse.com)</p>
<p>sylvan</p>
<p>location in terms of weather is not the issue. For the better opportunity I’d put up with snow. The issues are those in my prior message and relate to the programs only. Stuff like weather, the fun of NY etc…, I’ll consider as secondary issues.</p>
<p>If you’re a good student at Fordham, you’ll have no problem landing great internships in NYC (during the semesters as well as in the summer). These will help you get into the best graduate schools, which ultimately, is what employers really care about. If you do not plan on attending graduate school, the internships will demonstrate your abilities to potential employers.</p>
<p>My father is in the communications field and often says that the candidates most attractive to him are those with successful hands-on, out of classroom experience, even when compared to those from top-ranked programs. </p>
<p>The hands-on learning NYC can provide, in my opinion, rivals any top-ranked program in the middle of nowhere. No endowment can recreate the New York experience. New York is arguably the ‘communications’ capital of the world in terms of the amount of advertising, media, and art that permeates its streets. </p>
<p>Now, I do not know much about the Newhouse school, so perhaps the depth of its program can make up for its location. But that will be something you will have to decide.</p>
<p>Have you checked out this link? Perhaps it will answer some of your questions</p>
<p>[Communication</a> and Media Studies](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/communication_and_me/index.asp]Communication”>http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/communication_and_me/index.asp)</p>
<p>Thanks yenrod. I reviewed the Fordham program. Its a competent program just not in the same league as Newhouse which is a nationally known communications program. Fordham clearly has the NYC connection going for it though.</p>
<p>JSIMON,
I know you have said Newhouse is tops several times, but I have visited Syracuse in late Oct & I just want to warn you, you will need wool long johns by Oct 15. And make sure you have a good cover-your-hips down coat.</p>
<p>Also, my inlaws are in Buffalo, and I have had reason to drive through or near Syracuse a number of times during the last 15 years. And every time I have, the weather is foul. In summer, it is raining, no, pouring. In winter, it is always snowing—either just a little, very pretty flakes sparkling in the sunlight—or a freaking ton of traffic-crippling blizzard. Everyone jokes about Buffalo, but Syracuse’s weather is worse. </p>
<p>I would say, visit both, and make sure you visit Syracuse in winter, because most of the year there is pretty brisk. I know you want the top program and all that, but make sure you know what you are getting into during the hours you are not studying.</p>
<p>JRZ</p>
<p>I appreciate your response, but again, I am not concerning myself re weather etc… I asking only in relation to the programs and what they mean to my future. As an aside,I am familiar with upstate weather so I do know what to expect.</p>
<p>JSIMON</p>
<p>I have been weighing both Fordham and Syracuse as well so i can’t really speak from experience as some parents on here have, but i do remember (when I visited Syracuse) that the teachers and students I talked to really stressed the fantastic alumni connections and potential intership programs. These connections might be helpful over the summer if you live close enough to NYC to commute everyday by bus or train. So you can have your cake and eat it too! </p>
<p>In fields like business and communications its all about experience, maybe ask students what types of internships they got instead of what school is better and you wont get so many comments about the weather… Im eager to hear of of the responses that people post! Best of luck!</p>
<p>To anyone Who’s interested, I also created a similar thread on the Syracuse section o I could get a different perspective.</p>
<p>to the OP, I am a sophomore comm major at LC, so I can shed a little perspective on this issue.</p>
<p>I had a similar decision to make when I got accepted into both Emerson and Fordham Lincoln Center. Emerson had a fantastic television production program that I absolutely loved, but at the end of the day I couldn’t get over the fact that it wasn’t in NYC. I chose FCLC exactly because it was in the city, even though I know that the program is extremely different from what I originally wanted. However, I believe I made the right decision. There is no beating the fact that ABC is literaly a block away from me, and I can easily walk to CBS, MTV, and NBC. The Daily Show tapes about three blocks from campus. There is no denying the fact that the purpose for college is to get a job, and what better way to get your foot in the door than to start interning and working at the major companies you want to work for while you’re still in school? At Emerson, sure, I would have gotten good hands on experience, but that would have been through school clubs. Here at Fordham, I am getting experience by interning for MSNBC next semester, and hopefully carrying on that experience into another program at NBC, or at least a major network by summer session. I definitely feel that I have a foot up in this business because I do go to school at the heart of it all.</p>
<p>Also, the program itself is pretty good. A lot of it is theory based, but I’m learning a lot and I find it really interesting. Also, if you are interested in journalism we do have a known program, and our papers are some of the best.</p>