<p>so i didn't know exactly where to post this but i need help!</p>
<p>i think i've narrowed my choices down to iowa and marquette but i can't decide.</p>
<p>Im planning on double majoring in journalism and international affairs</p>
<p>im so lost whats the better school? which is better for my intended major? which area will have the best internships and connections and jobs?</p>
<p>i also got into ballstate and waitlisted at madison, minnesota, and northwestern. </p>
<p>ughh help??</p>
<p>Hi laurens27,</p>
<p>Congratulations on being accepted to so many good schools, waitlisted at Northwestern deserves a congrats too!</p>
<p>UI and Marquette are so different that it would be difficult to compare the two. </p>
<p>UI has one of the top creative writing programs in the country so I would assume that the journalism school is good. I don’t know anything about Marquette’s j school. </p>
<p>My guess is that UI would give you an advantage for internships and employment opportunities because it’s a Big 10 school that has a big alumni network in the Chicago area. </p>
<p>Both schools have good reputations. Have you visited both of them? It seems to me that you should choose the school that fits your personality. </p>
<p>Do you like a big campus or a small campus? Public or private? Huge school spirit? Sports?
You will be spending four or more years of your life at the school you choose. Think about the big picture. </p>
<p>Finally, if you where waitlisted at Northwestern I would assume that you qualify for merit scholarships at UI. How much more will Marquette cost you. It’s a private school and they are generally much more expensive than public flagships. </p>
<p>You have some great choices, enjoy!</p>
<p>Lauren,
Marquette and Iowa were my son’s top two choices as well, which is remarkably rare. Most people I tell this to say “huh?” because they are so different, except that they both have good biomedical engineering programs, which is my son’s major.</p>
<p>For us, Marquette wound up costing 5k/year more and there was no justification to spend the additional cake. Crunch your own numbers and you’ll likely find the same. We found MU to be pretty cheap with merit aid.</p>
<p>I echo lovemykids2’s comments on big vs. mid-sized, urban Milwaukee vs. small city, Big Ten vs., well, nothing but basketball, public university vs. Jesuit. These are really up to you and your visit to both campuses will tell you a lot.</p>
<p>With respect to your major, you are wise to look at your employability in both cases, esp. as the job market for journalism is extremely tough. You need to research this on your own (or maybe someone here can help). I know that Iowa was more attractive to us because opportunities (esp through their Honors program) to do research on campus and to find “experiential” learning opportunities was better than MU’s. I cannot guarantee this would be so for your majors but my educated guess is that Iowa has better infrastructure than MU for helping you find career-builidng opportunities. Iowa’s Honors program is full of opps for driven students to broaden their experience beyond the classroom. Does MU have something similar? Hmmmm. I’d be surprised.</p>
<p>Have you been admitted to Iowa’s Honors program?</p>
<p>With your intended major it is imperative that you get meaningful experiences before you graduate. My niece graduated UW Madison in journalism and she’s working a nonpaid internship a full year after she graduated. You need to thoroughly research how you’ll get these experiences at each school.</p>