I’ve been accepted into college as a Journalism major. I plan to double major in Journalism and Political Science, it’s just too early to declare just yet. I want to be a broadcast journalist. In journalism, experience is more important than anything else. I have experience with newspapers, so at this point, it’s my comfort zone. But, the whole point of college is going outside of that. I’m good at writing articles and I can see myself freelancing a little post-college but my first interest is in broadcast.The colleges I’ve been accepted into all have extra-curriculars that are great for journalists. My options include: college newspaper, radio station, and some have TV stations. I see how all of these options could help me. See, I had a talk with an employee at one college and he said, “Wow, it’s great how involved you are. What are you going to do in college?” As a senior, I’m Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, President of the Book Club, and a member of the community service corps and foreign exchange club. On top of that, I also work. And I did sports as an underclassmen. And I said, I don’t know, probably nothing. And he was shocked. He was like why wouldn’t you? And I said I don’t know, I didn’t think there’d be time, didn’t think they mattered as much. I am truly passionate about those things. I was doing them for myself but also a little for colleges. And I didn’t think employers cared about them, but apparently they do. While I don’t regret being involved in what I’m involved in, it does feel like too much. Not even so much as a time commitment but the stress at times of being in charge of 15 students in one club, 30 students in another club, and planning events, notifying everyone about meetings, thinking about the club outside of the club. I did sign up and say I’d be interested in work study, I will want to take on internships. Fitness is a really important part of my life. I’m typically in the gym 6 days a week. So, I want to be involved but I also want PLENTY of free time to enjoy college and maintain good grades.
Typically, how many extra-curriculars are college students involved in? How many are recommended? I was thinking I would just pick 1 (like the TV station). And perhaps, I could submit a couple articles for the paper.
ECs are not as important as internships or co-ops.
However, realize that working on a college newspaper or TV station is essentially an internship (in most case), not a club. The level of dedication is such that at some colleges, the jobs are work-study or count as paid internships.
I double-checked at my college, and they have three full-time non-student employees. They help organize the students and ensure continuity as new students come in and other students graduate.
I would doubt any but the top private schools and largest best-funded public schools would have a school newspaper like many college newspapers, especially at a school with a journalism program.
In addition to the three full-time non-student employees, there are eighty students listed as staff at my college’s newspaper, with 20 in major roles. Obviously the full-time employees take care of a lot of things that a student spending 10 or even 20 hours per week would not be able to.
Being in a major role, let’s say at least 10 hours per week, on a college newspaper would be sufficient as an EC for a journalist. Taking on interesting stories would help as well, not just fitting in as a cog in the wheels. And the higher you get, the less you have to be the one emailing “the team” with updates, you delegate that. Or if you are a reporter, you are told what stories to follow or you are asked to develop stories in particular areas of interest.
ECs in general aren’t as important for college students as they are for high school students. While it is certainly important to show a range of interests on grad school applications and such, it’s more important to show that through internships and research experience rather than ECs. I’d say that the simple answer is to participate in a number of ECs that will allow you to explore your interests without taking away too much of your time.
You need to be involved in those EC’s such as your college newspaper and tv station to be competitive for the internships at actual TV stations and newspapers. Mass Comm is an extremely competitive field and the more experience you can get the more qualified you will be. Choose activities that will help you develop the skills and qualifications you need to pursue your goal. Each is a stepping stone to something bigger and provides you with opportunities to expand your network.
Employers don’t care about college ‘clubs’. What they do care about is things that expand your skills in the areas you are interested in working in. I would think the TV station and/or newspaper would be very good experiences – you are lucky that there are activities on-campus that are directly related to your long term career goals. But also… there is something to be said for doing at least one thing either just for fun or because it makes you feel good (like volunteering). Make time for a few things, you won’t be sorry.
Employers aren’t going to see all ECs as equal. Being a member of the campus Harry Potter Fan Club might be fun, but it’s not going to make you a more appealing applicant. If you’re majoring in mass communications and you’ve done ECs such as student newspaper, or a student radio show, then it’s going to look much better. ECs with a bit of substance and real world relevance are going to look much better. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t join the Harry Potter club. It just means that you shouldn’t join the Harry Potter club with some type of ‘goal’ in mind. Join the Harry Potter club because you want to run around on a field with a broomstick playing a mock quidditch game…not because you think it’ll help you get into grad school or find a job.
You’d probably have one journalism-related activity, which really would be like a 10 hour internship, then you could pick whatever you LIKE, intramurals, quidditch, arts&craft, Society fort Creative Anachronism, political science academic fraternity… for the opportunity to meet people and discover something new.