I did not say that kids should not study journalism. I am saying that also should be part of the discussion, if not 3-4 years ago, at least now. Kids should think through whether it fits into their larger life goals. Their larger life goal setting process should include some thought on financial literacy/planning. This phrase financial planning is often narrowly interpreted as how to save / spend / invest money. It should be more broadly interpreted to include understanding what majors and career lead to what financial outcomes.
And not because people here feel he may not make a lot of money. Are his financial goals consistent with his own careers goals? He doesnât need to present this to this forum if that is what you think is being suggested here. That conversation needs to happen in the family.
Incidentally, fwiw: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/careers-broadcasting
Going to the instate school would also allow him to take internships he might otherwise not be able to because of the cost. You might be able to pay for him to take a summer in Chicago or Denver or San Diego at a TV station paying minimum wage (with cost of living being much greater than minimum wage can support). You might be able to afford the car he needs to get to a job or internship.
Iâd be careful about asking Hofstra for extra money. What if they offer $5k? Is that enough to tip the scales? For me, it isnât. Iâd have to ask them for a specific amount, like $15k, or that the COA be $20k.
If your son qualified for full Bright Futures, he is doing quite well at school and taking it seriously. Qualifying for takes a high test score, a 3.5 gpa, finishing his community service hours and taking the required classes. Congrats to him.
We had a one on one general session with Pitt. My daughter was shocked. Needed to be far more involved than she was prepared for. At Oklahoma and FSU our dept visits were 1:1. It happens. Especially when you go to academic areas.
Hofstra is known as solid for journalism. Frankly, the smaller the program or size, the better experience, more practice they will get.
You already assumed mid 30s for private so thatâs not the issue. The issue is saving $110k over four years and thatâs fair.
It does sound like Hofstra is within budget although your budget included family pain.
The wildcard is USF. They are solid. Maybe the cost comes in between. You said itâs unlikely. But you never know
I hate that youâd consider taking financial pain. I do believe his odds of opportunity are FAR superior at Hofstra vs UNFâŠ.if he takes advantage.
Donât forget to keep merit, he will likely need to retain a certain GPA. And donât forget, many colleges raise tuition each year. And the off campus housing cost may be differentâŠfor future years. At most, but not all schools, they are lower as kids drop meal plans and share houses to reduce costs. At my daughters school living off is much more expensive. Yet there she will be second year. At my sons school living off saves thousands. How are these schools for off campus costs ??
With our kids, we have been pretty up front. They know I bought them a prepaid college plan for our state that covers 2 years of community college and 2 years of university. It is a college education we have offered and they will be able to go to college. That was the focus.
Which college depends more on them. We told them early on- If they earn bright futures, then theyâll also be able to live in a dorm due to that extra money instead of picking a local college to commute to. If they earn NMF, they will have a wider selection of 4 year schools at no cost. If they want to apply for super competitive scholarships at various schools for an even wider selection, they can do so. We have provided for a basic college education. The rest is kind of up to them, and it seems pretty fair. They did work hard in high school and it does appear they will earn BF and hopefully NMF as well. However, if they werenât the best students and didnât earn those, they still would have had CC and 2 years of university available.
Fortunately, we dont have to speculate. Hofstra publishes that 71% of their journalism students had internships and 42% are working in communications after graduation. OP can research similar data for whatever in-state public schools under consideration.
I agree that whenever anyone considers a potential vocation, that it should be based on more than just interest in the field. Some of the factors include
Likelihood of getting a job in the field that is self-sustaining (a concern if one wanted to be an actor, for example)
Whether that career would meet or exceed oneâs financial desires (perhaps a salary of $45k is fine, but not $20k, but doesnât need to be $80k either)
Educational requirements and the ability to complete them. Some people donât want to do 8+ years of postsecondary study which would be necessary for some fields (MDs, fields requiring a doctorate). Others may not want to take on the loans necessary to complete the education.
Lifestyle factorsâŠmaybe a type of job requires someone to always be on-call, or that the expectation is that people are working 70+ hours a week all year round. Even if one likes the work that one is doing, if it doesnât meet your wishes for life balance, then it can be out.
Geographical factors: Perhaps the job might involve frequent relocation (say, military) or perhaps it can only be done in a limited number of locations and you donât want to live in any of those
And high schoolers frequently have little concept about money and how much it takes to live. School projects that require a student to select a possible career and then find housing, transportation, etc, that fits in with that careerâs likely salary and complete a budget (food, utilities, etc) can often be helpful for making finances more real for students (i.e. $30k might sound like a lot until you find out what living expenses are), or that $50k in Indiana is not the same as $50k in New York City.
But once a student has researched a field and figured out that theyâre okay with the expected outcomes of the field, then I think that students should be fully supported based on whatever restrictions that a family has set out.
If OPâs son has researched the broadcast journalism field and decided thatâs where his current interests lie, I donât see why he should be discouraged from entering it. But I think that all students (regardless of their declared field of interest) should do research and self-reflection to see if the field will be a good fit for them.
Is there an option for him to stay in FL for a year or two then transfer? If his work ethic is one of your concerns, maybe you require 1-2 years at a FL school. If he rises to the occasion and maintains his grades you can then support him transferring somewhere. My best friend in HS had to do that. Her parents felt she wasnât ready for the school she really wanted, so she had to put in 2 years at a different U before transferring.
Agreed. But presumably anyone actually employed in journalism (as well as others) would choose that category among those offered (healthcare, retail, etc). So likely not all the 42% in communications are actually working in journalism, but certainly not more than that of the grads are.
We had only 1 other student/family on our Michigan engineering tour this summer. It was interesting to have it so small, but they were just really limiting how many could go at any time.
We are in a similar situation. We did have the conversation about cost up front and he knows we can do Michigan at the top of our range. (in-state). Right now he also has much less expensive choices, like U of Alabama. I havenât really figured out how much to push either way. Saving $30k/year is amazing, but is it worth me just telling him heâs heading to Alabama? Even MSU is $10k/year cheaper. All are within our budget, so itâs tough. We are making sure heâs really considering the cheaper ones and understanding what that means for future financial help, but at 17, thatâs tough to sink in fully I think.
So, Iâm sure this doesnât help you, other than to know others are in the same spot.
Interesting, but I donât want him $80k in debt when we told him what our budget was and heâs within that. Seems like that would have needed to be part of the original conversation a year ago.
Congrats to you. Actually 3 solid programs and all will give u opportunity in automotive if thatâs an interest. . Obviously UM has the rank but compare outcomes and salaries. There are numerous examples on this board, and my son last summer of kids from âlesser schoolsâ interning side by side with top school kids. My son was invited back to his job this summer. His ga tech counterparts werenât.
Most jobs pay the same wage regardless of school. My company does âŠwhether u went to ga tech or kennesaw. And we have both
Best fit matters. Debt matters. If u can afford it nothing wrong with going to where he feels best. If it impacts the familyâs quality of life, thatâs a consideration to look into.
You will many kids chasing rank. And many chasing $$. Smart kids can be found at all three programs.
It may be hard but realize you win no matter the choice. Your son, not the school, will determine His future. Good luck.
OP: I think itâs very unfortunate you are changing the rules of this process midstream. We worked with our daughter on a really good list, ran the NPCs and told her what the budget is. There is a possibility my daughter could be awarded a full - tuition scholarship. That would play into her final decision, but the other schools wouldnât automatically get eliminated as a result. This doesnât mean taking on debt â the money is there.
Regarding journalismâ it has changed a lot since I was a working journalist. For most itâs a young personâs career and not well paid. It also is fun, exciting and can translate into many other careers. Most young graduates now are likely to change careers several times and do jobs that donât yet exist. Itâs a perfectly fine career path and there are a lot of entry level jobs you could get with that degree.
Broadcast journalism is particularly dependent upon physical attractiveness, isnt it? Not saying there is anything wrong with that, but the few I knew ( female) had experience in beauty pageants. Very poised, lovely, adept at hair and makeup. Started in small remote markets and worked their way up to bigger cities. Needed to have a certain look the station wanted.
Who says rules are being changed? Not everyone has the knowledge to do things as you did. Or circumstances change. Or you give it more thought. Or the NPC didnât work out correctly. Or you realize maybe your kid should be closer to home.
Or maybe you are changing the rules because you realized in time that it is the smart decision for all involved and the kid will get over it if he is upset. More likely he will understand and move on.
No, youâre talking about anchors. Broadcast journalists can also be behind-the- scenes producers, assignment editors etc. Because government, corporations, nonprofits all expanding into multi-media communications, the ability to quickly write, edit, film and do on-air reporting is a very desired skill.
