Not sure where the initial stats were found. I’m on the Hofstra outcomes page.
I put in Herbert School of Journalism
Shows 92% working. 17% grad school. 15% both.
I see where the other poster got the 42%…in communication. But 16% is in media/arts. There’s technology. Maybe someone is doing a podcast or making corporate videos. And there’s ‘other’ - is that Starbucks or working for the Yankees?
Shows 71% had internships. On average 2.8 internships.
Employers include ABC, CNN, ESPN, MSG, NBC and more. Of course I’d argue a BJ major wants to be employed in Fargo ND or Durango CO and they likely have some of those folks.
Many ‘journalism’ type skills can be used outside of journalism such as podcasts, corporate training, etc.
If journalism is the dream, I definitely wouldn’t drop Hofstra just yet. I’d see how college radio and tv are vs UNF.
Anyone who knows my posts makes fun of me or criticizes me for typically being all about the $$. But in this case, and most will not make it in journalism even from Syracuse, but if you are chasing a dream, you need your best chance and I think Hofstra provides a much greater chance than UNF(even though on air success is unlikely. I wouldn’t say that about USF.
Like everyone has said get with them on specific outcomes. Get names of graduates on air. Or google journalist + Hofstra + LinkedIn and reach out to a few via email and ask to discuss their education. I see a lot of names and if you go to page 2 you’ll find a sports reporter in Montana and news anchor/producer at a small market in upstate NY. Reaching out to a few can help inform your decision.
I don’t believe in throwing in the towel on dreams.
Ok, I am about to commit heresy at CC: If you fear that your son is not motivated enough to make the most of college or justify the cost, has he considered the military? In the service he would get training in a useful skill, would be forced to adopt structure in his life, learn some discipline, gain maturity and develop leadership skills. If he is bright enough to gain admission to reputable schools he would score well on the ASVAB and have a good selection of Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs), many of which are in high demand in the civilian world (logistics, aircraft maintenance, etc.). He would be eligible for the GI Bill, which provides for a decent monthly stipend at college, and there are a host of scholarships and grants for veterans. The DoD is very supportive of education, and there are likely programs where he could start his undergrad degree while still in uniform.
The vast majority of MOSs in the US military are not in the combat arms, and the chances of going in harms way for someone with a technical skill are almost non-existent. He could enter the Air Force or Navy and spend his entire career working on aircraft, decoding signals, or tracking satellites thousands of miles away from any conflict.
I went into the service after college and working for a few years, and frankly, I wish I had gone in right out of high school. Out of the service, I went to grad school at UIUC on a veteran’s grant and did not pay a red cent in tuition, and the GI Bill paid me $450/month. I was not mature or motivated enough for college out of high school, and the difference in my performance at grad school and undergrad was night and day.
The final benefit is that employers love veterans.
For whatever reason I know a lot of “wanted to make it in journalism” folks AND several “made it (or making it) in journalism folks” and I’m not sure this post is accurate.
The folks who make it were most emphatically NOT chasing a dream. And most of them did not major in broadcast journalism or anything related. They majored in poli sci and history and econ, they got their first internships because they had written for their college’s newspaper, blog, or TV station based on their extensive book of “clips” and they doggedly worked on every single assignment handed to them. The boring ones- covering local school committee meetings, the complicated research-intensive ones-- doing an analysis of property taxes going back 50 years to see if the town or city had been culpable in racial redlining, and the fun ones- getting to be the junior person on the campaign plane because you had a reputation for understanding AND being able to cover tax reform or minimum wage or universal health care that the candidate was touting AND was able to turn around coherent prose that the public could understand.
I don’t call that chasing a dream- I call that paying your dues. And for the ones interested on the technical side- a cameraperson who lives near me who has one several Emmy’s for coverage and reporting, the folks who integrate a media properties blog/digital footprint and TV/radio/newspaper content- it’s even more dues paying because it’s harder to snag the complex assignments which show your range.
OP- only your son knows if he’s got the tenacity and fire in the belly to pay his dues for the ten years after he graduates. And for sure getting a well rounded education- intensive writing, technology, technique-- is important and will contribute to that. But the content is important as well- you can’t report on politics if you haven’t done a deep dive into American history, and you can’t report on healthcare if you can’t read a epidemiological chart put out by the World Health organization.
So I’d be more focused on the “best” and most rigorous education and less focused on which journalism program is more or less prestigious.
Heck, even sports reporting requires actual content knowledge (and not just about the difference between basketball and pickleball). Watch the nuanced discussions of race when covering the NFL vs. owners. Read the increasingly complex reporting on brain injury and concussive falls in hockey and other contact sports and do we understand the links between boxing and dementia. Check the blogs about various labor controversies, lockouts, drug testing for many sports.
You need to be an educated person who knows how to research, how to learn, how to do proper citations, the difference between a primary source and a secondary source, to cover these issues. Having good teeth and a nice smile covers a tiny percentage of the professionals who work in the media industry, but having a solid education is required for everyone else.
Also figure in the cost of 6 flights plus Uber per year to NYC. Holidays can cost extra. Throw in storage costs. Add more if you plan to go with him. Add hotel costs.
NYC is expensive for a college student on a budget.
You could drive it but I suspect once will be enough.
If loans or cutback on retirement savings is on the table for Hofstra then stop the conversation.
Our S20 applied to Fordham. He loved the Lincoln campus. We knew it was a bad idea. We pulled the parent card and said no way. Luckily he didn’t get enough merit. He landed where he was supposed to.
Don’t disagree. Journalists come from many majors. There’s a classics from Princeton on CNBC, lots of other majors. Some schools…the Cuse when I went…required a double major so every bj had another major. Hofstra requires a minor. .
My point on chasing the dream is that many give up right away. Go to law school. Get regular corporate jobs.
There’s a difference in success level between let’s say someone who wants to become a teacher or accountant or engineer. Most anyone who meets the qualification for those can fulfill a career.
There is no true qualifier for a broadcaster (and you can add actor). It can be what you said and more. There can be nepotism. Sexism…,ie if you are female and don’t look the part, it’s tougher to get on air…can happen to males too. There’s so many who desire but fewer that could obtain and earn a living.
For those that persist…and many have to live in isolated areas or work on contract or at levels far below the cost of living for many years….they are chasing the dream. Hence I use that term….as an ex BJ guy who chased longer than most my classmates (only a year) but still fell short.
This is why I suggested researching and contacting those from the school in careers…easily done via LinkedIn and it seems more from Hofstra…and reach out to a few and talk to them about their experience, their preparedness, etc for positions in the field. The major is unique vs others and talking to people about their programs will give more perspective.
It’s not an easy field. Anyway. I wish ops son luck. I hope he finds his passion….and it all works out. But if you don’t go for it…ie don’t chase the dream, while your odds of success aren’t great, you might forever regret it.
My kids knew cost would play into the final decision, but we did not set a specific price. It really was going to depend on the available choices and costs come April.
Does the $36k include him taking the Stafford loans? As others have said, don’t forget the cost of three or four trips home each year.
Looking at rankings, Hofstra is higher rated than UNF, but not UCF. Does UCF have a decent program he is interested in? A less popular major can really make a large school seem smaller.
I don’t think I would spent that much more for Hofstra over a decent in-state school.
This student was described as not being particularly motivated when it comes to school, the parents are “working on it,” and they worry about his success away from home. It was also stated that loans may be necessary later on.
I would sit him down and have an honest conversation. What made him choose this major? Has he expressed an interest prior to this point? Is he on a HS radio station, in a journalism or writing club etc?
I would not send him to Hofstra, given the reported lack of motivation and the possibility of loans. I would have him choose an in-state school and offer to pay for internships out of state, help pay for grad school if he proves himself and is interested later on etc. If he is truly passionate about broadcast journalism he will make it work…and will try hard to get appropriate internships.
So over 6 years they (Hofstra) are 70% and well above UNF. But other factors may come into play.
As for ranking, in journalism you want to look at the major rank and not school rank.
For example no one would rate Ohio U or Mizzou highly. Yet if you wanted to study journalism. they would be near the top of the list. Weather broadcasting - Ms State.
@blossom points out that you don’t need a bj degree to be a broadcaster and this is 100% correct.
But if one wants to study broadcasting then you want to be in a bj program. You can get bj experience as a non major/minor but you cannot study.
Your outcome could likely be the same however.
For the student not motivated, depending on their passion, their fortunes can change. As a BJ student you’re not reading or writing intensively like a Poli Sci or sociology major. You are interviewing, investigating, writing for air, etc. so the academics will be entirely different (in major classes).
A sports fan might excel in a class practicing play by play vs reading about The Gilded Age in a history class.
It doesn’t make a successful career outcome and as was pointed out top broadcasters are savvy about so many areas of life including history.
But on an academic side, if the student is passionate about the work, their motivation can bring a 180 regardless of school attended.
The fact that not only has OP’s son been accepted to reputable colleges but has also earned significant merit aid at them indicates that while the child’s motivation may not be as high as the family might wish, the student is unlikely to be doing mediocre work. So although time in the military would almost certainly improve his discipline and many other qualities, I don’t think it’s necessarily the best path for him unless he wants to join the military. At least many moons ago, the military also had positions writing for the military newspapers, and perhaps there’s a military broadcast station as well? At least a possibility to consider.
I agree with both @blossom that journalists need to have some content knowledge about other fields to understand the topics they’re supposed to write about and with @tsbna44 about the value of an institution with a top, specialized major in a field that is notoriously challenging to break into and earn a livable wage. And the amount of additional practice that a major in broadcast journalism would produce over someone who was merely at the college tv station as an extracurricular is highly likely to be evident in the work they produce.
Has OP’s son visited the Florida universities and had departmental visits with their broadcasting/journalism/media/whatever he’d be majoring in at them?
Entry level positions perhaps….but there are many higher level behind the scenes folks who earn a very very good living in the broadcast journalism field.
Well of course she’s talking about younger people in the field, those who have worked less than 10 years in the business, but isn’t that where OP’s son will be? She worked at the large daily paper for 20 plus years and she didn’t make all that much money for working crazy hours, but loved it. Then she worked as an instructor at a university in the media department so was involved with students just starting out in the business. She’s written a lot of recommendation letters and follows where these people end up.
Most jobs don’t let you start at the top. She’s finally making good money and is on-air and a producer, but she’s been in journalism for 45 years.
As @blossom said, most in journalism have or develop a niche, like history or politics or sports to get them to the next level. My friend’s was politics but she was also the religion reporter for a while, the education reporter, etc. Just about everything but sports.
My D23 has been pretty clear since the end of her freshman year about what major she wants. I initially balked, but have since realized it’s actually a very good fit for her and she has demonstrated a passion for it through her ECs. Once I accepted her choice of major, I took it upon myself to research the best schools for that major and have taken her on a bunch of tours of those schools. So as far as the major goes, she’s the driver and I’m the research assistant. As to the school/degree program itself, I’m more the driver. She has a good match, a good safety, and a couple of in-between schools on her list, but the top school for the major is a highly competitive reach. She doesn’t really care about it (it’s one we haven’t visited yet) but I’ve been pushing for her to get as high an SAT score as she can so she has a shot (her grades and ECs are sufficient; no SAT score yet). We can afford all of the schools, so for us the cost is not a factor.
For my D19 we had a budget. Now that budget wasn’t really finalized until Feb of her senior year.
She had choices that were cheaper than the budget and ones that were more expensive. Her #1 choice was more expensive than budget. We explained loans and how they worked. She eventually decided herself on a school that was slightly more than budget. Overall I think she made a good choice for value. I am not sure what I would have done if she did choose the more expensive one. Not sure if I would have let her got into that much debt.
All that being said she is quite happy she will graduate with no debt for undergrad. She knows what some of her friends have in store for themselves.