Journalism @ Syracuse (chances would be great, too!)

Colleges & Universities A-Z Syracuse University
1

<p>I've heard that Syracuse has a great journalism program, but I'd love to know more about it (and possibly political science)!
I'm also definitely interested in learning about the honors program and merit scholarships, as well as chances for those and general admission to Syracuse. Here are some stats (I'm a rising senior at a competitive public high school):</p>

<p>-3.95 GPA unweighted, around 4.75 weighted (top 10%, probably ranked about 35/520)
-straight As in all classes including APUSH and AP English Language save for a B sophomore year in Algebra II Honors
-will have taken French I-V and AP Lang by graduation
-just took June SAT (scores are not back yet), but I did receive a 209 on the PSAT and was National Merit Commended</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Marching Band (colorguard member, guard captain this year)
-Winterguard (flag soloist)
-Student Newspaper (copy editor, junior editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief this year)
-Model U.N. (vice president)
-Student Council (9th/10th/11th class representative, executive rep. this year)
-Gay-Straight Alliance (executive outreach chair)
-Relay for Life (team captain, organized colorguard performance, student volunteer coordinator)
-Teen Events Planning Committee (for newly-built public library in area)
-Beta Club</p>

<p>Thanks so much for reading this (I know it was kind of exhaustive) :)</p>

2

<p>beacuse u dont have your sat score yet, its hard to judge, but according to your psat scores, your sat's should be really high. I think that you need to take the sat II in writing at least and that would give you a better shot. Their Journalism school is top notch. They are currenty (supposedly) tied for first with Northwestern for broadcat journalism. They also have a very good law scool which might help with you poli-sci question. goto the website and check out these schools. <a href="http://www.syr.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.syr.edu&lt;/a>. the website is VERY handy; everything you need to know is on there. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Ooo they'll like the gay-straight alliance thing tons. Anything to do with diversity in your essay and they'll probably salivate. Your record's wonderful, I'm sure you will get in with honors. The journalism school isn't THAT hard to get into. Really, I got in with honors and merit scholarship of $12k (that's the highest merit schol you can get unless you're one of the like 8 that get a full merit shcolraship or somethign crazy like that), and my GPA was 3.55/4.0, tho I go to a horribly competitive high school, it's like the oldest HS west of the mississippi and 75% azn, my SATs were 2150, and I didn't get anything for the PSAT, though being a national merit finalist gets you special rewards and stuff. I wish I'd studied for it, who knew you'd get so much out of it? Oh and I had an essay on being open./accepting of ...gay people hehe. (I live in San Francisco!) My ECs were alright, not as good as yours. Check out the average SAT scores for SU, they aren't high at all, but I forget how much higher the journalism school is supposed to be...</p>

4

<p>leah: frankly, with a GPA like yours, you would have to screw up quite badly to NOT get into Newhouse. </p>

<p>Our journalism school IS one of the best in the nation. My knowledge of it comes from my work at the Daily Orange. They are a weird bunch, no doubt, but very intelligent, well-informed, and professional. There are numerous other publications and media programs on campus that you can become involved in. The professors are ALWAYS willing to help students out - be it in-class, something for the DO, or even just a shared interest (or even not!). They have some of the best professors, and few people don't enjoy their time in Newhouse. They are in the middle of constructing an addition - Newhouse III - which will greatly expand the journalism school. So you can expect the latest technology, if you come to campus.</p>

<p>As for the poli-sci department, that is my area of expertise. I find the major requirements themselves a joke (10 courses / 30 credits). But the professors are generally very good. These people have distinguished backgrounds - former diplomats, ivy-league grads & professors, award-winning authors, activisits, etc. These people know their stuff, and opportunities abound. I haven't had a bad professor yet at SU, and particularly in the poli sci department. The courses are definately not as rigorous as I would have liked, but I've gotten used to having to teach myself things. Bother them after class, focus a research paper on an area you would like to learn more about, get a book from the library's immense collection on everything political...the resources are certainly available. Plus, we have what I consider to be the 2nd nicest building on campus (Eggers/Maxwell hall, after VPA (the big brownstone)). Classrooms in Eggers are nice and new. Since the (graduate) Public Administration program is ranked #1 in the country, we attract many high-level professors. Guest lecturers are frequent in-class and on-campus, and again, if you look for resources, you will find tons.</p>

5

<p>Thanks so much for your responses!</p>

<p>Yeah--I'm thinking a major in print journalism with minors in poli sci and French would be perfect for me. I also love linguistics, but I don't know if I'd be able to include that (definitely want to have time for..social pursuits lol).</p>

<p>How has your experience been on the school paper? That's something I'd certainly want to be a part of because I'm seriously thinking of copy editing as a future career (takes a special kind of person to check people's terrible grammar every day :) ).</p>

<p>Also, how's the political scene on campus? I basically live for politics (I'm a crazy liberal haha), so I definitely want the chance to be involved with activism in college.</p>

6

<p>My job at the paper is as IT manager - I'm just the computer guy. I am a non-voting member of the board of directors, but this coming year I hope to assume the position of "student representative to the board" and become a voting member - I have tons of ideas that I think would get a lot more consideration if I had a vote. I hang around sometimes at night when they work - the office is a 2-story house on the edge of campus. The paper is entirely student run, except for the executive business director who works during the day (my boss) - but he's mad cool. Anyway, some of the kids are a bit weird, and there are some pretty strange inside "jokes" and such, but they tend to be very down to earth people, and very intelligent. We are ranked one of the top 10 university newspapers in the country, I believe. Our designers have gone on to some of the best and most lucrative positions in the industry, and our alumni are employed by top institutions across the country. Students are even PAID - the hours are long (6pm to 12/1am - for copy editors, sometimes as late as 3am), but it is still a perk that most other newspapers don't have. </p>

<p>The political scene sucks. Hardly anybody is active, politically. I don't know much about the College Republicans, but they keep a low-profile, thats for sure. The College Dems, of which I am a member - well...just as in the real party, there is a lot of in-fighting, and we just had a leadership coup in the last weeks of the semester. I hope it is for the better, but still... I consider myself a fairly liberal person, but their beliefs hinge on radical liberalism - so much so that I generally want to keep away from the club. I would like to become more involved, but it just doesn't represent me. Hwoever, we did launch the first student-run PAC this past semester, and although things have gotten off to a slow start, our executive director will be working full-time this coming year (she just graduated), so with some luck we may become something worthwhile. Local politics is a real hoot. I'm more the type to get directly involved, and meet-and-greet the politicos, than simply show up at a College Dems meeting and complain about the world, or go through the internship department of the university. I take personal initative, and so far, in my first year at SU, it has paid off fairly well in political connections. One simply needs to keep an eye open for opportunities.</p>

7

<p>Hey--thanks so much for your response.
The part about the "coup" in the College Dems club made me laugh. </p>

<p>In a post on another thread you said you'd met some politicians I admire, and it's impressive that you've taken that kind of initiative for yourself. It's definitely true that every situation is what you make of it.</p>

<p>I think I'll probably apply to SU because there seems like a chance I could get in their honors program and the communications school and student newspaper have great name recognition. I'd only be able to go with a merit scholarship, but I obviously can't predict how that'll go.</p>

<p>You seem like you have a couple similar interests to me, and if you've been able to have an overall good time, I'm sure it'd be possible for me to do the same (although I'm all for socialism, and that's certainly clear on the other end of the spectrum as opposed to anarchy haha).</p>

<p>..and maybe I can have my own personal coup and get the school color changed to something prettier. lol</p>

8

<p>The honors program is a bit crazy - this past year they really cranked up the requirements, and many students dropped out of it. I don't know the particulars, but you should definately check them out before applying to that program - don't just assume it's your run-of-the-mill honors program. However, the kids who are in there are very smart, and I am friends with several. In my opinion, they're some of the few people on campus who are worth spending my breath on. </p>

<p>Merit scholarships are so-so, it is my understanding (because I sure as hell won't ever get one). I think the honors program throws some extra finaid at you if you get accepted. Still, I pressed them for more money and was able to get a full ride [not that I deserved it, but it was literally the only way I could afford to go to -any- college; nobody in my family has any credit to get loans out].</p>

<p>As for my username, it -is- derived from political anarchy. Back many years ago (starting when I was 13) I had an interest in political philosophy, and made a small website detailing my ideas of how anarchism would work in the United States. It was all based on ideal conditions, and would never work. And what I had constructed, I later learned, was much closer to Marxism than anything else (produce what you can, consume what you must). And as I realized that people will need to be kept in line, and a judicial system formed, I gradually thought through several other political systems until (independently) arriving at the conclusion that representative democracy is the best means of governing. But all that aside, I feel that I have never left behind my rebellious, argumentative spirit, and so I have kept it as my alias online all these years :-)</p>

<p>I'm sure you'll be haunting these message boards for a while to come, but do let us know how your application to Syracuse goes. I may or may not be remaining at SU beyond this coming year, but if I am, I'd be glad to meet you and show you around the joint. The more smart people we have, the better.</p>

9

<p>Few people worth your apparently virtually divine breath (humility's a virtue, ya know)? ;)</p>

<p>Good thing you came to your senses with the no-organized-government-at-all thing haha, and thanks again for all of your help.</p>

10

<p>omg. u have a 4.75 and youre number 35 in your class? omg. my class was dumb as hell then.</p>

11

<p>^Ugh, I have the same problem at my school. One B and you're toast as far as ranking goes...be prepared to drop 20-bazillion places. Haha.</p>

12

<p>Yeah--it's pretty ridiculous..I know a girl like 15 places above me and our GPAs are different at the 4th decimal place lol.</p>

<p>Plus, I'm not uber-competitive to the point that I'll kill myself for .0005 quality points or something. Good or bad thing, I'm not really sure, but I'm happy so it's probably alright. haha</p>

13

<p>our val had a lower gpa than u ^^^</p>

14

<p>C'est la vie. :(</p>

<p>haha hopefully I'll still get in somewhere..</p>

15

<p>I'm the parent of a current Newhouse junior, majoring in PR. Another consideration you might look into is a double major of journalism and policy studies. Apparently, many students do this. My daughter will probably go the policy studies minor, but really struggled with making that decision.</p>

<p>Regarding the honors program - she is still officially a student in it, although she hasn't done anything since her freshman year (you can't just drop out - you have to go file some papers or something to be removed from their list). I think she made more friends who were not in honors and felt sort of removed from them. She has maintainted a very reputable GPA, with mostly all A's, except for second semester freshman year when she got mono and ended up with 2 B's.</p>

<p>She is most looking forward to her study abroad semester next January in London; we've heard wonderful things about it. Also, she got a paid internship this summer with a publishing company 20 minutes from our house, I think in part due to SU's reputation. A few years ago, this publishing company hired an intern who was a Newhouse student from our high school. He interned two summer, and I think they were very pleased with his training, so it made their choice easier when they were looking for someone for this summer.</p>

<p>She also was awarded a founder's scholarship of $12,000 year, which is what allowed her even consider SU (UNC was her first choice, but it was the only school she was rejected from). She got a 31 on the ACT and was #10 in a class of 470. She also had many honors/AP classes, was news editor of the school newspaper, NHS, and has some other EC's. </p>

<p>From a parent perspective, I will tell you the most frustrating part of SU is getting there. We are in the Chicago area, and have had nothing but horror stories flying in and out of Syracuse, until we let her take her car back - now she drives to Buffalo and flies Southwest (the most reliable and reasonably priced airline I've ever flown). We had tried every airline at every time of the day, and we've even used Amtrak (which was the cheapest and most reliable although they tend to run late). Syracuse just doesn't seem to be a top priority for airlines when it comes to reliability (although she has earned a couple of free trips from being screwed so badly). She's had cancelled flights, delayed flights, been stranded in a layover airport overnight, etc. So, if you're not within driving distance of your home, take this into consideration.</p>

<p>If you're looking at communications, you might also want to consider UNC (their out-of-state admission rate is very low), Ithaca, Boston College and Penn State. Someone mentioned Northwestern - yes it's a great program, but not quite as easy to get into as SU. Northwestern puts a lot of emphasis on the essay, so if you're a solid, creative writer, that would definitely play in your favor. The valedictorian from our high school just finished her freshman year at NU and loves it (my daughter's best friend). The valedictorian from this year was not accepted into NU - his stats were great, but he basically had no EC's, and minimized electives so as to increase his GPA (this was a freakishly bright class and very competitive - 8 national merit finalists out of 520 students). </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>