@Shortstack17 oh I don’t mind at all! I love talking about college and my family and friends get tired of it after a point I totally understand the “parents not being supportive” aspect of the college search. My mom always argues there’s no jobs in journalism and wants me to major in business. My dad just wants me to learn how to write and communicate. I just want to do what I love to do
@WindyCityKid yeah I’m just afraid of going into something, then being bored for the rest of my life! With my parents they tell me that I’m “too smart” to go into something like journalism. I know they just want me to be able to support myself, but I don’t want to hate what I go into.
Btw, what do you think of Loyola? I’ve heard mixed reviews about it
@Shortstack17 go read the recent post by BUterrier on my “Class of 2020: Follow The College Journey” thread. Really gave me some confidence with the reasoning as to why I would go into journalism. I think it’s a worthy read for anyone seriously considering it because they love it but worrying about the money.
Also, don’t really know much about Loyola. My family friend goes there, and she likes it, but nobody that I know from my school goes there. I could get you in touch with her if you wanted to, she’s pretty friendly and I’m sure she’d answer some questions you had.
@WindyCityKid Alright I’ll check it out. And that would be awesome! My parents are really nervous about me looking at schools in the city bcuz they’re worried about safety. Especially since I’m a girl…with no strength whatsoever haha. But I can’t live under a rock forever you know?
@Shortstack17 haha totally! I love the city personally (I might be biased because I’ve lived here my entire life) but it’s definitely not for everyone. I just shot a FB message to my family friend and I’ll make sure to message you when she replies! I know she was from the suburbs initially so it definitely was a change for her. She could probably give you some good advice
@WindyCityKid Thanks!!! And hmm if you end up at Northwestern can you handle…suburban life!!! (duh duh duuuuuh)
@Shortstack17 haha no Evanston is basically mini-Chicago and nothing more than a 30/40 minute train ride from the heart of downtown! It’d be like continuing to live in the Chi
Start checking net price calculators and merit scholarships. The out-of-state public schools on your list may be unaffordable.
Let me repeat for all those who love to write - there ARE jobs in journalism. In broadcast news - the need for web producers and newscast producers is very real. There are jobs. Graduates find jobs. We can’t fill the openings we have.
As MaterMia said: there are jobs if you can write well and have technical skills. Get involved in your campus newspaper, get internships with startups and broadcast channels in the city, be very familiar with anything web-related… in short, get the skills you need.
In addition, you don’t need to major in business in order to find a job in a business. You can major in history and find a job in a business. What will matter is 1° your skillset and 2° your internships. Taking CS/digital media/statistics classes would be well advised, but other than that, a strong, traditional major is better than a business major from a random school, especially the “general business administration” major. Your ability to find internships is essential, so check out the career center’s strengths as well as the career fair or alumni network. In addition, if you ever want to have an MBA from a top school, your odds are better if you majored in something other than business (top MBAs prefer people with quantitative, linguistic, and/or logical skills - engineering, math, economics, philosophy, foreign language and literature with study abroad experience, etc.) Note that top schools rarely provide straight business classes - either they have a “traditional” major to tack a business certificate on (Northwestern’s approach) or a dual curriculum that emphasizes liberal arts as well as business (Stern, Wharton, Mendoza…)
I didn’t see much out west, but maybe consider ASU honors college. Great journalism program, decent business, one of the top honors colleges, it would likely be very affordable/scholarships.
@4Gulls - Columbia’s Journalism School is only for graduate students.
I will second that ASU has a very strong journalism program and honors college. The J school is in downtown Phoenix, separated from the main campus, which was the ultimate turn off for me. However, I could see others loving that kind of location, and especially that weather. ASU has really good out of state scholarships as well that are automatic.
Like I mentioned in the other thread, Mizzou has an awesome program that is helped out by its alumni network: The Mizzou Mafia. Plus, with your ACT score, you’d be eligible for their Walter Williams Scholar for journalism which is very prestigious. Scholarships are nice there as you’d probably get their Mark Twain scholarship for out of staters.
@Baseball03 Haha yeah I’m really interested in Mizzou! After I speak with one of their current students later today I’ll let you know how that goes. I haven’t really heard too much about Arizona State, is it worth taking a look?
Arizona State is worth a shot if you would be willing to live in downtown Phoenix, seperate from the main campus. The sports there are huge, and they offer an awesome journalism program in the middle of a big city. Additionally, their honors college, Barrett, is very well respected, and considered among the tops in the country. They also offer great scholarships that are automatic. I think you should definitely look at it and determine what is most important to you in a college. Ultimately for me, I wanted to be on campus with 30,000 other students, and that was not possible at ASU. Had their J school been in Tempe, I’d likely be heading there in a year from now.
I will note that the downtown Phx campuses are getting more popular. Besides ASU, U of A has one (it might just be the college of medicine though) practically next door and there is a law school (for profit, but still). I imagine the nightlife/community is really picking up.
Whaaaa, a for profit law school??? With the shortage of jobs in that profession and the overabundance of graduates from legitimate third and fourth tier, and even 2nd tier law schools? Aren’t law schools supposed to be accredited? How can these pretend schools be allowed to exist?!
College of medicine are unlikely to help the nightlife I would imagine
How could people go to schools that literally tell you their objective (to make money) before you walk in the door?
It’s a topic for a different thread but some people want to go to law school so badly they think the cost worth it. The tuition for out of state at the public law schools is only a couple thousand more (but about 18k more than in state). They do give some excellent practically free rides to get some high stats kids and the facility is a lot of former judges, etc. That said at $42k tuition not something I’d ever recommend.
If you are actually considering living in Columbia, MO for four-years, please consider Indiana too. IU is better in business and on par in journalism. University of Kansas isn’t bad if you are looking for big publics, Lawrence is an amazing college town.