<p>I was recently admitted to several great schools for journalism. I've ruled out NYU and Boston U for several reasons, and I'm now stuck between Michigan State, Indiana University Bloomington, and Syracuse University (S.I. Newhouse). I plan to major in journalism, and I know that SU is extremely selective and a great school, but it's also extremely expensive and I'm late on the FAFSA/financial aid process so I doubt they'll give me a lot of money/scholarships anymore. MSU offered me some great scholarships already. Nevertheless, I'm STUCK! I've never visited SU so it's hard to make an informed decision, and I've got to decide soon.
I'm also a US citizen who has grown up all over the place and am graduating from Holland this summer, so I want a welcoming, diverse student body/campus. I'm originally from Michigan, which is another reason I lean towards MSU.
I'm also preoccupied with the idea of turning down a great university like SU for one that's less reputable in the communications field in the "real world."
Help please!!!!!!! I need some opinions.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, IU-Bloomington is comparable academically and socially to MSU so if MSU is the cheaper option then go with MSU. Syracuse is definitely a great school especially for journalism but the city is mehhh and my friend who transferred from MSU to Syracuse said that the social life at MSU >>> social life at Syracuse (if that means anything to you…just one person’s opinion). I’m not so sure the additional cost would be worth it but ultimately it’s up to you! </p>
<p>Obviously I’m biased as an MSU student but I love it here! If you are interested in print journalism the State News (MSU student newspaper) is pretty highly regarded nationally among college student publications if you can get a job there. And although I’ve heard mixed things about the quality of the MSU journalism program (some good profs, other not so good profs, and a mediocre at best journalism advisor), a couple of my friends who are journalism majors have gotten sweet internships at CNN and Big Ten Sports network so there are definitely opportunities to break out into the journalism world here. There are also some pretty cool research studies that the Comm Arts dept. sponsors (I worked for one my freshman year, and my best friend is working for another study right now). now).</p>
<p>Go with the cheaper school! </p>
<p>The most important thing for you to know is that your future is going to depend on what you do, not whether you attend some “best” college for journalism. Plenty of kids from great schools such as Syracuse or Missouri are going to struggle to find jobs because they didn’t spend the time laying the groundwork to be attractive to employers. To be sure, going to a top school and taking advantage of all the resources puts you in a great position. Bottom line, however, attending a top school doesn’t guarantee success, nor does going somewhere else prevent it. </p>
<p>If you peruse older threads on journalism majors you’ll find posts from real live journalists that echo not only that advice, but will tell you that you don’t need to major in journalism; in fact other majors such as one in accounting or science may be better preparation since you’ll have abilities the average aspiring journalist doesn’t have (as long as you be sure to also be involved in as much media as you can while in school). I urge you to talk to some real journalists and get their advice on how to prepare for a career in journalism rather than relying on what anonymous posters (often 17 years old) think about how you prepare for it.</p>
<p>And it should be no surprise if you’ve done your research that journalism tends not to pay well, and in fact many people get their starts working in a small market at very low pay. This means you want to get out of college debt free if possible, or with as little as you can, so that you can afford to take one of these jobs.</p>