<p>I'm going to be a senior next year, and I'm hoping to major in journalism, preferably somewhere close to Massachusetts (in Massachusetts is nice, but nearby is cool too). I've looked at a few schools, but a lot of the schools that I like don't offer Journalism (so I'd probably just major in international studies or political science or something and try to participate in journalism-related clubs if I chose one of those schools).</p>
<p>So far I've looked extensively at Tufts, Middlebury, Boston University, and uh, really that's about it (I've eliminated a lot of others). I realize that all of those are basically reaches though, so I really need to find some safety/match schools. If you'd like to just recommend schools with good journalism programs in the New England area, that would be appreciated. I've also included an outline of my high school stats, but I don't expect everyone to read through all of it.</p>
<p>Standardized Tests:
SAT I:
Critical Reading 680<br>
Math 700<br>
Writing 800
(Total: 2180)
SAT II:
Biology M 690<br>
U.S. History 560
I plan to retake all standardized tests, because frankly I'm not satisfied with any of those scores and I know I could do better if I practiced/studied a little (I didn't study or practice at all for my SATs or SAT IIs the first time around, and I hadn't even had a history class for months).</p>
<p>School Record:
Class Rank: 6/253 (Top 5%)
GPA: 3.88
(this was at the end of my first semester of junior year, it will be going up once I get the calculation for the end of junior year, and I have a feeling that my class rank will go up a place or two also).
Classes taken junior year (I could only fit two APs into my schedule):
AP Biology
AP English Language & Composition
Honors Pre-calculus
Honors US History II
Honors Spanish III
Music in our Lives (useless, useless elective, but the only one available in the slot I had free that wasn't full).</p>
<p>Extracurriculars and Awards:
I'm a little low on these, sadly. :\ I changed schools in late freshman year and kind of stopped participating for a while out of nervousness.
Freshman Year:
Quiz Bowl
Model UN
Sophomore Year:
HOBY Leadership Conference (Summer)
I also started a job as a cashier at a grocery store during sophomore summer which has lasted over a year so far and will probably last until I go to college. I work Fridays and weekends during the school year (from 4-8 hours a day) and 4 or 5 days a week in the summer.
Junior Year:
Art Club (Vice President)
Interact
Book Club
Wellesley College Book Award
Summer internship at local newspaper
Senior Year (planned):
Art Club (President - already elected)
Interact
Book Club
School newspaper and/or yearbook (I'm going to try to get on if they don't interfere with anything else)</p>
<p>my sister graduated from NEU with a journalism major and she says that it was a very good program especially cause of the co-op cause once she graduated she had already had more than a year or so of experience in working in what she was actually studying......you should look it up Alyce</p>
<p>if NYU is a match, then I'd imagine BU and Tufts would be too? I'm not sure about the OP's assessment of BU and Tufts as reaches in the first place.. 700ish SATs + top 5% + 20 hrs/week of work + decent but not spectacular ECs = matches there? I would imagine reaches would be around where Alyce is just above the lower quartile mark in SATs which would be lower ivys I think?</p>
<p>I think Tufts and BU are matches, Middlebury might be a reach. You should look into possibly Williams/Amherst as reaches too, both are in MA and have very strong English/Poly Sci programs.</p>
<p>you don't need to be a journalism major to become a journalist. Experience and internships are going to be the key, not your major.</p>
<p>And for that matter if you have an aptitude for science or languages it would be better to major on one of those fields AND pursue journalism via the school paper and internships. Lots of humanities majors are scared of numbers and science, a reporter who can cover the science beat or businesses that have a tech product are much rarer than journalism majors. Same with foreign languages; how many reporters in this increasingly international world can speak anything but english?</p>
<p>Yes, many people like you said in your original post will major in English, Poly Sci, or whatever and go on to be journalists.. you shouldn't limit your search to just schools with good journalism programs, but look at schools with good programs in those subjects that relate to journalism as well</p>
<p>My Sister had a very similar resume as you and got a huge financial aid package from URI and is now the assistant editor of a prominant magizine in Los Angeles earning a hefty salary and is as happy as a clam.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on what she changes her mind to. Journalism is the best school at Syracuse, followed by Management. After that, everything else is pretty comperable to every other school in the region (BU, BC, PSU, NYU, etc).</p>
<p>So, I'm kind of liking the idea of studying something else as a major and keeping journalism as either a minor or an extracurricular type thing. I'm just not sure what else I would major in. I was leaning towards International Studies or Political Science for a while, and Biology before that, but at the moment, nothing particularly interests me, haha. Hopefully something will come up this year so I'll know what to do.</p>
<p>my advice would be to pick something outside of the orbit of the standard liberal arts such as poli-sci, econ, history, etc. Of course you should pick something you really enjoy, but if you have an interest in an area that most other journalists are not well versed in this could prove very useful for getting your foot in the door (and in your career). So the sciences are good for that, so is International Studies especially if it allows you to learn one or more foreign languages and to spend time abroad.</p>
<p>Keep in mind many/most people change their majors in college, because there's just so much out there they've never been exposed to in HS. However this is usually between somewhat related majors (or in the same college); I think its rare for someone to enter as a poli-sci and change to physics, for example.</p>
<p>Be forewarned that Syracuse has the worst weather in the entire nation. It is almost unbearable, and if you are a person who likes sun once a month, I would not even bother looking there. It can be downright depressing. </p>
<p>It is true that one can major in anything and become a journalist, but I think journalism programs are too often dismissed because they are not a traditional part of an LAC education. If you attend a school with a top journalism program, you can really have an edge on kids who have no idea how to do basic tasks journalism requires, especially if you want to go into any broadcast field. The person with the best experience with real-world experience gets ahead in journalism, and if you know how to shoot your own stories, write in a news format, etc, it will show. Plus, most good schools with journalism programs REQUIRE a majority of liberal arts requirements.</p>
<p>Adding onto what CityGal said, any worthwhile journalism program will require at least one internship, which will hopefully really give you an edge over someone with a degree in something else. It could even become the beginning of a career at that particular publication. What I've heard people recommend (and what I'm considering doing) is double majoring in journalism and a more traditional area of study, if you can handle it. Whatever you choose to do, be sure to get involved in your campus newspaper, yearbook, or radio or TV station. Good luck!</p>