Hey, CC! Recently, I was accepted to both Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications for advertising and Penn State’s College of Communications for advertising/pr. Hoping to commit soon, I’m faced with an extremely hard choice. I hope to work in the creative department of a major agency during my career.
Penn State is the significantly cheaper option of the two. (Mid-$40k as opposed to high-$60k). The alumni network is huge and simply cannot be beat. I visited the College of Comm and was intrigued by the small, personal feel I got. The program itself is not earth-shatteringly prestigious, but it is good nonetheless. From what I understand, getting big internships is extremely competitive, but if you really stick your head out, it is definitely possible. To me, Penn State is the quintessential college experience.
Syracuse, the far more expensive option, is a smaller private school, but houses the Newhouse School, which is known for its world-renowned connections and internship opportunities. I feel like I would be missing out a huge opportunity to not consider it, though, originally, I had been considering other programs over it. Although the social life at Syracuse doesn’t attract me as much as Penn State’s, the only thing really holding me back in the cost.
Is it worth it to go into a huge amount of debt for the Newhouse name or is PSU the better option? Please try to answer as objectively as possible, realizing the prestige of Syracuse’s program. Does Penn State present similar opportunities for students? Which is, overall, the smarter option?
I don’t think it is EVER advisable to go into a lot of debt for a degree. My guess is that you will get the same kind of job coming out of either program, so the debt has to be factored in. PSU is not in a big city, but they do have really good connections to internships and also the largest career fair west of the Mississippi. Employers wait years to get into that career fair. I would not be concerned with PSU’s college of communications for PR. I know a few students who’ve done quiet well with internships and jobs after school for the PR program. It is a controlled major so you will need at least a 3.3 GPA to get into the major your junior year. But other than that - if it’s between PSU and not as much debt and Syracuse and more debt, I’d go to PSU.
Go to Penn State. It’s not worth it at all to spend more money than you have to for a degree in advertising or PR. You don’t even have to major in advertising or PR to have a very successful career in advertising or PR. I’ve worked at PR agencies, and I always prefer candidates who majored in a liberal art discipline (psychology, philosophy, economics, biology, history, etc.) To be good at advertising or PR, you have to be a top-notch critical thinker and you have to be curious about the wider world. You can learn the mechanics of the industry on the job.
Debt is never good, and in all things Penn State, you are as successful in the competition as you decide to be. There’s a Hollywood semester, a DC program, a COMM-organized meet and greet career night in Manhattan (they take a bus in and schmooze with alum), workstudy in PR in town and on campus, study abroad programs and “embedded” courses (course ends with a trip of some sort). COMM has staff devoted to internships. S2 was accepted in both programs (diff major) and had a job well before graduating.
If Newhouse means more than the federal loans (if your parents have to take loans for you for instance) then Penn state.
Do complete your major with a CLA major or minor, such as SODA or Interarts/Media.
I completely agree with this. Or it can be a liberal arts discipline like psychology, foreign language, linguistics, history, etc. IMO, it’s not worth it to pay al the money just to study “advertising” or “PR.”