<p>I am a Communications major. I am a freshman. I'm a first gen student who knows nothing about college besides what I read on the net (my family is no help... nobody went to college/most didn't graduate high school).
So I'm asking the parents of CC for some assistance~~ PLEASE. :)</p>
<p>My school is not a top-ranked university, but is known for other things. Mainly studying abroad. This would be internships abroad or just studying abroad at a university that is well-known for your program.</p>
<p>I want to transfer for various reasons, but mainly to open up more opportunities for my future. The schools I have chosen to apply as a transfer are known for their communication programs and alumni connections (USC, Syracuse are examples). My school is known for its international/global programs (that would explain the studying abroad hype!).</p>
<p>Now my dilemma is... what is better for my future? Internships in another country sound like an amazing opportunity + something awesome to put on my CV but so does an internship at a well-known American company (which I see my potential transfer schools can offer its students!).</p>
<p>Just wondering if anyone could help me sort this issue out. </p>
<p>Of course, there are deeper concerns in transferring, but I mainly would like to graduate at a school that will open many many doors for my career path.</p>
<p>It may be possible to transfer and still do study abroad. Most major universities – and that would include Syracuse and USC – have study abroad opportunities. But it may take careful schedule planning to take advantage of them, especially for a transfer student.</p>
<p>Syracuse has an amazing communications program. If I were a communications major, I would do pretty much anything to go there.</p>
<p>It is possible both to study abroad and do interenships here in the US. My D (college senior now) studies abroad fall of her freshman year, and interned through a program at her college during the winter/spring semester that same year. Then she had another internship over the summer after junior year. And has yet ANOTHER (unpaid) internship during college (part time, obviously) during her senior year. So it isn’t an either/or proposition.</p>
<p>But if you have to pick for some reason and do study abroad OR internship(s), I would honestly recommend the internship route for the purposes of getting a job. Unless you have a particular interest in international relations, then probably study abroad makes more sense.</p>
<p>Good luck with your transfer applications. But a basic reminder… think carefully about increasing your debt coming out of school if your target schools are more expensive. Communications might not land you the best paying job, and you don’t want to be stuck with a lot of debt coming out of school. If you have to take out big loans to transfer, think twice.</p>
<p>Does money have any bearing on your transfer? Many schools are not as generous with transfer students as they are with students that began studies at their campus.</p>
<p>Syracuse and USC are both great in communications, but both are very expensive schools.</p>
<p>Would you be able to get an international communications experience/internship at the school you are at now? That could help shine up your CV when compared to job applicants from other schools more known for traditional communications.</p>
<p>@intparent: May I ask where your D studies? That sounds pretty awesome!</p>
<p>@boysx3: Money is a big concern but USC and Syracuse both meet needs at/close to 100% while my school is around 50% (stats according to collegeboard). So do my other choices - very close to 100%. Also, my current school has about same price tag as USC.</p>
<p>From the research I’ve done, 100% needs met would help a TON more than 50%? – Someone correct me if I’m wrong on this, I’m quite clueless about this. (Not sure if 100% could mean 100% in loans or something…?) </p>
<p>Also, I’m not completely sure to the internship question. Internships are primarily focused in government/law (think parliament-esque) so I think I’d really have to beg/dig for one related to my field if they are abroad.</p>
<p>She is at a top 50 LAC in the east. But this could probably be accomplished at many other schools. I would start by checking with the study abroad/off campus study department at schools you are applying to. Sometimes they handle both abroad and US based off-campus experiences. D’s semester internship was through a program her college (and several others) participate in call The Washington Semester. Although many of the internships are with government agencies, there might be communcations opportunities with government contractors through that same program or a similar one. So you need to find out what the different schools you are interested in offer regarding programs in the US that might have an internship or co-op experience.</p>
<p>The summer internship and the part time one during the year she found through her own elbow grease (an early start and aggressive, organized search did not hurt!).</p>
<p>I do think it is harder (not impossible) to wrangle an internship abroad. I can’t tell from your comments for sure, but I think there are definitely internships in the US for communications majors (in case you aren’t sure). Seems harder to find abroad unless you are SUPER fluent (native like) in the language.</p>
<p>You could try the new calculators that each school has recently put up on their website to see what kind of aid package you might get (although the accuracy certainly won’t be perfect and they won’t commit to those exact numbers, it still might give you an idea what to expect).</p>
<p>Before you assume that USC will meet your need, look at how much of their aid is in loans. Their program for NMFs is well-known. What is FA like for everyone else?</p>
<p>Thank you guys for the info about the calculators. Wish I knew these existed earlier. I checked with the schools I plan to apply to.</p>
<p>Estimated COA after everything would be about:
$6,800k - USC
$10,000 - Syracuse
$2,700 - UNC Chapel Hill (OOS) - From the research I’ve done UNC is very generous to OOS students too so I hope this is accurate enough.</p>
<p>So overall these estimate prices end up being significantly less than my current (USC being a little more than 1/3 its price) . I hope these calculators are accurate enough - the money itself is already convincing!</p>
<p>students at USC have said that the calculator gives an accurate estimate of FA packages they have been offered. </p>
<p>Individual schools weren’t required by law to have FA calculators until very recently. </p>
<p>I general private U’s/ colleges with deep pockets are able to offer more FA than public U’s. In General. I would visit the UNC forum and ask specifically about FA packages that transfer students have been offered. But get your app into USC asap.</p>
<p>The situation at UNC may be changing, since a number of seats in the legislature have recently been bankrolled (ie, purchased by means of dumping huge $$ into advertising for a specific candidate) by someone who advocates cutting its budget, according what I’ve been reading.</p>
<p>Consolation, thank you for the heads up. Had no idea this was going on. I have yet to do more research on other schools such as UNC-CH since my top choice is/has been USC. I should definitely look into that and perhaps save myself $80!</p>
<p>Are there other PRIVATE U’s to consider as well ? as I mentioned above" In general, private U’s/ colleges with deep pockets are able to offer more FA than public U’s."
These days, with the economy being what it is and with states facing cut backs, ANY public U is likely to be facing budget cuts.</p>
<p>Others on my list were: Pepperdine, Cornell, NYU, Ithaca, Northwestern, BU, Emory, and Mizzou. Pepperdine was an ideal location (I want to be in the west, closer to home), but FA calculator was roughly $25,000 (net price). The rest are just big reaches for me. USC itself is a reach already but I can’t even fathom getting into Cornell with my stats.</p>
<p>Most of the top communications program in the west are public and OOS, like UT Austin, UCLA, UCSD… Sadly. </p>
<p>USC and Chapman are two on my list that are west AND private. USC’s calculator was a nice refreshment and Chapman was about $9,000 - not bad. </p>
<p>Syracuse and UNC-CH are on my ‘now’ list but I was considering dropping them due to location but Syracuse has a raving fanbase when it comes to their communications program.</p>
<p>My list now is /basically/ this due to all the circumstances:
USC - Private
Chapman - Private
Syracuse - Private
State Flagship
UNC-CH (but likely to drop)</p>
<p>I would pick USC over Syracuse any day. But if you dont apply, you wont have choices come Spring. So go for it. USC does accept about 1000 transfer students each year, so if your stats are in line with accepted students there, then let them know how much you want to come!</p>
<p>Apply to a broad range of schools, and don’t get too attached to any one place in advance. Aim to have choices in the spring. Don’t forget that you can appeal FA awards.</p>
<p>Re Syracuse: the Annenberg School is highly thought of. They have had a generally great creative writing program. Other than that,I have always thought of it as one of the private schools that is not worth paying for over most state flagships. </p>
<p>Have yo considered Ithaca College, or, if you are a NY res, Geneseo?</p>
<p>I know 4 students who are currently at Chapman and their parents say that they love it there and received good FA packages. I have only spoken to 1 parent about academics specifically - son has had several internships in LA (film, production, business) and been very happy with experience and opportunities.</p>
<p>menloparkmom,
Just wondering, why would you choose USC over Syracuse? Are you talking about the school in general or specifically its communications program? </p>
<p>And thanks for the encouragement! Been working on my app since. :)</p>
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<p>Why is it I see a lot of people saying USC is “too expensive” but at the same time many say that their FA packages are extremely generous? Confusing part. </p>
<p>I’ve actually visited Ithaca when I was back East and it didn’t stand out to me. Just to clarify, too, I’m from the southwest and not NY. My ideal location would be to stay west, too, but I dont think I have room to be /too/ picky if I get accepted to 'cuse and not USC. (Just saying)</p>
<p>My state flagship would only be a choice if I really really really really could not afford any other schools. It has a terrible communications program (past students regret saving money and getting their comm. degree there).</p>
<p>@saintfan: thanks SO much for that tidbit of positivity about Chapman! I only know one person who went - who loved it, but had to drop out for an unknown reason and I wondered why. Just started looking at the supplements for it on commonapp! :)</p>
<p>“Are you talking about the school in general?”
Yes- Syracuse does not offer much beyond beyond the communication program. USC has 20 different schools including a well know School of Communication AND a tremendous alumni network that is known for its ability to help fellow Trojans land jobs after graduation. </p>
<p>“Why is it I see a lot of people saying USC is “too expensive” but at the same time many say that their FA packages are extremely generous?”
ignore them. there are a lot of USC detractors out there. The students who actually GO to USC and who have received generous FA are the ones to listen to. </p>
<p>what matters most is what the USC calculator indicates your costs will be.</p>