Plan II at UT -OR- Medill at Northwestern?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I was recently accepted into the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern in Chicago, but also in Plan II (a prestigious honors program at UT), and I have no idea where to go. </p>

<p>I live in Texas, thus going to UT would cost me in-state tuition and Northwestern 50 grand. </p>

<p>Plan II
- accepts mainly people within the top 5%
- small classes, world famous professors
- rejects many valedictorians apparently
- approx 300 accepted out of 1300 that apply
- access to UT's resources
- killer study abroad program
- Austin (great city, good internships, offers internships internationally/nationally as well)
- Daily Texan (most awarded student newspaper in the US) </p>

<p>Medill School of Journalism
- number 1 or 2 journalism school in the US
- very near Chicago (internships such as working for the Chicago Tribune, contacts, etc.)
- hyper-focus on journalism, however students are required to take classes outside the school, so i could easily double major
- in a beautiful campus, though the weather BLOWS.
- NW is ranked 10th or 11th best in the US</p>

<p>both UT and NW have a notable pool of alumni. </p>

<p>so. i have a month to decide. any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>One thing you may want to consider is NW’s changing journalism program. I was interested in NW as well, but was pretty disappointed when I heard of all the changes they are making due to the forecasted decline in print journalism. I don’t want to go into detail now, but here’s a post from another CCer that I came across once…</p>

<p>"Also, one final thing: if you’re interested in journalism, and drawn to Medill, you shouldn’t be. Yes, it has been a top journalism program in the past, but consider these things:</p>

<p>1) Medill is the best print journalism school in the country. Sadly, print journalism is dying, so the prominence of print journalism is declining accordingly</p>

<p>2) The school has shifted to focus more on the marketing aspects of journalism than on the writing aspects of journalism. Medill recently added a marketing certificate program, which is starting to comprise increasing amounts of Medill’s professors and resources. This shift started to occur in the summer before my Freshman year, when Dean Levine took over. If you want a good laugh, google “Medill Dean Levine” and read about his history with journalistic integrity. Bottom line: journalism doesn’t matter at Medill, marketing does."</p>

<p>I personally would not want to go to NU and have to learn about podcasts and broadcast journalism and whatnot, when my passions for journalism solely exists in writing…something to think about before you make a decision. A lot of Medill students have been upset with the changes, including one girl I know…</p>

<p>While Medill is ranked higher, Plan II sounds prestigious and worth it: it’s cheaper, you’ll be more competetive and get more personal attention to help you actually WRITE AND REPORT…in the end, employers care about your hands on training…your newspaper clippings, not which school you went to…if you can write, you can write. Plus, UT is an amazing and respected school with plenty of reporting opportunities and internships in the area…also, you might want to check into the study abroad program even more–do you know if they have any journalism aboad type programs? Or any journalism classes offered in certain countries? That might make it even more worth it to go to UT.</p>

<p>**Here is a link to some journalism study abroad opps. for the summer…
[School</a> of Journalism - Study Abroad](<a href=“http://journalism.utexas.edu/current/abroad/index.htm]School”>http://journalism.utexas.edu/current/abroad/index.htm)</p>

<p>Good luck with your college decision!</p>

3

<p>Yeah, Plan II has study abroad classes in Rome and I’m sure can accommodate my journalistic interests in some internship abroad. </p>

<p>Thanks so much! That was very helpful :).</p>

4

<p>My, journalism schools are taking a hit on cc this week. There is another thread in which most posters (other than me) are telling a kid with unemployed parents to turn down a total, complete full ride plus perks to Missouri’s J-school to attend Pomona–on loans.</p>

<p>I’ve heard good things about Plan II, but I also like Northwestern and the city of Chicago. Your decision should take into account what sort of debt you will be taking with you after undergraduate life, whether your parents are ruining their retirement to send you to college, etc.</p>

<p>The points about the marketing focus at Medill are very interesting, also. Decades ago, I started life as a journalism major, but despised the required marketing courses so much I changed my major.</p>

5

<p>The weather. The cost.</p>

6

<p>What is in-state tuition? Assuming the difference is 30K a year, I think that’s just too much unless your parents are pretty rich. I’d pick UT.</p>

7

<p>Tuition at UT is around 20 k. </p>

<p>I just hope that if I do indeed pick UT Plan II over Northwestern, I won’t regret passing up the 10th/11th (I forgot what it is exactly) best school in the US.</p>

8

<p>Plan II at UT is wonderful and would make a lot more sense given the money.</p>

9

<p>Don’t make your decision on the basis of someone’s ranking system. Decide according to what is best for you, taking into consideration cost, opportunities, location, program appeal.</p>

10

<p>I think I would pick Plan II at UT. Great school, great program.</p>

11

<p>It seems Plan II has the practical advantage. However, in terms of applying to graduate school, wouldn’t it be better to have a degree from Northwestern rather than Plan II? </p>

<p>I have no idea what would look more attractive to graduate admissions/applying for a job - a degree from an honors program (I don’t really know how prestigious it is… to my understanding it is very well looked upon) or a degree from NW. I understand I shouldn’t pick based on rankings, but I’m just looking ahead. </p>

<p>Any thoughts :smiley: ?</p>

12

<p>UT, NU is great but not worth the extra cost.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Above a certain level–and Plan II at UT is above that level–graduate admissions are far more dependent on faculty recommendations, research record and GRE or GRE-type scores than the identity of the school. If you go to UT and impress regular faculty (by that I mean not temporary/adjunct faculty, post-docs or graduate students) and take full advantage of your opportunities, there should be no disadvantage to UT.</p>

<p>For jobs? I don’t know enough about the networking for these two schools to comment. Texas has a lot of alums, though, and is very well known. My guess is you would do just fine.</p>

14

<p>Two years ago my D was accepted to Medill. It was the only school she applied to within 350 miles, of home, I think. Yes, the focus is (has) changed, and there were subsequent problems with a Dean in the school. I don’t know what the situation is now, as she chose another school. Journalism does not pay well, in general, but wherever you go, take lots of intensive writing courses, history and lit courses, for example, so you can learn from the various styles you encounter. Good luck!</p>

15

<p>I have a friend who is virtually in the same dilemma (except he’s not in Plan 2). EVERYONE at school has been telling him to go to Northwestern. Our English teacher, a Columbia University alum, said that Austin is a hard journalism market to get into. Though you would stand out w/ the Plan 2, you would still compete with all of the UT kids. Overall, Northwestern has a better journalism program, and finding opportunities in journalism in Austin is SO competitive cause you’re competing with other UT kids, who are more likely at a lower level than you are. Second of all, my friend told me that Northwester has an accelerated masters program, so think about it this way, in 5 years, you can have a masters in journalism, so you wouldn’t even have to go to grad school for journalism. That would probably be cheaper than undergrad and grad combined if you went to UT, and since you’d have a master’s before ppl your age group, you not only have a degree that they do, but you have more years of experience. Second of all, my english teacher also said that in a liberal arts field like journalism, it’s tough to get anywhere without a degree from a good name school (because of all the competition). Overall, Northwestern is a better name than UT. Even if you’re in Plan 2, it’s not as distinguished as Northwestern because it’s just a program within UT. When I was interviewing for Georgetown, my interviewer said that most of the time, it doesn’t even matter if you were in an honors program at your school, so saying you were in Plan 2 at UT probably wont carry much wait.</p>

16

<p>
[quote=]
Overall, Northwestern is a better name than UT. Even if you’re in Plan 2, it’s not as distinguished as Northwestern because it’s just a program within UT. When I was interviewing for Georgetown, my interviewer said that most of the time, it doesn’t even matter if you were in an honors program at your school, so saying you were in Plan 2 at UT probably wont carry much wait.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A little confused by this… UT has more highly ranked academic depts. across more disciplines than Northwestern per the NRC, USNWR grad program rankings, London Times, etc. So why does Northwestern automatically have a better name? Northwestern is definitely more selective as a private (something UT can’t by law match), but UT is still on the same level, if not higher, in terms of overall faculty/departmental quality and research accomplishments. So a Plan II undergrad degree is certainly as distinguished as Northwestern.</p>

17

<p>Guys, thanks so much for the advice. </p>

<p>I just want to make it clear, I’m not completely sure if I’m going to go into journalism as a career. I was actually interested in law, business, or international relations and want to write for a journal or magazine (such as the Economist or Newsweek :D) on the side or be a correspondent of some sort. Journalism is definitely not going to be the only career for me; it’s more like something that is going to support my main career. </p>

<p>Keep that in mind :), I really appreciate all the advice.</p>

18

<p>I recommend Northwestern too, but after looking at your last post have your considered maybe Columbia for your masters. it has a joint Journalism and Law degree program. Or still go to NU and then go to law school.</p>

19

<p>I’m curious because I’m in a similar predicament (except add USC Thematic Option Honors Program + full scholarship to the mix) and don’t have much time to decide… So what did YOU choose? :slight_smile: (A “why” would be helpful as well!)</p>

20

<p>Why do you want to do journalism from Plan II…I’m not an expert on this program (although it is long standing and prestigious), but aren’t most students looking to go to med or law school due to the sole liberal arts curriculum that Plan II is?</p>