Pomona vs. Mizzou J-school

College Search & Selection
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<p>Thanks for the insight, sra. It’s especially nice to hear from students with a more intimate knowledge of the schools. However, I’m not looking into newspaper journalism, but more along the lines of magazine, broadcast, and convergence. </p>

<p>For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing some soul-searching to determine which careers I’m most interested in. Here’s the list. I wish I could be a combination of each of these. Perhaps, in some capacity, I can. I know that, for instance, in order to be a producer (of movies, not news, though that interests me, too), one must have the money to produce. This is something I’d like to do later in life after I’ve made my millions in some other way.</p>

<p>EDIT: I just re-read the last statement. This sounds ridiculously presumptuous. Guess I’m idealistic in regard to my future!</p>

<p>The fact that I’m so unfocused is a bit problematic. I am a skilled writer and speaker. I love taking pictures and making movies. One minute I dream of being white house press secretary. The next it’s editor-in-chief of Vogue. Then I picture myself with my own political commentary tv show. I’m also interested in politics, and running for office, too, is appealing. </p>

<p>Does this list change any of your opinions as to where I should go?</p>

<p>*trial lawyer</p>

<p>POLITICS
*Political scientist
*speechwriter
*press secretary
*media strategist
*political commentator</p>

<p>MOVIE-MAKING
*location scout
*producer
*director
*video editor</p>

<p>PUBLIC RELATIONS
*Pr executive
*media buyer
*marketing/ advertising/brand manager</p>

<p>MAGAZINES
*columnist
*editorial director
*photo director
*art director
*creative director
*art assistant</p>

<p>MISC. JOURNALISTIC STUFF
*media critic
*news director
*Broadcaster
*photojournalist
*editor</p>

<p>Most of these things fall under journalism’s vast umbrella. My father argues that Mizzou will allow me to be any of these. But will I enjoy the experience…? Ugh!</p>

42

<p>^ Must disagree with you Sra08
My older brother is a journalism major (doing occasional photo journalism) for SUNY Purchase. </p>

<p>Purchase is known for their drama/arts program, not their journalism. Yet my older brother is managing to get a job for the NY Post, as well as having game(locker room, on the floor passes) to the Knicks, Mets, Yankees, Rangers etc very frequently.</p>

<p>Especially that Pomona is near LA, a major hub for journalism, I think Pomona would provide you with greater opportunities for internships.</p>

<p>SUNY Purchase certainly does not have a “name” on the street for most people, as Pomona (on the East coast at least) certainly does not have as much weight as it should have. However, if you’re a good writer you will make it anywhere, most definitely.</p>

43

<p>Look at most editor’s background, some of them have no journalism major background, instead they have a Liberal arts background.
you honestly need to take into consideration the fact that you may find the journalism major not satisfying, and if you do, you would have sacrificed an overall strong school like Pomona for a school that is particularly well known for a department. Don’t make that mistake.</p>

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<p>For better or for worse, journalism is not a department or a major at MU. It is an entire college, has its own dean, etc.</p>

<p>Just as a clarification.</p>

45

<p>My mistake; I assumed journalism meant print journalism. Pomona does have a small radio station, but again, it’s not what you’ll find at a larger school. The LA area is a plus, though you still have to be pretty aggressive in your job/internship search because there are a lot of students in the area. And I’d try to find out more about Pomona’s internship grants, and how competitive they are to get. Pomona won’t give you the hands-on experience that Mizzou can give you in terms of most media jobs, but it is possible to get that experience through internships, and Pomona certainly can give you an excellent liberal arts education, which is different than being a Journalism major. Certainly Pomona has a strong reputation among law schools, if you go that route. </p>

<p>I imagine that it’s quite possible to get a job in politics, or really in any field, by going to Pomona, enjoying the great liberal arts education, but also preparing yourself for the job market. Pomona has great career services, and there are definitely perks to going to a well-endowed LAC. My career counselors, for instance, have videotaped me during mock interviews several times and gone over the interviews point by point with me. That kind of service is (probably) harder to get at a large state school. There are a lot of other “perks” like that in addition to the small classes, quality of education, etc. But Pomona’s name and network will not get you jobs by themselves, and there are some clear disadvantages in terms of opportunities to acquire “hands-on” experience. I don’t know much about Mizzou, but I did look into the University of Oregon’s journalism program as an undergrad. Journalism students there put out their own magazine and TV station, and that seems very valuable. Going to graduate school, especially for a Master’s, often means more debt, as I know too well, so there’s also an advantage to graduating without debt. At the same time, I really loved my LAC experience at Claremont because it allowed me to explore my interests intellectually and not necessarily have to settle on a career right away. (Of course, I had to go and pick academia as my career, which is quite risky.) It sounds as though you’re not entirely sure about what you want to do. Pomona will give you the chance to explore, some great resources, and will not prohibit you from any career path. But there are also disadvantages and a Pomona degree is not the ticket to lots of money which some here would have you believe. If you do choose Pomona, do it for the education and experience. In terms of pure economics, it’s probably not a rational choice. In my experiences, most non-science majors at Pomona, Pitzer, and Scripps (my school) are coming for the education and don’t care as much about making a lot of money in the future as a lot of pre-professional students.</p>

46

<p>I’m not really clear about the financial grant that Pomona gave you. Is the 38,000 a year free and clear- not counting any work study or summer work? If so, that would leave you with $48,000 for the four years that you need to come up with somehow ( 50,000-38,000= 12,000. 12,000 x 4 = 48,000) like the counselor said. If the grant is outright, then you could plan to work over the summers (2500 x4 =10,000) to bring the loan amount down to 38,000. Pomona’s tuition will go up every year, however, and whether your grant goes up or down is unknowable.
I woudn’t presume to advise you. It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and will make the right decision for you.
We paid full price for our son to attend Pomona, although it’s been a bit of a sacrifice financially for us. Pomona is great. He has been able to work part time for the university during the school year as well, (made a video for the school, had paid photo work with the yearbook, etc. ) and he had an amazing paid internship on campus last summer in his chosen field. Right now he’s studying abroad in South Africa through a Pomona program and loving it. </p>

<p>Pomona is everything people said it would be and more, and we don’t regret it for a minute. I’m less sure that I’d feel the same way, though, if HE had to shoulder the nearly $40,000 debt that you will end up with. That’s a tough way to start out for a young person.
Best of luck with your decision!</p>

47

<p>It’s 52,000-38,000-5,000(pell grant)-1,800(work study)=7,200
7,200x4=$30,000.</p>

48

<p>So you would be free to work in the summertime? If so, you could get the debt down to around 20 grand, which sounds much better. </p>

<p>I’m not sure what “incidentals” your counselor was speaking of. If you don’t have a car, air travel to and from home would be your main expense. </p>

<p>You have a big decision to make!</p>

49

<p>I just spoke with my principal on the phone. He thinks that, at Pomona, I will have access to graduate school fellowships that will enable me to go to grad school free. He thinks that I’d be accruing debt in the “wrong order” by going to Mizzou. Free undergraduate education—>costly grad school rather than spending money on my undergrad then going to grad school for free. </p>

<p>Are there actually fellowships that are exclusive to hyper-selective schools?<br>
Any insight on getting into grad school/paying for grad school following getting an undergraduate education from either of these schools would be much appreciated!</p>

50

<p>I sent you a PM with more details. I agree with midmo, as always, and don’t have much to add. My S has not found Mizzou to be an intellectual wasteland, and that aspect of the college experience is important to him. Midmo’s comments about big public universities are right on the mark. As a small liberal arts college graduate myself, I have had my eyes opened. The OP has a tough choice between two very different experiences, but both of them would serve her well in the future for different reasons. And clearly, the financial side is something she’ll have to work out with her family. Let us know what you decide!</p>

51

<p>Depends… Getting a fellowship to a top grad school is supremely difficult… And to the schools you wanted to go to (Columbia and Yale) it will be deathly difficult. I doubt you can rely on that.</p>

52

<p>I think you should ask your principal to identify exactly what fellowships he is talking about. When you have names of programs, google past winners and see which schools they attended for undergraduate and which graduate programs they took the fellowships to.</p>

<p>I also think it would be worth your time to contact the J-school personnel who handle internships and placement advice and ask them if they facilitate fellowship applications for graduates, and if so, give you some information about recipients.</p>

<p>As a general comment, fellowships are highly competitive, but I believe–based on personal observation, not a search of pubic records–that great students at any program with connected faculty have the advantage over middling students at great programs. Not that the OP is likely to be a middling student!</p>

53

<p>I doubt there are many grad school scholarships open only to Pomona students only. Perhaps your principal meant that it might be easier to get other scholarships by going to Pomona. Which is probably true, but it’s still by no means “easy,” and there will be a lot of other Pomona students who want those same scholarships. At Scripps we have an institutional process to go through for nominating Watsons and Fulbrights. Our faculty selects the strongest candidates for these fellowships after an extensive in-house application process. Pomona most likely does the same. Also, outside scholarships for graduate school outside of the sciences generally have restrictive criteria such as wanting to enter a certain type of program and profession, being from an underrepresented group and/or low-income family, etc. There might not be many outside scholarships for what you personally want to do.</p>

54

<p>UPDATE:
Just got back from Pomona. I absolutely loved it. The other kids are like me- largely eccentric, yet personable. The campus is gorgeous. The dorms are nicer than my house. I can explore my options. It’s everything people on here have said and more. </p>

<p>The best thing: NO STUDENT LOANS!!!
My first year, at least. I talked to the financial aid woman and she lowered my EFC to $1800 and work study to $1800. This year, my outside scholarships cover most of it. SWEEET!</p>

<p>However, when I got home, my father killed my excitement. He says the idea of me going to Pomona gives him “knots in his stomach”. He lectured me for hours on how stupid it would be to give up this opportunity at Mizzou as we’re venturing on a global economic collapse. Pomona’s not guaranteed for four years. Nothing’s in writing. Their endowment, he says, might shrink, therefore driving the school to arbitrarily cut students’ financial aid packages and leaving me without the funds I need. My family doesn’t even have the money for a laptop right now, he says, and I’d be stupid to give an offer like Mizzou’s up.
He also said the honor of my distinction will serve me well at Mizzou. At Pomona, he says, I’ll simply be mediocre, ignored by professors, confused in my classes, graduate with an average GPA, and rejected from Yale Law. </p>

<p>Truthfully, I’m worried about these, too. I don’t want to have to drop out of school because I can’t pay for it, nor do I want to be “average”.</p>

<p>Ugh.</p>

<p>Advice?</p>

55

<p>It’s hard, but I think you’ll make a huge mistake if you don’t go to Pomona. WORK During the summers, make everything possible to go to pomona, even if it takes taking outside private loans. I can’t imagine you missing an opportunity like pomona, especially when it’s not one that would bring a huge burden.</p>

<p>Tell your father that the problem with determinism, is that one can only know until after the fact, and if you can only know until after it has happened, whats the point in making a prediction?</p>

56

<p>I don’t know Mizzou that well…my hubby has cousins that went there (but general students, not Jschool, and not with the honor you received) and they did fine, but ended up having a lot of big school problems (confusion over classes, painful major changes, 5+ yrs to graduation). </p>

<p>My family situation as I was leaving HS sounds similar to yours. I grew up in CA and had never considered private schools…just assumed I would go to Berkeley or UCLA and that was it. Luckily for me, a coach from CMC called and convinced me I would like the Claremont Colleges. I applied, received a ton of aid and had an amazing four years at CMC (sometimes I still think Pomona might have been a better fit, but I didn’t even apply there). Still, my parents were similar to yours…every Spring, waiting for the Financial Aid offer was painful…I was always worried whether I would be able to stay for another year. Every year it worked out…the endowments at these schools are amazing. They want you to stay and graduate. My first year Aid package was the best of the four, but my parents income did rise throughout the four years so that was probably appropriate. Upon leaving CMC, my parents had managed to get through with no loans and I had about 12-15K total in student loans. At my financial aid exit interview Senior Year, I got a huge surprise…CMC had paid off my Stafford loans in full and converted them to private, zero interest loans. I’m not sure if they did this for everyone (I was pretty accomplished over my four years there and had a lot of different honors at graduation), but still, whenever I think about CMC, this situation just represents so well, how they want to help and want to support their students. I always had the same feeling about Pomona too.</p>

57

<p>This may come down to family dynamics in the end. It is presumptuous of me to guess what your parents are thinking, but it sounds like they really don’t want you to go so far away. It is also possible that, like most people in the midwest who are not academics or don’t have a private school background, they have never heard of Pomona (I don’t know if that is true for your family or not), so it all sounds risky to them.</p>

<p>Of course you will not be “ignored, confused and mediocre” at Pomona. On the other hand, top graduates of flagship public universities do go on to top law schools, assuming a lot of effort was made to take the right courses with professors who can write recommendations, etc. </p>

<p>One issue that keeps coming up is working over the summer. A full ride leaves you free to do an internship anywhere, even if the pay stinks or there isn’t any pay. That can be a valuable plus. I hope your father wouldn’t oppose having you go far away over the summers, since those internships are probably not going to be close to home.</p>

<p>Good luck working this out. I don’t know you, but I do have confidence you will come out in a good position with either option.</p>

58

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<p>There are a lot of pitfalls for the average student at any big public university, including those noted here. For that reason, I don’t recommend Big Public for students who are immature, unfocused, shy or completely ignorant of how the world of academia operates. None of those factors apply for this student, however. Not only is this student not immature, not unfocused, apparently not shy and not ignorant about higher education, she is the sole recipient of the single full-ride merit award MU offers each year. There is no way she will get lousy advising or fail to get the courses she needs to graduate on time.</p>

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<p>I would ask your father to talk with the person you worked with in financial aid. She will assure him that your aid will continue. The Dean of Students would also be a good person for him to talk with.</p>

<p>How your father feels is pretty typical, are you first generation? He sounds afraid. I was where you are years ago with parents who were fearful of my going across the Country depending on aid too. Luckily I had adult friends who helped them understand. If you reach out Pomona will help you in this way.</p>

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<p>I worked in TV journalism for years and the field was pretty much dominated by Mizzou grads. They were called the Mizzou Mafia. </p>

<p>I can assure you that all of them were intelligent and intellectually interesting. Many double majored. They were very alive, highly verbal and competitive without being obnoxious about it.</p>

<p>I’m not saying this to sway you toward Mizzou - just to give you a more balanced view of the atmosphere at Mizzou’s J-school. There is a reason why it has the reputation it does, and it starts with being selective.</p>