<p>When I search for certain colleges, they're ranked as Number ___ on the Best Graduate Schools list. Can someone explain this to me? Is it logical to assume that a good graduate school is usually a good undergrad school, too?</p>
<p>Bumping to first page.</p>
<p>It is logical, and more true often than now, but for a lot of broad fields (english, history, econ, etc) you can get a better education at the undergrad level with smaller, more undergrad-focused departments.</p>
<p>Doesn't matter how many econ superstar profs Columbia has bought if they're not going to spend any real time with you...</p>
<p>Of course both large universities and small ones produce brilliant and successful econ grads. At the undergrad level, focus more on finding a school that fits you well.</p>
<p>^^good answer</p>
<p>In what subject do you plan to major? Which state are you from?</p>
<p>Journalism, English, Communications or Media Studies depending on the program. I live in Alabama, but I don't want to go to college here.</p>
<p>Gourman ranking for Communications</p>
<p>Northwestern
Stanford
U Penn
U Michigan Ann Arbor
USC
U Iowa
Michigan State
U Texas Austin
Syracuse
Florida State
U Wisconsin Madison
U Washington
Ohio State
U Minnesota
Purdue West Lafayette
SUNY Buffalo
U Mass Amherst
Ohio U
Wayne State </p>
<p>Gourman ranking for Journalism:</p>
<p>U Missouri Columbia
Northwestern
Syracuse
U Minnesota
U Illinois U-C
UNC Chapel Hill
U Wisconsin Madison
Ohio State
Michigan State
USC
NYU
Indiana U Bloomington
U washington
U Kansas
U Texas Austin
Kansas State
Marquette
I Iowa
U Colorado Boulder
Ohio U
Penn State U-P
U Florida
U Montana
U Arizona
U Oregon
Iowa State
U Oklahoma
U Georgia
U Utah
Arizona State
U Maryland C-P</p>
<p>Some schools have unbelievably STRONG undergrad programs in the areas of your interests and arent ranked by USNWR in the top 20, nor are their graduate programs. USNWR are a giant popularity contest. Nothing more, nothing less. Despite what some of their ardent supporters here on CC say and who put up all these ridiculous SAT stats to try and prove their point. Ignore them.</p>
<p>Pick a group of colleges (from Petersens or Barrons directory you can get at Barnes and Nobles or another bookstore) that FIT you: your personality, what size school you would prefer, what college experience you desire, personal interests outside of class, social scene, geography/weather, etc. Eventually get your list down to the top 5 and VISIT those schools. MAKE CERTAIN THEY ARE NOT ALL REACH SCHOOLS.</p>
<p>And go from there. There are so many schools OUTSIDE of Alabama that fit your interests its too many to list. If I knew your stats I could help more. </p>
<p>Kenyon and Hollins have outstanding English Departments that have produced award winning authors. Journalism and Communications is EXCEPTIONALLY strong at Elon University with OUTSTANDING job placement history (major networks and newspapers). </p>
<p>My personal view is that going out of state means that a large OUT OF STATE SCHOOL is not the wisest choice and a private school is the best. In-state, then a large public is fine...for economic reasons. But out of state? Go private, its a better more personalized experience and worth the money. JMHO. But you may prefer a different experience.</p>
<p>In the South: Vanderbilt, Furman, Davidson, Elon, William and Mary, Washington and Lee, Sewannee, Rhodes, Tulane etc. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Graduate schools are often ranked by departments, not even colleges or school. So a particular department could be among the best in the country but the school, college, or university it is part of may be ordinary. So you have to check. As for the US News etc, they all have biases. Talk to experts in the grad school field they will give you the best information on where there are good program.</p>
<p>collegehelp - Thank you for your list! I had been looking at most of those before, and I'm glad that I get a little reassurance that they are good schools.</p>
<p>nocousin - Thank you for your advice! I know you said to decide on five schools, but if it's closer to 10, is that okay too? Also, I'm not really interested in going to college in the south - Florida is a different story. I would really like to be near or in a large city. Cost is a big issue for me, as well.</p>
<p>Bumping again. Thanks for the advice, guys.</p>
<p>Way more important than some random ranking, for journalism, is your fit in the particular department. Different departments might have different strengths and weaknesses - some may be more broadcast-focused, others may be big on new media but not so much on print, etc. There are programs which have specialties for sportswriting, business journalism, environmental beats, etc. Find the best fit for your personal reporting interests.</p>
<p>Also, what style of teaching do you want? Do you want a ginormous, prestigious department with great facilities and resources but big classes and the chance to get lost in a crowd, or do you want a smaller, more intimate program that may not have as much name recognition but has more opportunity for personal attention? There's trade-offs with every choice and I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect j-school. (I chose the no-name, but-really-personal route.)</p>
<p>Call and talk to the department chair/school dean. They're usually happy to talk to prospective students. (If they're not, I'd consider that a red flag.) Ask how big the department is, average class sizes, specialties, their relationship (or lack thereof) with the on-campus student media organizations, etc.</p>
<p>My "school must have" list:</p>
<ul>
<li>Internship opportunities in the surrounding area</li>
<li>A medium-to-large student body</li>
<li>Reasonable price or good financial aid packages</li>
<li>A good print journalism program</li>
</ul>
<p>That's pretty much it, really.</p>
<p>Bumping. I actually forgot I made this thread.</p>
<p>A good grad school program in no way ensures a quality undergrad experience.</p>