<p>Hi Everyone,</p>
<p>I recently applied to the school of Media and Public Affairs, for the political communication major. Does anyone know if this is more difficult to get into than the regular liberal arts school?? Thanks so much in advance!</p>
<p>HannahB,</p>
<p>The SMPA is pretty competitive to get into, much more so than any other major (excluding special programs like BA/MD, BA/JD). However, you can still be admitted to GW but not the poli comm major. I know a ton of people who didn't get in as freshman but applied their sophmore or junior year and got in. It's still competitive to transfer into, but if you have good grades in your freshmen classes you'll be fine. Good luck!</p>
<p>"However, you can still be admitted to GW but not the poli comm major."</p>
<p>I'm wondering if it says anywhere on GW's website that states this?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>They are so many courses you must take to get the degree, that it is better to start as a Freshman, since many courses are only open for the majors, and at one point you can't advance if you are not a part of it.
So if you plan to major in 4 years, you'd better start with the school of choice.</p>
<p>peppermint: I have no idea if it says it on the website; I only know from anecdotal evidence. </p>
<p>Multitasker: That's not true in this case. SMPA is part of the Columbian College. SMPA students still have to complete all of the GCRs as other Arts and Sciences majors, which you can easily do freshman year and then transfer into SMPA without being put at a disadvantage. Additionally, a lot of the required classes for the poli comm major are simply poli sci classes, which you can take without being in the major. I know a person who was accepted to SMPA as a junior and is still graduating in 4 years. Just make sure you talk to an adviser and plan your classes accordingly.</p>
<p>GW senior: I only know that you need 45 credits into your Columbian GCR to transfer, and it is not for sure that they will accept you. However, I agree with you that several of the courses can overlap with both requirements, but some of them need a pre requisite as well which may delay your intent.
I fell it's definitely an advantage for the students who get first hand into the SMPA when compared to the other studnets.</p>
<p>Colonial</a> Message Board • Search</p>
<p>Link to an answer about SMPA/CC admissions</p>
<p>Does anyone here know anything about the M.A. program in Media and Public Affairs? What kind of reputation does it have for graduate students?</p>
<p>I also applied to the SMPA, for the journalism major. Do you have any idea what they look for?
I have experience in my high school newspaper and I wrote one hell of an article for the supplement if I do say so myself.</p>
<p>although SMPA is supposed to be extremely competitive in general (maybe even more so than Elliot?), i have a feeling poli com is a bit harder to get into than journalism…just because GW is supposedly the only school with the poli com major/program.
so to answer the OP: i agree with all of the above posts! SMPA is harder than CCAS even though SMPA is essentially a division of CCAS. </p>
<p>gwu_girl: i applied for journalism too. i dont have any inside info or anything, so IMO they probably take the supplement article into quite a bit of consideration when they evaluate freshman applicants. For me, GW was the only school that asked journalism applicants to actually demonstrate their newswriting ability in their application. So i do think they’re looking for freshmen who actually know what they’re doing – and not just in terms of ECs and “why journalism?” essays, etc, like other schools (ex. Newhouse, Mizzou, Philip Merril, perhaps even Medill?..). Supposedly direct-admit for freshman is hard. </p>
<p>i think as long as you have a really good Why GW and supplement essay, and also show experience and interest in journalism through your ECs, you’ll be fine! i dont know any of your stats or anything, but i think if they’re decent enough then you have a chance for direct-admit. if not, you can still apply soph year assuming u get into GW! hope this helps :)</p>
<p>Thanks 20091991. Did you apply RD?
I’d be fine with reapplying so long as I get accepted :]
I think I have a decent chance as well… Though, knowing how competitive it is, I won’t be crushed if I’m not accepted.</p>
<p>i actually applied EDII haha. i reallllyyyy wanted smpa and didnt think my app would stand a chance if i applied RD. but good luck! we might be seeing each other in the fall!</p>
<p>Did you get deferred or what?
and gee I hope so :] Where are you from? I’m from California.</p>
<p>ohh i got in lol…sorry should’ve said that in the last post (but i didnt wanna come off as cocky or anything after saying all that stuff about how hard smpa was and ending that with “i got in”…even though it is hard according to previous CC threads)</p>
<p>i am currently overseas (and have been throughout high school)…i’ll refrain from specifying where though! i have friends who check this thread (and other CC threads) dailyy :/</p>
<p>Oh haha. Do you wanna compare supplements then? So I have an idea of what I’ll be up against? lol, I wouldn’t mind critique/feedback.</p>