<p>I'm a student btw but figured I could use other parent's advice as well and i posted this in a few other places also.</p>
<p>As of right now I am interested in a career in journalism and applied to a pretty good variety of schools, but have a dilemma. Assuming I don't go to grad school after undergrad AND also assuming that no matter where I go to college I will be writing for the school paper, doing internships, etc....what would be most advisable?</p>
<p>A-going to a school with an amazing journalism program but decent at everything else(like Syracuse, UTexas, USC). At schools like this I would do a double major: journalism and something else (perhaps physics or history or poli sci)</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>B-going to a school with good prestige but no journalism major offered (think Emory, Rice, Vanderbilt level prestige and the tiny chance of a Duke/Northwestern acceptance). At these schools I would major in history, poli sci, physics, whatever and maybe try for a minor in journalism or at the very least take classes in journalism. Side note: I didn't apply to Northwestern's Medill school. </p>
<p>So what helps more in landing a good job in the field right out of college: the prestige of the school as a whole or the prestige of the journalism program?</p>
<p>A lot of journalists got their experience writing for their college papers. The Harvard Crimson has been a breeding ground for journalists and Harvard does not have a journalism program.</p>
<p>I cannot advise you about A vs. B, but I would strongly suggest looking at the the college paper of the schools you are considering. Experience is very important.</p>
<p>I work at a magazine, and I can tell you that my colleagues have all different sorts of backgrounds. If I were you, I would major in history, poly sci, physics, whatever, and try to do a minor in journalism or just work for the school newspaper or something else on campus. Concentrate on learning to think and reason.</p>
<p>You definitely don't need a major in journalism. I think a major in history or political science would help you a lot for a start in journalism. Physics would be helpful if you have an interest in something science-related in journalism. It's always good to have a background in what you're writing about.</p>
<p>Lingbo, in the New York City magazine world, to take one example, lots of people have Ivy degrees, and they tend to hire other people with Ivy degrees. But if that's not in the cards for you, you can certainly succeed with pretty much a degree from any decent school. It's a matter of drive, persistence, personality and, yes, connections. Networking is very important, and you can start with professors. They know people and can help you land a first job.</p>
<p>I'm a journalist. There's no hard and fast rule here, because different editors hire based on their own experience and preferences. Some believe in journalism undergrad, others would never hire a journalism undergrad. In general, if you are a good writer, smart, ask good questions, etc., you can learn how to work for a newspaper. But understanding history and government and scientific principles, thinking logically -- those are harder to learn on the job. (Of course, I didn't study journalism undergrad, so that's my bias.)</p>
<p>There's no question that sometimes where you got your degree will get you in the door. But in the end, your clips and your tryout are what matter. Getting good clips is really important. </p>
<p>Don't say a school has a "well reputed" paper. What does that mean? As a good journalist, you shouldn't rely on what others say. For all the schools you mentioned, check out its paper online. Read many issues. See not only how articles are written, but what they are covering and what they are not covering. I did that for one of the schools that the OP mentioned (because my daughter was applying there), and was not impressed.</p>
<p>Since clips are important, see how easy it is to write for the paper, and what type of involvement most students devote to it. At some schools anyone can write for the paper, at others there are tryouts and if you don't make it you can't write. Is there a good newspaper where the college is located where you can do an internship? What's the college's success rate in finding newspaper internships for students?</p>
<p>Finally, remember that you really can't predict with 100% certainty what career you will go into after graduation. So don't select a college solely based on your belief that in four years you'll be looking for a journalism job. Consider all those other things, like fit, location, cost, etc.</p>
<p>Something else to keep in mind: journalism is one of those fields where it's relatively easy to evaluate your actual work, as opposed to your education and references. Someone can scan through a file of clips in 10 minutes and know a lot about you as a journalist (assuming they aren't plagiarized).</p>
<p>Although there are j-school connections and college paper connections that give people a leg up in getting their files read, ultimately if you write a bunch of good stuff you will be able to have a career. To do that, you don't even necessarily have to be on your college paper, but you either have to write a lot, or have some substantive expertise that you can leverage into journalism (and then write a bunch of good stuff). Most universities and college towns have lots of opportunities for writing other than the college paper.</p>
<p>(Note, too, that if you are going to Northwestern, but you aren't in the School of Communications or whatever it's called, I don't think you'll be working on the school paper. The same is probably true for a lot of schools with undergraduate journalism programs.)</p>
<p>A young relative of mine has a journalism career in full swing right now. Here's how it happened. He was a history major (at a prestigious college) who did not work on the school paper. He went to Germany after graduation and hung out, took some grad courses. He wrote an article on spec on Jews living in Germany. (Although his father is Jewish, he was not raised as a Jew and had almost no Jewish identity at this point, although being in Germany certainly made him think a little about his background.) It was purchased by a Jewish publication in NYC, which asked him to do several more articles, and ultimately hired him as a staff reporter. He did several creative, well-researched, controversial articles, and kept getting more prominent placements, and then started getting freelance inquiries from the Wall St. Journal. He is contemplating several job offers from big-name publications right now.</p>
<p>There have been other threads on this topic (or similar). Not sure exactly how you should search, but they have been here on the Parent Forum. Try "journalism" as a search word, probably.</p>
<p>What helps getting a journalism job after college is the quality of your writing and editing in your published or broadcasted work, and also the quality of your work on paid or unpaid internships. Incidentally, you get those internships via the quality of your publised or broadcasted work on school or other media.</p>
<p>Media companies would much rather have as a new hire a no name college alum with excellent, prize winning published articles or broadcasted stories than to have an Ivy Leaguer who has never published or broadcasted anything.</p>
<p>YST, I am a freelance journalist who writes features, mainly on careers, education and health. My husband is a chef with long and crazy hours, so writing from home is a good way for me to earn money while having enough time for my 3 kids. I've never had a burning desire to work for a daily paper. I enjoy interviewing people and finding out about new subjects.</p>
<p>Like many writers, I started writing for a local weekly newspaper for little money - in my case for my friend's paper. He had just fired a writer and was desperate, so I gave it a try, covering local government meetings (extremely dull!). Local weeklies are a great place to get started, because they often have a hard time attracting writers due to the poor pay. They are also frequently open to pitches for features and stories, and the deadlines are easy compared to a daily (writing well quickly is one of the hardest things to learn). I wrote for about 3 years for him and had some nice clippings, which I was then able to send to a larger NYC paper that needed writers for some features. I found out about this opening through a relative.</p>
<p>Editors like to see your clippings, and if you have a nice combination of work from internships, local papers and your school paper, then all the better. </p>
<p>I have a friend who writes for the NY Times, and he says, don't go into journalism to get rich, because you won't. Magazines do pay better than daily newspapers, but staff positions at these publications are like hen's teeth.</p>
<p>
[quote]
OP writes: At these schools I would major in history, poli sci, physics, whatever and maybe try for a minor in journalism or at the very least take classes in journalism.
[/quote]
My advice is take a variety of classes and go where your heart takes you. But it would be worthwhile considering a major (or minor) in the sciences since that would put you into a less competitive bracket when you're first starting out. Liberal-arts majors are a dime a dozen in fields like journalism, public relations, etc. But those with a science background are harder to find and have the background to bridge the gap between informing the general public and the specialized language and approach found in the sciences. Starting in this area doesn't have to typecast you; if you start writing stories on medicine, for example, its an easy transition into larger public health issues and on from there, but the thing that helped you get hired in the first place was the science background.</p>
<p>Actually, you will be doing similar things at some of each of these school. For example, at Syracuse, journalism majors are required to have a second major in a substantive field other than journalism; and I know that at Emory, at least, journalism is offered as a co-major, requiring the journalism major to also have a major in another area. So the schools are not as different as they seem. None of the strong programs want you to graduate being an empty talking head.</p>