The Best College to prepare me for a career in Advertising

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have decided to pursue a career in Advertising (the creative side, ie art direction, copywriting) and would greatly appreciate any advice as to which schools would prepare me best for it. </p>

<p>By 'prepare me best' I mean which schools provide job placement opportunities at top companies as well as the frequency of such opportunities </p>

<p>AND</p>

<p>provides a wholesome communications education so that i can take up courses (rigorous and mind-stretching) such as journalism/art/graphic design (helps out with my copywriting skills/art direction) to complement my education in advertising creatively.</p>

<p>After trawling countless googled sites and this forum I have narrowed my options down to these 4 schools. Here's my likes/dislikes about these schools.</p>

<p>Emerson College
Likes:
Well known for their MassComm majors, esp journalism.
Dislikes:
Relatively low graduation rate. Also almost 1/10 the no. of Professors/Assoc Profs/Asst Profs compared to the other 3 (granted this is a small university but still?) , Small Asian population (Yes Im Asian, Singaporean to be exact)</p>

<p>University of Pennsylvania
Likes:
One of the top Marketing Schools in America. Good graduation rates (I like a competitive environment). Sizable Asian Population, better job opps? UPenn is pretty famous?
Dislikes:
No advertising major (You are thinking why consider UPenn if they do not even have offer an ad major! Well it seems that an ad major may not be more appealing and could even be less appealing compared to psychology for example when ad companies are hiring..)
No journalism/art/graphic design/masscomm</p>

<p>If i do choose UPenn it will prob be that im banking on the schools name to try and land a job at a good company.</p>

<p>University of Texas at Austin
Likes:
Frequently mentioned as one of the best advertising schools with a good program that helps students build a portfolio. Sizable Asian Population, I am assuming better job opps.
Dislikes:
47% bachelor's degree in 4 yrs grad rate. <a href="mailto:UTexas@Austin...first">UTexas@Austin...first</a> thing that comes to mind is Stonecold Steve Austin, next would be beef, following that cowboys. A good ad sch is prob e last thing ppl would think of eh? ;p</p>

<p>Boston University
Likes:
Frequently mentioned as one of the best ad schs w a good program ran by competent professors.
Dislikes:
Although this is more related to student life and not the criteria for 'prepare me best', compared to UTexas BU does not seem like a very sporty college hence a less fervent sch pride in the students? Im assuming less parties also since there are less sport victories to party over. </p>

<p>Please debunk or reinforce any myths/truths I have about each school as you deem fit. Also I would be very grateful if u could provide any information as to the job opps each sch offers as well. At the end of this post I realised that actually its a decision between BU and UTexas@Austin only...and the tiebreaker would most likely be which school can offer a richer student life? Im thinking Nicer campuses and a greater belonging to the community..</p>

2

<p>A very good and rigorous program can be found at [Advertising</a> | Undergraduate | Programs | Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | Leading by Design](<a href=“Undergraduate Degrees - ArtCenter College of Design”>Undergraduate Degrees - ArtCenter College of Design)
You will need a pretty good portfolio for admissions and they recommend meeting with an admissions director for guidance on the portfolio requirements.</p>

3

<p>I think you are overating BU quite a bit.</p>

4

<p>How much are your parents willing to pay?
Will you need financial aid or will they be paying “full freight”? </p>

<p>Emerson - not very good with financial aid.
BU - not very good with financial aid. Agree with Informative, overating BU.</p>

5

<p>What are your stats? - UPenn (Wharton?) is extremely selective.</p>

6

<p>[USC</a> Annenberg | Advertising](<a href=“http://annenberg.usc.edu/CurrentStudents/UGStudentSvcs/MinorNonMaj/Advertising.aspx]USC”>http://annenberg.usc.edu/CurrentStudents/UGStudentSvcs/MinorNonMaj/Advertising.aspx)
[Communication</a> Design Minor - Roski School of Fine Arts](<a href=“http://roski.usc.edu/undergrad/minors/communication.html]Communication”>http://roski.usc.edu/undergrad/minors/communication.html)
USC has a great communications department, business/marketing department, and arts department.</p>

7

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>how much will your parents pay each year?</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>If you need financial aid, don’t apply to OOS publics unless you know that you’ll get merit scholarships from them.</p>

8

<p>[Medill</a> - IMC Undergraduate Certificate](<a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergraduatecertificate.aspx]Medill”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergraduatecertificate.aspx)</p>

<p>By the way, regardless of whether you consider this as undergrad, the IMC master program is the best graduate program in marketing out there. It’s something you may want to revisit few years down the road.</p>

9

<p>hmm Mad Men effect? lol Anyways, as far as I can tell, advertising is a pretty hard sector to break into. And those that do get their foot in didn’t major in it.</p>

10

<p>STATS:
-I have not taken my SATS but am aiming for a score of 2200++
-A Levels 3As2Bs
-Represented Junior College ( 11-12th grade equivalent in Singapore) in Rugby, won the championship in graduating year.
-Represented Sec Sch (8-11th grade equivalent) in Rugby, got 2nd runner-up in 9th grade.
-Participated in many community involvement projects from Secondary 1-4 (8th to 11th grade equivalent) that includes being a buddy to an Autistic kid, helping to clean the houses of Old Folks etc. Participated in one insignificant project in JC1/2 (12th grade)</p>

<p>How much are my Parents willing to pay?
-My parents are able to back me up financially (something i am very grateful for) but of course it will be great if there are ways to reduce the burden. What are OOS publics by the way? I am still not clear as to how the scholarship system works in the US yet and I know it differs from state, and within a state the colleges. Any good sites with helpful information on scholarships will be greatly appreciated :)</p>

<p>State
-I do not live in the US. I am in Singapore, but planning to study in the US as an international student. </p>

<p>Thank you for telling me that I may have overrated BU, I will read up more on the school and the course. It’s just that some aspiring writers from my JC are studying now in BU so i had a good impression of it. Coupled with the many recommendations on the internet that it has a good advertising course. Lastly, I saw a professor from BU being interviewed to give his comments over a recent incident on the news and that just reinforced the idea. </p>

<p>The impression it gave me was that BU is a more respectable and famous college than UTexas. Also boston seems like a great college town with Harvard nearby(right?). </p>

<p>Thank you so much for the links anyway guys, I will check them out and hopefully make a well-informed choice eventually. Keep them links coming! :D</p>

11

<p>Just fyi, if you are looking to get hired in the creative end of the business, the quality of your portfolio is more important than what school you go to. Some of the best writers in the biz majored in something totally unrelated – it stretches your mind. </p>

<p>BTW - Cornell has a decent communication arts major.</p>

<p>I second the Art Center recommendation, but be prepared to work hard. You also need a great portfolio to get in. </p>

<p>There are some great advertising agencies in Singapore. Have you tried getting any internships during the summer?</p>

12

<p>“Just fyi, if you are looking to get hired in the creative end of the business, the quality of your portfolio is more important than what school you go to. Some of the best writers in the biz majored in something totally unrelated – it stretches your mind.”</p>

<p>One of the giants of the industry – somebody Cosmopolous (can’t remember first name) – never even attended college.</p>

<p>Portfolio means everything. When I wanted to break into the business, I attended the Boston Ad Club Creative Course (evenings), which helped me put together a “spec” portfolio. Then I hit the streets of Boston, showing my portfolio all over the place. Eventually I got a job at a small agency. That’s how it worked back then, at least.</p>

<p>I hear the Portfolio School in Atlanta is really good. Again, it’s not a college…just a professional prep kinda place.</p>

<p>I’d suggest going to a good LAC, majoring in whatever you want, and then taking a portfolio course somewhere. Or…just go online, find resources with tips for putting together a portfolio, and “do it yourself.”</p>

13

<p>I think you have quite a few fallacious assumptions in your ‘analysis’. I can mention a couple of things.</p>

<p>UPenn is extremely prestigious school in the U.S. Many of the elite schools focus on the Liberal Arts (Literature, history, math, science etc) and do not offer such degrees as Advertising. Those graduates do quite well in business. But Penn is one Ivy League school that does offer an undergraduate business degree and it is a prestige one.</p>

<p>BU is an urban campus and is scattered around in various buildings–there is no cohesive campus.</p>

<p>UT is a top public U.</p>

<p>Emerson grads have industry connections. Look at the size of the student population relative to the number of profs.</p>

14

<p>Stretching the mind is essential to advertising. I would suggest looking at schools that have theater, improv, dancing, animation, as well as media and communication programs. Sounds like you woul be comfortable in a large city university. San Francisco : Academy of Art is not a traditional school but worth a look. DePaul in Chicago has theater, communications as does Northwestern University in Evanston, near Chicago.</p>

15

<p>Another thing to consider: Brand / image advertising may look like a glamorous field, but it is going the way of the dinosaur. (I say this as someone who has worked at brand / image ad agencies. I have ZERO desire to go back to that.)</p>

<p>What’s the proverbial wave of the future? E-commerce and mobile marketing / advertising. E-commerce is, essentially, electronic direct response. The brand / image folks have long looked down on us direct-to-consumer folks – but, in an increasingly crunched economy, measurable results are the name of the game, and that’s what DTC delivers. That’s why e-commerce and mobile marketing are growing exponentially, while image advertising agencies are having layoffs.</p>

<p>You say you want to do something creative, either copywriting or design. The two are complementary but different. you have to choose. That’s the advice a very wise old instructor gave me years ago, when I was taking his life drawing class. I couldn’t decide between art and writing. He said I could never be equally good in both; I’d have to choose. Each one requires your heart’s blood–you have to give yourself, and it’s hard to give yourself to both. I chose writing, and, in retrospect, I’m glad I did.</p>

<p>Which one you choose will determine so many things. If you go into design, you will have to master the latest Internet-marketing technologies – e.g., Flash (which I personally hate, loathe, and despise) and the successors (thank God!!)to Flash, like HTML5. You will have to keep up with this stuff–and it changes by the minute. You will have to learn web usability and information architecture. If you go into copywriting, you will have to be more strategic, but you won’t have to be as technical! (Flash designers are almost as much programmers as they are designers.) If you go into marketing management – well, why not wait till after college and then get your MBA with a focus on marketing?</p>

<p>If you want to start learning graphic design while you are still in college, you might try a cutting-edge program like Rochester Institute of Technology. If you lean more toward copywriting, just take plenty of English and writing courses, no matter where you go. Advertising copywriting (including e-commerce writing) is not rocket science. If you can write, you can write. You can learn the adspeak stuff on the job. I’ve been in the field for over 30 years, and I am still learning on the job. (That’s another cool thing about e-commerce: I was starting to get bored with traditional advertising when I stumbled into an e-commerce job. Right now, e-commerce is exploding, and, as I mentioned, it’s constantly changing. If you like to learn, you will love it, because there is <em>always</em> something new to learn. Like all new, growing fields, it is inexhaustible.)</p>

<p>Sorry for length of this post. (I am waiting for Thanksgiving turkey to roast, LOL.) As you can tell, I’m kind of keen on this subject – when you’ve been doing something for 30 years, it kind of grows on you. :-)</p>

<p>Oh, forgot to mention: Many ad agencies will eat you alive. That’s another reason I’m glad that I got out of brand / image and into direct-to-consumer. Agencies are revolving doors, and they are full of prima donnas and insane people. (The insane people are the ones who run the joint, LOL.) You might not want to prepare for a career among prima donnas and insane people. Direct-to-consumer tends to be more in-house (e.g., working in the e-commerce /catalog dep’t at Lands’ End, say). Less glamorous but also a LOT less insane!</p>

<p>Of course, when you’re young, you may not mind the craziness so much…I dunno…it can certainly be heady and exciting, but is it worth the torture? </p>

<p>OK, sorry for rambling…</p>

<p>Diane</p>