<p>I am having the toughest time deciding where to attend college. I have recently been accepted to four nearly equally ranked schools (all in the 50s or so on US News) which all gave me great financial aid and I dont know which to choose. I am a Hispanic female from sunny Florida who is interested in double majoring in English and Journalism and eventually becoming a print journalist. </p>
<p>What I look for in a school includes strong programs in my chosen majors (English and Journalism), nice campus, suburban/urban location, medium to large university, balanced student body (regarding politics, diversity, etc), a focus on academics, and not an overwhelming party atmosphere ( I dont mind partying, I just dont want this to be focal point of campus life).</p>
<p>Here are the schools:
-Univeristy of Miami (visited) good journalism program, beautiful campus, great weather/ possibly overwhelming party school atmosphere??
-Fordham University (not yet visited) good English program, NYC Location, campus aesthetics
-Pepperdine University (not yet visited) great English/Journalism programs, Malibu location, Christian affiliation (positive aspect b/c Im Christian as well)/ perhaps overly conservative??
-Syracuse University (Newhouse School) (not yet visited) highly ranked communications school, beautiful campus/ freezing cold, snowy weather! (could be major problem for me b/c I complain about Florida winters! LOL) </p>
<p>There you have it, a very tough decision for me to make. I have only visited the University of Miami so far (which I plan to visit once more because Im still unsure) and I will be visiting Fordham and Syracuse in two weeks. Before I visit, Id like to gain some insight into these schools, so please help me out with some advice! Thanks!</p>
<p>well if u got into newhouse thats really good. newhouse is the top communications school in the country. dont let the weather get u down. im coming from the south also and people keep telling me horroe stories about the weather but i dont think it will bother me much.</p>
<p>i know nothing about the school itself, but i can tell you, as someone who drives past it almost daily, pepperdine is probably the most beautiful campus you will ever see. the campus is perched high up on a hill (it is at the mouth of a canyon with glorious mountains behind it), with the entire pacific spreading out below as far as the eye can see in every direction. You can even see catalina island. you can get anywhere from pepperdine (beverly hills, santa monica, hollywood etc., etc.) but you will need a car from the get go. Malibu near pepperdine is a small community made up mostly of people from the industry (movie/tv). usually a week will not go by that you dont see someone you recognize from a tv show or movie if you hang around the small shopping centers a lot. it has a very small town feel and is california casual. there is a lot of surfing on nearby beaches. there are a few nearby shopping centers with restaurants, grocery stores, speciality clothing shops and so on (they are not malls--you have to travel to get to a significant source of mall shopping). You are near everything with a car, (including the Getty museum), and you cannot exist without one. If you live near the coast in florida i think malibu will seem very familiar to you--year round dress is shorts, bathing suit tops, flaps and lots of suntan lotion. of course, being right on the coast, it is not as warm as inland schools--certainly not as warm as anything you are used to in florida--but so utterly stunning that it will take your breath away, and people are on the beach pretty much year round. frankly, i cant imagine anything in malibu being conservative, but i do hear pepperdine is very straight laced. actually that sounds like a nice change from hearing about roudy party schools all the time. the only negative i can say is if you dont, wont or cant drive you will be a prisoner on campus--no where in l.a. (with the exception of beverly hills and the area surrounding ucla) is really doable by foot. but actually nothing on earth feels like driving down pacific coast highway with the sun setting on the ocean to the west and the deep green santa monica mountains to the east turning purple in the twilight. good luck in college!</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses melo and sareccasmom. </p>
<p>Sareccasmom, that description of Pepperdine sounds absolutely amazing! It sounds very familiar to where I am from (I live along the coast in SW Florida) only much more beautiful with all the mountains and such. I really excited to visit now:D</p>
<p>I have to put my two cents in! If you are serious about print journalism, Newhouse is by far your top school. Besides actually going to a school, you have to consider where you will go because of the school. I understand the connections you make through Newhouse and the internships lead to terrific positions. The networking is important to your future. Although the weather is a consideration, (we are in SW Florida, too) chances are you will adjust. I know Miami is beautiful, my daughter was also accepted there for magazine journalism, but I have not heard of the other two schools when journalism is mentioned. So I just thought I would add that into the mix. We are going to visit Syracuse at the end of this week, and the weather should be lousy, rainy and mid 50s. If my daughter still likes it, she will decide to go there. If you are serious about print journalism, few schools rival Newhouse. It just depends on how much the other things you mentioned matter.</p>