University of Miami v. University of Missouri, for Journalism?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I want to major in Broadcast Journalism, and minor in Political Science. Basically, I want to be the next Diane Sawyer.
I am absolutely positive I want to go into Broadcast Journalism, and am debating between two colleges right now.</p>

<p>U of Missouri has an EXCELLENT journalism program, easily one of the best in the nation - and many consider it THE best.. But the rest of the school is, please don't take offense any Mizzou people, definately NOT up to par with the J school. There's an unbelievably huge gap between the journalism program and the rest of the school. This is a problem because I'm obviously not going to be taking just Journalism classes, and the Political Science courses here are not all that good.</p>

<p>U of Miami is a fairly highly-acclaimed school. Their journalism program is quite good but nowhere near as excellent as Missouri.... however, their other classes such as Political Science are quite good as well. So it's way more well-rounded.
What do you think? In order to report something you have to study it... and I'm not sure how much Missouri will help me much with that though they do offer GREAT Journalism classes and you get a ton of news reporting experience.</p>

<p>In terms of school connections, EVERYONE in the Journalism industry knows about Missouri, and their connections are practically legendary. But it's not known for anything else, whereas Miami is known in many different fields as a great university. But if I'm certain this is the field I'm going into should I even be concerned about the all-around reputation? I am though, I don't know why.</p>

<p>And further complicating matter is the notion that, who cares if Missouri has "lower-quality" Poli-sci or Miami has "lower-quality" journalism... because isn't it the student's dedication and what he or she makes of it that matters most? I'm just confusing myself now, thinking in circles.</p>

<p>Please help, I'm begging you. :(</p>

2

<p>First of all, I wouldn’t draw a great distinction across-the-board between Mizzou and Miami. Mizzou is a perfectly fine state flagship university. It’s neither one of the few “elite” flagships (such as UVA, Berkeley or Michigan), nor is it one that has any particularly low perceptions of which I’m aware. I would presume it to be in the top half of state flagship universities. Miami is a good private U, but again, it’s not one that I’d consider elite, nor one that would would cause anyone to raise an eyebrow in concern. I wouldn’t be any more impressed with one or the other if you told me that that’s where you’re going to college, and I certainly would have no negative impression about either.</p>

<p>The big difference here - make that huge difference - is in Journalism, where Mizzou is to Journalism what Penn’s Wharton School is to Business or Georgetown’s SFS is to Foreign Service. If you’re really serious about Journalism, you’d probably rather be at Mizzou than at many really elite privates. Taking you at your word regarding your commitment to that field, this is a no-brainer to me.</p>

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<p>You’re absolutely right about Mizzou. The journalism school is probably the best in the nation, and every other program here sucks. And don’t let people try to talk up other programs or the Honors College in an attempt to convince you to enroll. </p>

<p>As a side note, expect your classes outside of the J-school to be 10 times easier than high school classes. And social/political science courses will be excruciatingly basic. But since you are absolutely positive about journalism, then I highly recommend MU. If you start having doubts, don’t go here. </p>

<p>Feel free to PM me and I can tell you a little more about MU.</p>