<p>I know that this seems like a dumb question and I don't wanna sound like one of those people who are like, well i like harvard but i also like princeton and yale, blah blah blah.</p>
<p>Anyways, I am deciding betwen the communications school at UPenn and Medill at Northwetern. I know that Northwestern is great at journalism, but I feel like Penn is just a better school over all. I've never even visited UPenn so it'd be a huge leap of faith if i did choose to go there. On the other hand, I've visited Northwestern and could definately see myself there.</p>
<p>figure out if your 100% sure about journalism (not that this should necessarily push you to northwestern, but its a start in making an informed decision) and try to visit penn. its a great school, with a seemingly pretty different environment than nu, and i'm sure there are plenty of opportunities for future journalists there.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think that Penn and NU are academic peers. My kid preferred NU to Penn, but you could not make a mistake whichever you choose. It's just a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>This is one of the rare times, outside the sciences/engineering, I'd warn someone to strongly consider the particular department or sub-school they were thinking about attending. Penn's Communication school is very strong but I've heard numerous complaints from students who were looking for a practical/hands-on experience but found one that was much too theoretical (and transfered majors). Make sure if Comm there doesn't work out there's another department you'd be happy to move on to. </p>
<p>Northwestern's Medill and Communications programs are strongly academic but definitely much more geared to practical applications in the workplace. Both are, of course, top-notch in terms of reputation and recruiting. Medill with Comm were invited to open a branch in Qatar with the likes of Carnegie Mellon in Computer Science and Georgetown in Foreign Service. </p>
<p>Otherwise, there are more similarities than differences between academics in general and the student bodies in particular between the two schools. Think about location, general environment, and most importantly, where you'd find yourself happier.</p>