My daughter was accepted to the Communication Schools at USC, Northwestern and Boston University. All great places to study communications. Is there a big difference between the three schools with respect to Academics?? Internships?? Job placement?? Do employers in the industry value a USC Com or Northwestern Com degree more than a BU Com degree
We have visited all three schools and she can see herself fitting in at all three places but would prefer LA or Boston. We received no merit or aid from USC or Northwestern but she received a Presidential Scholarship at Boston U so she would be attending for close to nothing. I can afford to pay full price at all three schools but I’m just not sure a communications degree is worth paying $300k for.
In terms of communications, USC and NU are fairly equivalent. NU would be higher rated in terms of journalism. But… as pro-USC as I tend to be, unless you are are 100% sold on USC and L.A. over every other option, I would honestly just recommend going to BU then and invest the differential in costs other ways that can benefit her or your family.
My biggest concern is the quality of the education, professors and resources. There doesn’t seem to be a huge difference in quality between the three programs and from what I can gather they all have very good reputations finding students jobs after graduation.
My daughter loves everything about USC and LA and Northwestern’s only negative is the winters, but Boston also has some real advantages over both places. Plus it’s hard to beat a close to free education at a top notch university.
Boston’s communications program is absolutely amazing. I’m currently attending as a Behavioral Biology and Psychology majors, and I can say the resources they offer are great. As long as you sign do the bare minimum and sign up for information from communications clubs she will receive more than enough emails about outside resources such as internships and job opportunities. BU really takes care of their students in a way that I’ve yet to see elsewhere. I didn’t understand why it was so expensive until I started there, and I can honestly say it’s worth the price, so the fact that she got in for next to nothing is amazing!! I’m pre-med, and I must receive maybe about 10-15 emails a DAY regarding medical career opportunities like med school visitors and internships, which just goes to show even by doing the bare minimum there you receive plenty of resources to advance your career. All my friends who are communications major absolutely love BU and the communications classes. Either way her options are great, I hope this helps!
My impression has been that you go to Northwestern if you want to be a journalist, and USC if you want to be a TV reporter. I know nothing about BU for Communications, but I do love Boston.