<p>I just wanted some advice. I'm having a hard time figuring out where to go for college. I've narrowed down my list to Wellesley, Barnard, Penn and Vassar. Penn is vastly different from the others, but I have a feeling my parents (especially my dad wants me to go there the most). Also Penn is very considered the "social Ivy" and I'm not the biggest drinker. I liked the campus well enough and adore the Kelly Writers House though. Barnard has been my dream school since sophomore year, but I did not receive that much aid and if I go there I'd have to get a job off campus which really frightens me because I'm not used to NYC and also it might be distracting for me my first year academics-wise. I visited Vassar and I liked it enough, but I wasn't wowed by it (partly because I visited Barnard before and kept comparing everything to Barnard). I'll be visiting Wellesley next week to see what I like about the place. </p>
<p>I want to be a journalist and the only schools that have something concerning media or communications are Penn, Vassar and Wellesley. However, with Barnard, I'll have a better chance of getting internships in the city and establishing myself. Also I figured if I was at Barnard, I might have a better in with Columbia's grad school for journalism.</p>
<p>I'd hope to double major in Communications/Media Studies and history and possibly minor in Political Science or Gender Studies at Vassar, Wellesley or Penn. At Barnard, I'd double major in Human Rights and History and possibly minor in film studies.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Which would be a better option for me?</p>
<p>I know nothing about journalism, but I have committed to Penn. I am also not a drinker/crazy partier, but I think at any college, especially one as large as Penn, it’s going to be easy to find a group of people who share the same values as you. I have already met several awesome people and my roommate, none of whom are into that. Just something to keep in mind!</p>
<p>Will you have to take out loans to attend any of them? Not a good idea given the probable future salary of a journalist. You will probably want to pick the least expensive choice.</p>
<p>All four are fantastic schools for a future journalist, and all four have launched the careers of prominent and successful journalists for many decades. Assuming they’re equally affordable (and if not, at least some of these schools will match the need-based aid awards of peers), you should choose the school at which you think you’d be happiest, taking into account size, campus and campus life, location, breadth and depth of academic offerings, etc. It’s really a subjective, holistic decision (i.e., trust your gut! ). And it’s really that simple. At this level of academic excellence, if you choose a school at which you’ll be happy and, therefore, thrive both academically and socially, the rest will take care of itself. Honest! ;)</p>
<p>Overall, agree with 45 Pecenter - fit and potential happiness, in this case, are very important. That said, your father also has wisdom. UPenn, generically, has a stronger reputation among graduate schools and employers than the other schools if your career aspirations change while in college - which happens more often than not. It is the safest choice. </p>
<p>Not true (unless things have changed a lot in recent years). There is no connection between the J-school and undergrad – none whatsoever, other than perhaps going to public programs held by the school, and going to Barnard would not help you get into the J-school.</p>
<p>The most important thing to getting a job in journalism is evidence of your published work. In today’s world, you need to be versatile in every media – print, video, social media. Pick the school where you can get the most experience writing articles/producing video/etc. You don’t need to major in it to get those – so explore the school newspapers, for example. Can anyone write articles? I do agree that the intern possibilities at Barnard, and then Penn, are probably the best. But graduating with little to no debt is crucial. </p>
<p>The most disturbing thing about your question is your comment about being afraid to go off campus for work. If you really want to be a journalist, you better get over that fear pronto. Journalists have to explore new and often really scary places all the time. If the idea of finding a job in NYC scares you, perhaps rethink your interest in journalism. </p>
<p>I’m mainly concerned about how I can balance an off campus job my first semester at school and getting adjusted to the rigor. And yeah, I feel like I should get used to the city before I take a job off campus. Didn’t realize that’s disturbing and I should forgo journalism altogether. </p>
<p>Honestly, I would be concerned too if your attendance at Barnard necessitates finding an off-campus job. Trying to find an off-campus job in the first few months in NYC will be overwhelming; there will be a lot of people competing with you for the good jobs. There are MA holders here who waitress or are baristas while waiting for a big break or a better job. It’s a competitive market. Not to say that you can’t get an off-campus job, but most of the Barnard and Columbia students I know (I’m a Columbia grad student) who work off campus are third- and fourth-years who found an internship after being in college several years already.</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like Barnard is the best or most affordable choice for you. Penn is also in an urban area, with the potential for internships; Penn is a world-class university and I’m sure it has tons of connections in the area. And although it has the reputation of the “social Ivy,” don’t rely on stereotypes to select your college. It’s only social compared to other Ivies; it’s not exactly a Big 10 or SEC public school. Besides, that’s a stereotype - with 10,000 undergraduates I’m sure you’ll find some who are more your style, non-drinkers or who drink less and maybe like to have fun in other ways.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I had your choices I would probably also choose Penn. I would wait to see what Wellesley is like because if you liked Barnard so much, you may also really like Wellesley. But at this point I think Penn is your best choice given the affordability and what you’ve said so far. (Vassar is great too! You just don’t seem to like it very much.)</p>
<p>To be honest, I can’t really let go of Barnard because it’s been my dream school for like two years. And I don’t really want to go to Penn (which is very obnoxious of me, but I don’t want to!). I liked Vassar enough and might consider it . Wellelsley too. But at this point I’m crossing Penn off my list.</p>
<p>Wellesley vs. Vassar:
-both beautiful campuses
-Vassar has some men, FWIW.
Wellesley is in a suburb, with easy access to Boston. Vassar is in a small gritty city.
The “easy access” thing is not all good. believe it or not, it can detract from the vitality of campus life, particularly on the weekends.D1 did an overnight at Wellesley and came back concerned about this.
-IIRC Wellesley has more money, and is usually “higher ranked”, FWIW. But Vassar is also highly regarded.</p>
<p>At this level it’s a little like “Which should I get, chocolate ice cream, or strawberry?”</p>
<p>Did you/can you do overnights at both schools? that might help.</p>
<p>Otherwise: maybe check out the registrar’s list of courses at both schools, count the courses you think you might like; review distribution & major requirements, see if either would make you take a lot of stuff you don’t want to take; review the financial issues; go with your gut,</p>
<p>I have visited Vassar and I was a bit unnerved by the isolation. I’ll be visiting and staying overnight at Wellesley on Sunday and Monday so we’ll see . . .</p>
<p>Hey! I applied ED to Penn this year, was deferred, then accepted in the RD round. I fully expected to commit, and was psyching myself up for all sorts of great opportunities at the school (Kelly Writers House, internships, etc). Like you, I’m incredibly passionate about journalism, and was really excited about all the publishing connections that Penn could provide.
FAST FORWARD to Quaker Days, and I was pretty disappointed. I didn’t think the student body was particularly intellectually impressive, the “party culture” was in full swing, and that Roman-orgy style “last hurrah” was a huge turn-off (ummmm, did they REALLY need to rent out a museum). Needless to say, I left feeling a bit let down.</p>
<p>BUT I also got into Barnard. The next week, I visited the school and fell in love. The students I met (both Barnard women and Columbia students) were passionate, smart, engaged, fun, and had a bunch of cool internships and job experiences. There were A TON less people into finance/consulting, and a lot more into academics, which I found so refreshing. As a Barnard student, you can write for the Spec/Bwog/intern in Manhattan and tons of different publications. ALSO as a huge bonus, you can take classes at the Columbia School of Journalism as a senior (I spoke to a cross-registration coordinator at the CSJ and she assured me that people had done it in the past. Also, she was a Barnard alum…how cool!).
As you can probably tell, I’m committing to Barnard. I couldn’t be more excited, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me, and I can add you on Facebook!</p>
<p>No loans or as little as possible is the way to go unless you are so thrilled with a school you feel it’s worth every penny–which if you were, you would not have posted this. </p>
<p>I know dozens of young people wiho went into journalism, yes, at those schools and also as a grad student at Columbia, and they are all pounding salt right now,waiting for that break and trying to make a living wage. The ones in best shape have no loans. It’s not so bad to be poor and barely make ends meet, but that monthly loan payment is a killer when you are making subsistence wages or have a variable paycheck which is often the case in this field.</p>
<p>Vassar is the least expensive, yes. Then it is Wellesley, Penn and Barnard. Vassar, Penn, and Wellesley gave me 20,000+ while Barnard gave me under 10,000</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know how taxing Barnard would be for your family, financially, but it’s something to think about. Barnard is $40,000+ more expensive than your other choices. Journalism is very tough to break into and advance these days (but go for it!), so credentials have become more and more important (along with body of work). Think about how you’ll afford an MA or MJ degree, for which you can expect to pay maybe $30K+ out-of-pocket. </p>
<p>I know Barnard is your dream school, but it’s not like your other options are cornmeal. It sounds like Penn is off your plate entirely, but Vassar and Wellesley are fabulous choices too. </p>
<p>Wellesley in particular has a reputation for being quite pre-professional, it has an outstanding alumni network, and excellent internship opportunities. In my opinion, for an aspiring journalist in a tough market, factors like these (plus net cost) are what you should focus on. Your odds of getting placed into a top grad program at Columbia, or Northwestern or Stanford or Berkeley, are as good with Wellesley and Vassar as with Barnard. </p>
<p>The proximity of Barnard to Columbia/NYC is probably not the advantage that it seems for grad school placement and internship opps. Your success with that is still largely on your own shoulders, and has more to do with your GPA, your body of work (school media), and the connections you forge with your profs or out in the industry. There are no shortcuts there, it takes hard work.</p>
<p>So I’d recommend visiting Wellesley this weekend with an open mind, and ask lots of questions. Think about your long-term career goals. I hope you can post back here next week with your impressions.</p>
). And it’s really that simple. At this level of academic excellence, if you choose a school at which you’ll be happy and, therefore, thrive both academically and socially, the rest will take care of itself. Honest! ;)</p>