What do i do with my life?!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone.
I am confused and stressed because my future is too hazy right now.
My major is Broadcast Journalism. I have only applied to Universities located in Florida because I live in Miami and because I want a job at a Spanish news channel or radio. I applied to UM, FIU, UF, and UCF... </p>

<p>Anyway, Hispanic --- my Unweighted GPA: 3.4, Academic: 3.8, Weighted: 4.8. Class Ranking: Top 10% - 39/421. ACT: 28 Composite (26 English, 27 Math, 31 Reading, 27 Science). October SAT: 1710/2400 (530 CR, 590 M, 590 W) ~~~ December SAT: 1800/2400 (600 CR, 590 M, 610 W) SAT II (taken in December): Spanish w/ Listening: 780. APs throughout High School: 8. ECs: 4 yrs Key Club, 4+ yrs Speed Skating team, Spanish Honors Society Secretay, Photography + Art Clubs 2 yrs, DECA Club, Teacher Aide, MC (Master of Ceremonies) of school events. Honors & Awards: Many Journalism Awards because I was cartoonist for my high school magazine. Only have gotten As & Bs, no lower. Excellent Essay (talked about struggles of moving to America -I moved to the USA from Venezuela 5 years ago and did not understand English). Good Recommendations.</p>

<p>UM is my top choice, applied EA and I am having doubts as to whether I'll get accepted or not because they will only take the October SAT and will not even see my SAT Subject Test score! Well, the thing is that UM is the only University in Miami that offers Broadcast Journalism and that has all the equipment (Radio/TV Stations + Magazine Editorial). If I don't get accepted to UM, that means I'm going to have to go to FIU And they don't have my major... They don't even have a TV STATION! They have some other major called Communications/Media Studies... UCF will accept me but like I said, I want to stay in Miami and UF is too far away (like they'll ever accept me anyway...)</p>

<p>So pretty much I'm in between UM and FIU. If I don't get accepted into UM then I don't know if I should just go to FIU and study some other major OR take a year off, try to find a job at a local radio/tv station and build up relationships and apply next year to UM once again.</p>

<p>Plus, I know a lot of people say that getting a job right away as a reporter, etc... Is difficult and I know it that's why I'm asking for advice. Do you guys think that to be a reporter you have to study Broadcast Journalism or does getting a job at a TV station is more about having relationships with those famous people, getting internships, etc...?</p>

<p>What do you guys think?
Please help me! I'm too confused.</p>

2

<p>For journalism, internships and experience is far more important than education. The only reason why UM is better than the other schools you listed for journalism is because it is closer to the major TV stations. </p>

<p>You just need to learn how to present yourself and do some great interviews so you might be accepted by one of the major TV stations.</p>

3

<p>Once you get into college, have settled in and, perhaps gotten involved with the school radio station or newspaper, you can start thinking about how to explore career options. One thing you do is visit your career center and look up all the school alums who work in the industries you are interested in or who have jobs you want to know more about. You contact them, introduce yourself and request informational interviews to discuss 1) what they do 2) how they prepared themselves for their careers, 3) what they like most and least about it and 4) what advice do they have for a student looking to get into their field. Lastly, 5) do they know anyone else you can talk to who is in this field (or a related field) with whom they can put you in touch. Many an internship, job or mentoring relationship started with an informational interview. </p>

<p>Make sure you also develop good relationships with your journalism professors - go into office hours and make sure they know who you are and what you want to do. The students who do that are the ones who get the internships and research assignments.</p>

<p>This is a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, you may find you are less interested in the jobs you thought you would love and more interested in something you never considered. Make sure you take some econ classes to so you understand the economics of the businesses you are looking to enter. You can be a star performer, but if the industry is shrinking, so are the opportunities. And the opposite, of course, as well. As a smart young Hispanic woman, there are opportunities out there that you have probably never considered.</p>

<p>Also, take some time to research scholarship opportunities. There is a lot of money out there for promising Hispanic students with good grades and impressive success stories (which I think you are given that you’ve only been in the US for 5 years). Most of the larger scholarships require essays, your high school transcript, letters of recommendation - and many are due between February 1 and April 1. To find out about these, do an internet search, visit your guidance counselors office, find a book of scholarships at the bookstore or library. Some require financial need, others don’t - don’t assume you won’t qualify until you look.</p>

4

<p>If you got a scholarship go ahead and go to UM, if you don’t then you’ll be graduating with some crazy debt as each semester at UM goes for $15,000 or so… I got my eyes on FIU. They might not be as good as UM, but a lot of local South Florida reporters have graduated from FIU. Just go to WSVN.com or any other news channel website and look at the Bio’s of reporters. There’s also many other reporters who don’t have degree in Journalism, they have degrees in Political Science and now since we are in the era of computers don’t be surprised to see a reporter with a Computer Science degree. </p>