<p>I currently attend my hometown community college. I want to transfer for media and communication studies. I've recently visited five schools:</p>
<p>Towson -- The communication program here seems good (although I don't really know) and it's not too small but not too big either. But the campus felt spread out, and I'm not sure how safe the surrounding area is.</p>
<p>U Maryland Baltimore County -- The college has a nice layout and it's academics are good, but I didn't like Catonsville.</p>
<p>Shenandoah -- This has a good program and the Shenandoah Valley is beautiful, but Winchester is kinda far out.</p>
<p>Hood -- Frederick is a nice town (for the most part), but I wonder if the other schools are better.</p>
<p>Shippensburg -- didn't really impress me but maybe I'm missing something.</p>
<p>I've also visited (but not recently) Shepherd, College Park, and Frostburg. Shepherd is too close, CP is too big and doesn't really have what I want and Frostburg is too far away from anything.</p>
<p>I want to know what school has the best communication program and what you people think about these schools. Are there any other schools within 2 hours of me that I should look at? (I haven't looked at McDaniel or Stevenson)</p>
<p>None of those schools are worth attending. Stay where you are or try to do better to get into a name school. Those schools will take your money and you’ll be unemployed.</p>
<p>@informative is anything but in this thread. A four year degree will be valuable. Media and communications is not exaclty what we’d call a “hot” industry, so any unemployment will be the result of the industry and your luck in making connections. </p>
<p>What is it you hope to do after college? Perhaps there are more versatile disciplines than communications that would put you on the right path and might make other colleges attractive. </p>
<p>My husband and I graduated from Towson with Communications degrees in the late 80’s. We remained in the Baltimore area, have always been gainfully employed in the communications industry, and earn at the top of the income range for our positions. </p>
<p>Towson prepared us well for our world of work. We had great internships, which ultimately led to our first real jobs. We couldn’t have asked for more as a career launch.</p>
<p>However, after acknowledging that we’ve benefitted professionally, we both think we missed out on the “college experience.” Back in the 80’s, Towson was kind of suitcase school, i.e., dead on the weekends. Not much sports loyalty, weak Greek life, etc. etc. </p>
<p>It turned out OK for us. We made great friends in the dorms as frosh and sophs, and don’t regret going there. But, if you’re looking for rah-rah, Towson will probably come up short. </p>
<p>Good luck. :)</p>
<p>PS: Google the 60 Minutes segment on UMBC. You’ll be impressed. </p>
<p>PPS: The area surrounding Towson is fine, not sketchy.</p>
<p>Good advice in this thread. Being from this area myself and a career counselor at an East Coast school, I am also familiar with these schools and can firmly recommend Towson or UMBC. Both schools are reputable and worthwhile, and their programs in media/communications are quite good. </p>
<p>If you truly intend to work in this field post-graduation, be aware that it is extremely competitive and that simply having a degree in it will likely not be enough. Work hard to expand your experience and portfolio while you are still in school, and not only will you have a nice leg up on the competition when you graduate, but you will also have an established network of people you can go to for potential job opportunities and advice.</p>