<p>MN daughter wants to study journalism and has finally narrowed down the schools to WI-Madison and IN-Bloomington. Typical 18 year old...doesn't know what to do or talk about it. Any advice on specific differences in the schools that I can give her to help make the decision. Madison is a bit less expensive and obviously closer to home but want her to make the best decision regarding the school. SHe is more interested in broadcast media and has already done some interning at a TV station. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Madison is a great school, especially for your daughter with that MN-WI reciprocal tuition agreement. The kids from Illinois who attend, paying full OOS tuition, are generally in the top 10% of students at our high school. It has some of the problems shared by other large schools, primarily a large drinking cuture and a sizable bureaucracy, but the academics are excellent and most kids truly enjoy their experience.</p>
<p>Being in Illinois, with a state flagship that has become quite selective, we also send a number of kids to IU-Bloomington. Typically, these would be kids who didn’t get into UIUC, or who choose IU for its business school, or preferred the less-stressed atmosphere there. It is popular for all the right reasons, but the OOS contingent is not the quality of Madison’s.</p>
<p>I would strongly prefer Madison. The setting is an ideal college town. It has a stronger national reputation than IU and a more qualified student body. Greek life is there if you want it, and accessible to almost all of the interested students, but most people are independent and have a fantastic time. At IU, it’s a totally different story. Greek life is huge and socially important, and it is the most exclusive system in the country in that only half the interested women find a place in a house. Upperclassmen live in the sorority houses for three years vs. one or two at Madison (and Michigan), so it’s quite all-encompassing.</p>
<p>For journalism I would choose IU. It is also in an ideal college town and not as cold. It does not have as strong an overall reputation as WI, but is not far behind and in certain areas, including journalism, is extremely highly regarded.</p>
<p>So is UW Journalism. Many people at the Post and NYT came from UW. UW has around 35 Pulitzer winners. UW has two competing student dailies and others that come and go including The Onion.</p>
<p>Do some searches about journalism in general here on CC. For practical purposes, it’s about the student having enough self-drive and determination to go hustle, put in the slavish hours doing menial tasks – and getting noticed by those in the business. My wife started with Journalism at IU and was really put off by the back-stabbing of many fellow students…</p>
<p>Best of luck to your daughter.</p>