Hi! I’m deciding between Syracuse (Newhouse + Maxwell), UMD (Merrill + Carillon), American, and NYU (LS London first year) for journalism + political reporting

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Hi! I’m deciding between Syracuse (Newhouse + Maxwell), UMD (Merrill + Carillon), American, and NYU (LS London first year) for journalism + political reporting.

Costs per year:

  • Syracuse: ~$62k

  • UMD: ~$50k (possibly in-state after 1–2 years)

  • American: ~$48k

  • NYU: ~$100k (likely not realistic)

My family can contribute $60–65k/year, so Syracuse is doable but more of a stretch than UMD or American.

Goals: political journalism / eventually national political reporting. Strong internship access (especially DC) and program prestige are my top priorities.

Context:

  • From California but open to snow

  • Have family in Maryland + parents went to UMD

  • Loved Syracuse’s campus and Newhouse reputation

  • Applied to American + UMD mainly for DC access

  • Love NYC but NYU is probably too expensive

Right now I’m mostly deciding between Syracuse vs UMD, with American still in the mix. Would especially appreciate thoughts on Newhouse vs Merrill for political journalism and long-term opportunities.

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UMD or Syracuse for Journalism and Political Science
Syracuse Newhouse & Maxwell or UMD Phillip Merrill?
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I’m a Syracuse/Maxwell guy….and from California.

I think journalism is a very tough field and you need a double major - so it’s good you have UMD. Today, it’s a lot more fractional - meaning contract work.

I would not count on getting in state at UMD - but you can talk to the residency office. Having family in Maryland will not get you residency. There are 7 things you need to be considered:

  1. Having a primary residence there - if your parents aren’t there, you don’t have that.
  2. All your personal property, including pets in Maryland. As you’ll be domiciled in your parents home and a dependent of them (they are paying your costs, you don’t have that)
  3. You won’t have a Maryland tax return (and as a resident, paying Maryland taxes even on income earned outside Maryland
  4. Have your vehicle registered in Maryland for 12 months
  5. Have a Maryland driver license for 12 months
  6. Receive no public assistance from any state (but Maryland)
  7. Have the ability under Federal and Maryland law to live permanently and without interruption in Maryland.

TO me, you can’t afford SU - and costs will go up. Most kids don’t make it in journalism - it’s just how it is. But yes, SU has a great rep, a DC program, and some will make it but most won’t. In media, all are competing - so the network won’t help as much as you think. I know very few who made it - those who have are in sports. There are many examples of some who did a few years, etc. Interestingly, a friend dropped out because her family couldn’t afford. Ended up at Montana. When I visited her, every person had equipment and they did so much practice work. At SU, there were far more kids than equipment - and if 10% obtained journalism success, I’d be surprised. At Montana that year ,my friend said everyone got a job and she was a sports and news reporter for many year, followed by a long stint as a news director.

But your family can’t afford SU - that’s #1. Even UMD, with annual cost increases, will move up into their max area.

And you are pursuing difficult majors - and you need a double - so you need a second at UMD.

Neither is ideal for you given the finances but UMD wins.

Proximity to DC doesn’t matter - there are governmental stories EVERYWHERE including in Onondaga County (SU). And DC internships aren’t impossible no matter what people say - my student did a DC semester and had 5 DC offers and two right outside in Maryland. Just apply to enough.

If you have a lower cost school, given your majors, I’d seriously look at it. What you’ll find is - many journalists - never even studied journalism. They had the right look or sound - and today, with so many contract jobs, well it’s just tough to spend money you can’t afford.

But of the two, I don’t see (even as an alum) how you can choose SU - but if you do go to UMD, find a second major to partner with it.

Best of luck.

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UMD or Syracuse for Journalism and Political Science
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I wrote on your other thread - this one has more schools:

If you have two majors, AU would be my choice - or UMD - but you’re not getting in state.

You can’t afford SU or NYU. I love SU (as an alum from CA) - I’m one of many wanna be journalists that bombed out after a short stint - and it’s tougher today. This will be most - but you learn to pivot - but spending on something you can’t afford simply doesn’t make sense. And many “journalists” aren’t even journalism majors.

It’s a monetary equation and while AU is in DC and it’s helpful, you can get reporting experience anywhere, do a DC semester, and switch to national reporting. That you learn the technicques is what matters - not what you are covering per se.

As I noted on the other thread, most won’t make it - which is why many schools require a minor or double major.

Keep your families finances most in mind - so choose AU or UMD - and if you have a lower cost school, it might be a wiser choice as well.

Best of luck to you.

PS - here’s a sampling of White House Correspondents (or former). I got up to K (using Wikipedia). Note many didn’t study journalism or even have j programs.

Jim Acosta - James Madison

Peter Alexander - Northwestern

Peter Baker - Oberlin

Rebecca Ballhaus - Brown

Jennifer Bendery - U of Mary Washington / SF State

Margaret Brennan - UVA

David Brody - Ithaca

Kaitlin Collins - Alabama

Jeremy Diamond - GW

Peter Doocy - Villanova

Devin Dwyer - Dartmouth/Columbia

Andrew Feinberg - Wisconsin

Kristin Fisher - BU

Major Garrett - Mizzou

Maggie Haberman - Sarah Lawrence

Astead Herndon - Marquette

Hallie Jackson - Johns Hopkins

Weijia Jang - W&M, Syracuse (MS)

Jonathan Karl - Vassar

That’s through the Ks - - you can have gone anywhere - I love SU - but overall success rates will not be large - weren’t before and won’t be today.

Best of luck to you.

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@purplerockstick2 if this is your real name, I would urge you to change it asap. Here is how:

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IF affordable and IF you are confident about your path, I think Newhouse will provide an outstanding education and is a premier name in an industry where I believe connections matter. Otherwise, choose between American and UMD – the environments are different enough that one should feel like the better fit.

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@purplerockstick2

You can either send an email to the above…or send a private message to @CC_Sorin

@CC_Sorin can you please help this poster…I’m not sure she has listed enough to be able to PM you.

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Both American and Syracuse have top programs for journalism, and American also has an amazing program for political science.

I think that there is no real competition here - American beats all of your other choices for a mix of top programs (both in academic quality and reputation) and affordability, not to mention access to DC.

For Journalism alone, Syracuse has the edge, but once you factor in cost and access to DC, American wins.

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Thanks for taking the time to write this!!! I really appreciate the perspective.

One update since my earlier post is that Syracuse offered me additional aid, so my cost is now about $50k/year, which makes it much more realistic for my family.

I’m also planning to dual enroll in journalism at Newhouse and political science at Maxwell, so I will be double majoring. I’m from California, and I want to go into political reporting, so the Newhouse + Maxwell combo is a big reason Syracuse makes sense for me.

I definitely understand journalism is a tough field and not guaranteed, but after visiting campus and learning more about the program and opportunities (especially DC + political reporting paths), I feel confident about the decision.

At this point, I’m going to commit to Syracuse. Really excited about it :slightly_smiling_face::tangerine:

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and I appreciated hearing your experience.

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Congrats - you are like me - dual Newhouse/Maxwell and from CA (San Diego).

Congrats on the additional merit - it seems smart for any prospective SU students to wait (lots of stories these past two years of more merit - in fact, you might wait closer to May 1 to commit).

Best of luck.

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Congrats! Hope you have a fantastic experience there. Time to buy a hoodie and a winter coat/boots to celebrate!

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Isn’t that the truth…I would also wait longer, assuming there are no deadlines before May 1 for housing, etc.

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You don’t need internships in DC. You need opportunities to report…period - city council, county, etc. Today, vs. when I was a an SU/Maxwell dual, you have an IPhone - and so you can create stories from anywhere. But back in the day, we had very few chances to anchor/report - so you need to find out from the schools how much access to equipment will you have.

Schools, by the way, don’t give you internships. You have to seek them - and you will compete at the major networks or DC bureaus - with kids from all the local schools and even kids coming to DC for a semester program. SU, of course, has a DC center.

They are both fine programs.

If you’re the student from last week, SU seemed over budget.

But given you prefer SU, I’d go there - but I would focus on getting experience. It needn’t be DC. In fact, you’ll build better skills starting with the local council meetings where people will actually speak to you vs. in DC where they won’t.

It’s no different than many find their first job in small markets in Montana or West Virginia…and work their way up - those few who find jobs at all.

But in this case - SU is the right call.

Best of luck.

PS - I put this on one of your other threads - but there is no “monopoly” on who is in DC. Here is a sampling (A-K) of current or former WH correspondents, as an example. Many will not have been trained on the “academic” side of journalism itself in any way.

Jim Acosta - James Madison

Peter Alexander - Northwestern

Peter Baker - Oberlin

Rebecca Ballhaus - Brown

Jennifer Bendery - U of Mary Washington / SF State

Margaret Brennan - UVA

David Brody - Ithaca

Kaitlin Collins - Alabama

Jeremy Diamond - GW

Peter Doocy - Villanova

Devin Dwyer - Dartmouth/Columbia

Andrew Feinberg - Wisconsin

Kristin Fisher - BU

Major Garrett - Mizzou

Maggie Haberman - Sarah Lawrence

Astead Herndon - Marquette

Hallie Jackson - Johns Hopkins

Weijia Jang - W&M, Syracuse (MS)

Jonathan Karl - Vassar

Syracuse Newhouse & Maxwell or UMD Phillip Merrill?
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