Was fortunate enough to get accepted to all 3 with similar aid from all. Thinking of studying political science and journalism. Was always set on georgetown until making it to ND campus for admitted students day recently (have not made it to gtown or NU campus yet) and realized I can’t just pass over the other options so easily.
The main thing pulling me to georgetown is its DC location which would make political and journalism internships easy. However there are pros to ND (community feel) and Northwestern (best journalism school). Obviously there is no bad decision as it’s not like ND or NU have subpar poli sci (or like gtown and ND have poor journalism minors).
Just looking at any all perspectives as this choice has become very overwhelming.
Thank you I didn’t know about the Medill DC program. I am serious about journalism however at this point and not sure i want to be a traditional journalist. I just know that political comms interests me. Have even tossed around idea of law school. I hope that makes sense—I don’t wanna box myself into just journalism which is why I plan on a double major or minor etc… but I do get your point; if I’m studying Journalism NU would be the best program for that academically.
If you are looking at a top-notch school at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Northwestern University is that school. The school is highly regarded by employers. The undergraduate school is ranked in the top 10 by US News. Many of Northwestern’s graduate programs (medical, business, law, engineering, journalism, etc.) are ranked in the top 10 or 20. You might go to the school where you might enjoy the most if it is in the DC area or sports as in Notre Dame. Northwestern is in a competitive sports conference, the Big Ten Conference. Because of Northwestern’s high academic standards, their teams (football, basketball) are usually competitive, but not a perennial powerhouse.
I’m biased as an alum, but you really can’t beat Medill for journalism. Internships are a hallmark of the program (formerly known as TN/TM, but now Journalism Residency), and the network is incredible. Congratulations on three amazing acceptances and good luck with your decision!
Disagree - you might ask for a track record - but I’d say the same about all three. Internships are typically not “easy” unless you are working for free and then, there are still limits into who and how many they are taking.
PS - all three are great schools - but journalism is not a major you need to be a journalist. You might find the outlets all three have - newspapers, radio stations, tv and other - and find out the requirements to become part of one.
Both majors you are mentioning are tough outcome wise - with journalism being more fluff.
If you love DC, then great - go for it - but you have a zillion college students in DC and others like my daughter who interned from a college outside DC. So don’t assume it’s “easy” because you are there. I’d at least check outcomes.
But in the end, you don’t have a bad choice on your list - so you should pick the one where you want to spend four years, day after day . That’s the right one!!
FWIW, I have Northwestern as a direct peer of Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth. (and Duke and Hopkins)
OP, these are three awesome schools. I think academically, Northwestern is a hair stronger than ND and Georgetown overall, but in this case I would choose based on fit – curricular, setting/location, social, etc., provided that costs are similar among the three.
Yeah I didn’t mean easy to get an internship. I have just heard things mentioned about interning during the school year—which might actually make one “easier” to secure, when you’re not fighting with many oos students in the summer for a dc internship.
First, huge congratulations on your excellent admissions. You’ve done well.
Georgetown is the best there for Political Science, though foreign relations are the real strength. However, NWU is at the very very top for Journalism. Considering your interests, I agree with everybody here that Northwestern is likely the best place for you.
When you attend a journalism school with the reputation that Northwestern has, you really don’t need to worry about internships. I’m pretty sure that recruiters come to Northwestern to recruit interns.
Attending top schools often helps in finding internships far more than proximity. Engineering students at UIUC don’t have problems getting internships - the companies go there to recruit. Moreover, it’s not as though Chicago is somewhere in the Boondocks.
Still trying to decide between Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and studying Government with a journalism minor at Georgetown. some might argue that the decision is a no-brainer with Northwestern having The country’s best journalism school. I was leaning to NU after the accepted students day, but am again torn after going to Georgetown’s.
while the connections and program at Northwestern are hard to beat for journalism, Georgetowns location makes it the winner on the politics/gov side.
I’ve been looking for some perspective on gtowns j program to kind of give me a piece of mind if I choose Georgetown and pass up on medill. Georgetown like NU, requires a media internship which I do like. It’s such a hard decision and I don’t wanna regret choosing gtown as I’ve heard that i will be at a disadvantage for journalism jobs if that is the route I decide. But still on the other side, the internship opportunities on capital hill, think tanks, etc will not be available at NU so ig its a trade off.
You truly cannot go wrong here. Go with what fits best. We know some Northwestern students who have had outstanding success in internships, capitol hill and otherwise.
The question is, how are those regrets distributed? It seems as if journalism is one of those fields where there’s a meaningful difference between attending a top program and just majoring in journalism at Perfectly-Acceptable Generic U. So I’m skeptical that projecting regret for a Northwestern Journalism+PoliSci major is a good assumption. And DC internships are very possible, either as part of a semester-in-DC program or separately.
Both terrific options. If you’d only gotten into one or the other, you’d still be in great shape.