<p>My daughter is having a tough time deciding whether or not Notre Dame or the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse would offer her better opportunities. Obviously, Syracuse’s communications program is ranked higher…but overall the school is relatively average. While ND’s specific program may not be as high, overall is it much more prestigious.
Also being considered are the types of kids at each school, which has a better atmosphere, etc. She likes that Notre Dame is smaller, is its party scene as big as Syracuse’s? Any information at all would be wonderful. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>To the best of my knowledge, Notre Dame does not offer a communications major or minor. You would be better off looking at schools that actually offer the program your daughter is interested in rather than choosing a school based on relative prestige.</p>
<p>They have a major called TV/FIlm/Theatre, which I believe is similar to communications</p>
<p>Syracuse’s Newhouse School is a stand alone “college” within the University and offers a number of majors within that School; ND’s FTT is a single department with a far more limited course offering. </p>
<p>We know several students who have gone through Newhouse and have landed quite well career-wise. Of course, many students do change their major and interests once they get to college, so a student who has vague ideas about what communications could involve may well change once they get there. At Syracuse, once you leave Newhouse, the rest of the school is certainly reputable but lacks the cachet of Newhouse. At ND, a student who realized they don’t really want to do FTT would have a broader base of strengths across the institution to move into.</p>
<p>We know a number of ND students, and it is no slouch when it comes to party schools. There is certainly a work hard play hard ethic among a lot of students. There are plenty of options for students choosing not to “partake” at ND, as I assume there would be at Syracuse. </p>
<p>After a misguided attempt at being an agent of social change Syracuse is now returning to making academics the top priority. I think the rep improves and the rep of Newhouse will always be better if that’s what she really wants to do. </p>
<p>What kind of job is your daughter wanting? Something like journalism? Because TV/Film/Theatre is not the same as communications and journalism. Syracuse has a renowned j-school. Notre Dame just has a journalism minor, available to some students, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>Also, prestige of the department is far more important than the school itself; Missouri, for instance, has one of the top journalism schools in the nation, but the whole school itself is ranked around 97th. Yet journalism students do very well because employers see they did their undergrad work at a prestigious journalism school.</p>
There is no question that Syracuse is the better choice for Communications. Notre Dame is good, but it is not as prestigious as other schools like Wash U, Northwestern, the Ivies, etc…Notre Dame’s great quality is its extensive alumni network. But that does not distinguish it from Newhouse. Newhouse has one of the most extensive and active alumni networks in the country. They actively assist Newhouse grads break into their fields in some of the most competitive markets and at some of the best agencies and firms worldwide. Newhouse is typically ranked top 3 in the country in communications (along with Northwestern and USC/Annenberg). No school will guarantee lifelong career success, but in the world of communications there are certain schools that stand out and Newhouse is one of the best.
US News ranks Notre Dame at #16 – tied with Brown (an Ivy), as well as only slightly below Northwestern (#13), WUSTL (#14), and #15 Cornell (another Ivy).
This decision would be a “no brainer” if the student was totally committed to communications/journalism, and Syracuse would win. The fact that the choice is not clear suggests that perhaps the student might change majors at some point (and most students do change majors at least once).
Choosing a college based on the major carries its own hazards. My own experience – I turned down Vanderbilt (as a legacy admit) because, at that time, Vandy did not offer chemical engineering. So, I attended our state university. Then… after freshman year, I decided not to pursue chemical engineering after all. Tons of people never work in the field which they studied in college; which is one reason to not see college fundamentally as professional training. In sum: I recommend choosing a college based on other factors besides a presumed major.
Notre Dame students definitely know how to party.
The bleak city and drab campus would be enough to make me turn down Syracuse. South Bend isnt much to get excited about but at least the campus is beautiful and Chicago’s not too far away.
Didn’t half the people on TV nowadays go to SU? Enough said.
Syracuse is the better choice especially since ND doesn’t offer something Communication-related. TV/Film/Theatre is NOT the same.
Notre Dame is better overall, but Newhouse is in a class of its own.
It sounds like she visited and liked Notre Dame better but it clearly won’t offer her the same professional opportunities at all (it may mean the difference between being able to work in that field… or not. It really is that stark for that profession.)
Therefore, the choice really comes down to how sure your daughter is of her future major.
At the end of the day, employers care what university you graduated from, not what major you had in college. If Notre Dame and Syracuse are seriously being considered and they are fairly similar in cost, your daughter should choose Notre Dame.
Cost should be a factor though. Syracuse is not a horrible option if it is substantially cheaper than Notre Dame. I would prefer to graduate from Syracuse with no debt than from Notre Dame with anything over $25k in debt.
@informative While the university itself is a factor, it’s not about prestige for employers. It’s more about the quality of the academics in the department/student’s GPA and achievements in college. For example is an Ivy better than UMD? Yes, but is it better for Computer Science? So many people tout UMich and UWisconsin for engineering, even over other top private schools. Syracuse’s Communications department is very strong and it gives OP’s daughter a wide range of employment opportunities over majoring in TV/Film/Theater (a rather restrictive major) and hoping to bank off of ND’s name.
@informative You are misguided. Employers couldn’t care less about what school you attended. Employer’s primary focus is whether or not the job candidate has the skills and experience for the job.
@hastalavista …Agreed. A few years ago I made a terrific hire that happened to be Syracuse Whitman grad. She had a great skill set, genuine enthusiasm, and a few years experience which transferred well to her current position. We have quite a few Ivy grads and Top 5 MBAs reporting to state school grads. Our CEO is a state school grad. It’s what you do in college and afterwards that counts.
@Stronggirl161…Your daughter has two strong choices. Notre Dame is a great school. Newhouse is a special place if your daughter is set on Communications, My daughter is a dual at Newhouse and Whitman and carrying an additional minor. She absolutely loves Cuse! Students who know what they want, are involved, and have several passions tend to do very well at Syracuse. The top students at Cuse tend to be double or triple majors, or a single major with several minors. My daughter has met an awful of influential people in her short time and is very involved on campus. SU was the right choice for her.
My son was a bit more reserved, was undecided on his major, and chose a smaller Jesuit school, where he excelled. It was the right fit for him and he has a great job out of college. He would have been lost at a bigger school.
My point is: your daughter needs to choose the school that fits her best and where she will thrive. Notre Dame or Newhouse is a nice choice to face. Good luck with your decision.