***Official Northwestern ED 2016 Results Thread***

jen3594
Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:34:25 +0000

@CollegeChica12 I completely know how you were feeling. I’m also really interested in journalism, and while I was thankfully accepted, it’s not the end of the road for you, I promise! It’s difficult to find schools that are really strong in journalism and also have that extra spark that capture your attention.

I also applied to the University of Missouri, which although not many have heard of it, has an incredible journalism program and an absolutely gorgeous (and HUGE) campus in Columbia, MO. The buildings and especially the journalism section (7+ beautiful buildings) were really great, and I was seriously considering going there if I was not accepted to Medill.

I applied to UNC Chapel Hill, which is probably harder to get into as an out-of-stater than Northwestern. But you might want to try there as well because of their really strong communications/journalism program.

Other schools that might interest you are the University of Florida, which although it is a HUGE state school, has recently become rather selective and has a really great communications/journalism department. University of Miami might also be a good fit, and even though I’ve never been there, it was an option for me. Boston University also has a strong comm/journalism department. I also was thinking about Duke, Wesleyan University (in Connecticut), and William & Mary, but those schools don’t have a journalism major.

Even if you don’t end up going to a university that features a really strong Jschool you can still be involved wherever you end up. Almost every university has some sort of publication, many have multiple. And to be a journalist doesn’t necessarily mean that you HAVE to go to a Jschool. Maybe majoring in something that really interests you that you could potentially write about as a journalist or a certain part of the media industry could be really fun and make for a good career.

All I can say is don’t give up on it, although you’ve probably heard that a million times before. I was really nervous about majoring in journalism because of all the people who say it’s dying industry, but it’s really not! It’s just changing for the better. So many different types of media have popped up in the last decade that it would be impossible for “journalism” to die out.

With the stats you posted, I’m sure that you’ll have a fabulous time wherever you end up.