Jae B.

Journalism isn't a dying field at all, just a devalued occupation. There is still journalism -- even profitable -- everywhere, but overall it's not earning enough. The new trouble comes from an outdated financial model relying on advertising (another field in turmoil) revenue, compounded with negative affects of centralized media ownership that, among other things, cuts whatever doesn't earn enough. Finally, there is the media's haphazard usage of the internet that has been giving news away for free. Still, some news organizations are doing well: small local newspapers, and some larger operations like Politico. And media jobs in social networking and multimedia are expanding. I strongly believe the field will recover. It's just a matter of how and when. Frankly, journalism has never been the best paying field, even if there was greater job security in the past. But I consider myself lucky to have found an occupation I am passionate about. I'll find work even if it means freelancing and doing other work until I find a decent job in journalism. I feel good about my decision to continue in school in the meantime; I'll get better at my craft, gain new multimedia skills, improve my portfolio, make new work connections and get to watch what happens in the industry.

One of my schools had an online application status available on Apply Yourself. It was helpful for me to check it because when I saw the status change from "Application Under Review" to "Application Complete", I knew the decision had to be soon. Sure enough, when I was checking it the next day, I found out I was accepted a couple hours before I got an e-mail.

I'm not sure it's meant to be for me, either. I'm waiting to see the financial aid and if it'll cover the gnarly $1,000 upfront deposit. Berkeley offered me a great financial aid package, and I love their program. It seems more flexible than Columbia's; you get to do a little bit of everything -- not an ironclad concentration focus. And it's located where I want my career to be. I'm having a hard time deciding. I always thought I'd go to Columbia, but I never thought Berkeley would admit me! Have you decided which school you're going to yet?

In my case, it also saved me from having to take the GRE. Once I started studying for it, I realized how much time it was going to cost me to do well! I agree the program is more important. On a different level, I think M.S. is a little weird (Science, really?) and that M.A. is more recognizable than something like M.J. When I first saw M.J., my thought was "Michael Jackson? Michael Jordan? Oh....yeah, I'm never abbreviating that!"

Word. I had a similar ideology, but even applying to just two schools made my life too busy. I had intended to apply to NYU (their Reporting New York program seemed perfect for me), USC, and possibly Medill among other places. I don't know how you managed so many. I was wondering: Does the name of the journalism degree you get (M.A., M.S., M.J.) matter to you? Do you know if it makes any particular difference, or if one should have a preference?

The South side isn't that bad, close to campus. It's lively! I've been accepted to the Journalism school, and I'm strongly considering attending. Great financial aid offer, and I really like the program. Recently enjoyed a new admit tour. I'm just finishing up undergrad at Berkeley, though, so my choice is between staying where I'm comfortable or being a little braver and trying something new.

I've been accepted to the Journalism School, but I'm still considering UC Berkeley. Waiting for Columbia to send me a financial aid offer before I decide. Are you going to be visiting Columbia soon? Have you already? I've never been to New York, and am just trying to imagine figuring out housing there.

I totally have "acceptance depression". Still exhilarated and completely grateful, but torn between my two top schools. I only applied to these two, after being frequently advised to apply to more. Never expected I'd be in a position where I have to choose. I can imagine great experiences at either school. But they also have big differences I must consider. Will have to wait to see what Columbia's financial aid offer is. Berkeley's is hard to resist. I wish I could go to both.

Maybe web sites like this one, http://www.seismic.ca.gov/pub.html can help give you an idea of California's building regulations and when they came into effect, to compare to the years properties were built. I am no expert by any means. But I would probably figure by year, since evidence of retrofitting seems to be in how the building is bolted and strapped the foundation, and the foundation's health. Might be hard to tell, just looking. There are some pictures in this pdf of stuff to look for (e.g. beware of old un-reinforced masonry): http://www.seismic.c...2005-01_HOG.pdf From my own experience, definitely eyeball the exterior and interior for cracks in walls and corners, and certainly the exterior visible part of the foundation. Not the best sign, though wall ones are usually not a big deal. A few are okay, but if I saw a lot, I wouldn't move in. I'd guess the safest buildings were (or should have been) built in the 1990s forward, after the Loma Prieta. But I'd also vouch for not-old-but-not-new buildings that survived the quake. Plenty of earthquake conscious homes were built in the 1980s. My 1985 wooden home is bolted and strapped to a foundation with rods running deep into the ground below street-level. I hope this helps. Don't forget about looking at fire safety -- a much more common issue. And at least in Berkeley, I haven't seen anyone have to worry about flooding; a nice change from my hometown area!

That reminds me of undergrad. I visited my school for the first time after I applied, and I think walking around, looking at the students and being insecure about whether I was going to be accepted or not made me not like the school. Everything seemed dreary and foreboding. But when I visited after I got accepted, then suddenly I loved it, and there was sunshine and flowers.... I would probably go to the event. Could help your decision later!

That hasn't exactly happened to me, but it seemed to take Columbia a long time to find my most important transcript, and that was nerve-wracking for me. Especially because a scholarship program had once before not received that transcript, putting my award in jeopardy. Was scary. You self-reported your transcript information in your application, right? I think them being able to check your word against your transcript is the most important part. And even though they wanted to see your dual-enrollment during high school, that sounds like a technicality (community colleges always warn high school students they must do their best because the college work really does go on their transcript forever) and is not going to be as important to them as your most recent work. I think you're okay! Good luck.

I'd say definitely let them know! It could help if they really pay attention. Maybe be careful about directing your message to the right person. Congratulations.

Don't know for sure where I'm going yet. I only applied to my two top schools, UC Berkeley (M.J.) and Columbia (M.S.), and got into both as of today. Additionally, Berkeley is my soon-to-be undergrad alma mater. ...To have an undergrad and graduate degree from the same school, or be braver and go someplace new? I love the San Francisco Bay Area, born and raised and plan to have my career here, but I've also always wanted to go to New York. My decision will primarily come down to financial aid, I think. Berkeley already offered me extremely competitive financial aid I couldn't be happier about. Columbia is one year, Berkeley is two. Big difference in terms of commitment, and, from what I've heard, the paces of the programs. And I'm thinking about the size of the schools...the Columbia J-School is larger than Berkeley, and I already got the "big school" experience in Berkeley undergrad. I went to the welcome event for UC Berkeley's J-School, and really loved it. I can't imagine I'll be able to go to Columbia's welcome event, figuring travel expenses and that I'll be finishing undergrad then.

Just got accepted to Columbia. I checked the website, no e-mail yet!

Program Applied To: Journalism Masters Schools Applied To: UC Berkeley (M.J.), Columbia (M.S.) Schools Admitted To: UC Berkeley Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Columbia Undergraduate Institution: UC Berkeley Undergraduate GPA: ~ 3.82 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Undergraduate Major: Media Studies & American Studies, concentration on "Neighborhoods" GRE Quantitative Score (Percentile): GRE Verbal Score (Percentile): GRE AW Score: Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Years of Work Experience: 1 year + 1 summer Describe Relevant Work Experience: Reporter and online editor for school newspaper, communications internship. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong. I wrote many drafts. I felt good about both my statement of purpose and my autobiographical essay. Explained how I have been interested in journalism and its issues much longer than my résumé shows. Strength of LORs (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong. One academic, one work, one both academic & work. Other: Graduating from undergrad this semester.

Are you sure your application was considered "late"? If you ordered your transcript on time, it can take the receiving school some time to sort their mail and find it. Especially if they get a lot of applications. I applied to the Columbia J-School (still waiting...think the 15th will be the day) and I was practically tearing out my hair waiting for them to find one of my transcripts. I was afraid it was never sent or lost in the mail, since that happened to me once before. Took weeks before the transcript showed up as found on my application. But Columbia told me that's normal.

Haha, I think I've gotten one of those before! Thanks for the insight.

Interesting thought. Probably just depends. There could still be hope! Be sure to check the fine print on your school's website -- some of these sites are really poorly designed -- or just go ahead and e-mail them. So far, I've mostly heard of e-mailed admissions notification if you applied using an online form. Both of the schools I applied to communicate decisions via e-mail. Be sure to check your spam folder. That's where mine was!

I think waiving your right would seem more confident. I didn't, however, because I'm a journalism student, and journalists love access to documents! I completely trusted my recommenders and hope they didn't take it the wrong way. I'd love to see what they wrote, out of curiosity. Bottom line, I'd say, only waive it if it makes sense to waive.

Definitely agree that Berkeley is fine without a car. Lots of public transportation, AC Transit buses every where. Nice BART access to nearby cities, shopping and San Francisco. I only take BART to get around SF -- pretty easy -- to avoid Muni buses since they've had some weird accidents lately, but they're actually alright. The San Francisco Bay Area is good about public transit in general, although the economy-related service cuts are a nuisance to get used to during odder hours. I've never biked on the UC Berkeley campus, but I see plenty of people do. I'd probably only take a cheap bike, though, since bike theft is high.

I've lived near Berkeley my entire life, and through many earthquakes -- and all but one were no big deal. Here are some points on our earthquakes: Most quakes are so soft, many people don't realize they've happened. Don't even notice, or aren't sure if it was a quake or a big truck driving by outside. Quakes you can feel usually only make the furniture sway a little. A good reason not to put breakables near the edges of tables and such. But little more cause for worry than that. A few seconds + any aftershocks.Major quakes are rare, and you can be prepared for if they happen. Here's our local disaster preparedness page for earthquakes: http://72hours.org/earthquake.htmlThe last major earthquake in the Berkeley / San Francisco Bay Area was the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, when I was a tot. It was a magnitude 7.1. There were tragedies (such as the collapse of part of Interstate 880 in Oakland) and damage to some buildings. I lived 20 miles from the UC Berkeley campus at the time, and it knocked over some furniture in our apartment. So you might want to think about how you arrange your things. The good news is our buildings are retrofitted to endure earthquakes. After every major earthquake, we're a bit better prepared for the next. If you are really worried, my best advice is to find a newer building to live in. A little difficult in Berkeley close to campus, but if you can't, hey, it's been standing this long.... Also, none of those tall, skinny bookcases (or similar furniture pieces, pains to move anyway). Those can cause some damage if they fall; opt for shorter, wider bookcases instead. I hope you choose to come to Berkeley! It's an absolutely wonderful place to be, and I'd never think of earthquakes as a reason to choose someplace else!

Judging from your username, icon, and your "Marine Science / Policy" program emphasis, I'd say you might need to go for the dream school! If I were you, I probably wouldn't have applied to the other program, to avoid making a choice I might regret between what I really want to do and what seems most practical. But I agree with Andie; going into $11,000 debt for a second choice program may not really be so practical. An important factor is how positive you are that a career is waiting for you at the end of your graduate study, to help you pay that debt down and still have a decent amount of cash to cope with the cost of living where you plan to be. (In my case, employment is a rocky landscape with low wages, so I am not going to pick a school that puts me deep in debt.) Could you appeal for more financial aid -- if not now, in the future? Are there other potential sources of funding for you, like fellowships, awards or work study, that could decrease your debt while you are in school? If you choose to go for the $45,000 in debt, then making a personal commitment to seize every opportunity to size that debt down as quickly as possible might make you feel better about your choice.