SavageHenri

Depends on the size of the program. I got admitted to an NYU program that only has a 10-15 student class, and the director of the program got in touch with me directly. With CUNY, which has a class size of a little of 100, I got no such contact. Columbia J School is pretty big but I think the bulk of the students are M.S., not M.A. Regardless, what's important is that they are reaching out to you! Don't ever take that lightly. It's an opportunity to get to hear from the horses mouth, so to speak, and you can ask him questions about the department, what his mission is for it, and so on. Absolutely take him up on talking together.

Columbia is my alma mater, and I know a faculty member at their J School as well. They told me straight up that if it is between Columbia without aid or CUNY, they would pick CUNY. He spoke very highly about their facilities as well.

I haven't gotten any scholarship updates, I think they do it like NYU where they notify you of the scholarship in the decision letter...

I am deciding between there and NYU's Cultural Reporting and Criticism program. The director reached out to me to visit the program, but even with scholarships it is hard to beat CUNY's price and guaranteed internship...