What are your journalism plans?

[Jae B.]

So, what is everyone planning to do now? I've been trying to guess! It's May 1, so most of us have had to choose a path already.

I'd love to know your decisions. Especially before most folks abandon this forum. Maybe this is a "goodbye 2010 applicants" post! Curiosity is getting to me!

I'm finishing undergrad this month (yay). I've almost finalized my summer internship plans; I'm working on scheduling a communications internship with a community non-profit, but I am still in the running for an online editorial internship in the tech field (and will bow-out once my other internship is secure).

In the fall, I'll be attending UC Berkeley's J-School, after making the tough decision to turn down Columbia. So, I'll be at Berkeley for the next two years. My concentration is magazine writing, but I'm looking forward to trying other kinds of journalism and, first, finding out my newsroom assignment in the next few weeks!

Edited May 1, 2010 by Jae B.

[supernova83]

I'm attending USC Annenberg's Specialised Journalism program. It was... incredibly hard to turn down Columbia, where I got in for the MA, Science track, but Annenberg is offering what amounts to a free ride and it just doesn't make sense to go into debt. Still, I get pangs every time I think about Columbia and I don't know if I'm completely at peace with my decision, to be honest. I keep wondering if I've made a mistake.

Oh-- and congratulations on graduating!

Edited May 3, 2010 by supernova83

[Jae B.]

I'm attending USC Annenberg's Specialised Journalism program. It was... incredibly hard to turn down Columbia, where I got in for the MA, Science track, but Annenberg is offering what amounts to a free ride and it just doesn't make sense to go into debt. Still, I get pangs every time I think about Columbia and I don't know if I'm completely at peace with my decision, to be honest. I keep wondering if I've made a mistake.

Congratulations on Annenberg! The Specialized program was the most interesting to me when I read about it. So you're creating your own track?

I totally understand the Columbia pangs...someone recently called it the chance of a lifetime and I was just like, gee, thanks.... But the debt still wouldn't make sense for me.

Hopefully we get comfortable with our decisions soon!

Oh-- and congratulations on graduating!

Thanks! I'm jazzed about it.

[Jae B.]

As an update, I'm officially comfortable with -- and way excited about -- my decision now. This school is my perfect fit. I got assigned to my favorite newsroom, and I'm already starting my grad school homework.

I got a financial aid packet in the mail from the other school today, showing how they offered me about 25% of my estimated student budget in federal loans. Since they also offered me about another 25% in scholarship, that left coming up with the other 50% of the costs on my own. And this is no chump change, either, especially for just one year of study. It's very expensive.

I am so happy I'm not trying to swallow that other 50% in private loans right now! That would not be a good feeling.