Columbia School of Journalism Writing Test. How to prepare?

[mart3es]

Hi! I'm applying to the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and I have to take the writing test on January. Has anybody taken it? How should I prepare myself? I know there are some "current affairs" questions and also some essays that we have to write. People from Columbia don't give us any hint about how it is going to be like, so I'd be grateful if you could tell me something about it. Ah! I'm an international applicant, so should I study some "Amercan recent History" to be better prepared? Thanks for your help!

[webhead7]

Hi - I'm also scheduled to take the writing test for Columbia and saw your question here. Wonder if you'd seen the 2003 Practice Test - you can Google it. Seems there are 2 writing drills. One's a 15 minute typical news story, and one's a news analysis piece. There's also a punctuation test and then an identification quiz on names, etc in the news. Good luck! I'm sure it's been updated since 2003 so I'm trying to study up for the ID stuff and news analysis issues - not knowing which they'll ask about. If you're a news junkie, you should be fine! - webhead7

[thinking 101]

I'm scheduled to take my test on Sat. I'm a nervous wreck lol. And although I've used the 2003 practice test as a guide, I have a feeling it won't be very helpful on the actual test. When I scheduled the exam with the proctor in my area, he said there was no point in studying, either you know it or you don't. That threw my confidence right out the window :oops:

Tell me it's not that bad lol!

[misterpat]

should I study some "Amercan recent History" to be better prepared? Thanks for your help!

Sounds like a good idea. If you're going to be quizzed on current events, you probably need some historical context.

But then again, how much history could you really cram in before you take the test? Your time might be better spent reading random New York Times articles from the past year.

[webhead7]

I'm taking it this sat too. I've studied stuff like AP Style Book, Strunk & White, and bought Time mag year in review. Also reviewing world atlas and trying to famaliarize myself with names of global leaders, etc. They ask you to do 2 timed writings. The op ed concerns me. Not so much the writing part as command of facts I'll know only from memory. I'm an older applicant so am taking extra Ginko to help with the memory part! Hey - good luck and let me know how it goes?

[misterpat]

I'm an older applicant so am taking extra Ginko to help with the memory part!

Are you joking?

[webhead7]

Yes I'm serious! Can't hurt; might help.

[amazonwoman]

So, how did it go? I'm sure you can't give specifics, which I don't want anyway, but rather I'm wondering what the general feeling was. Were you able to pull from memory at least half of what they threw at you, or was it one of those exams which make you more and more anxious as you scan down the list of questions?

[webhead7]

On my part there was certainly a healthy degree of heart-pounding anxiety. And yes, in scrolling down the list of questions your mind races through its groggy (in my case) mental index to come up with responses, all the while it's on high alert for grammar, style, spelling and facts of what you're tapping out on the keyboard. I thought it was fun. Definately a challenge.

People say you can't really study for it. That's true; it's open-ended questions - nothing like the sample test found online. But it never hurts to run through old Strunk & White or AP Style refreshers, and some past NYT stories. All that helped.

I did goof up a couple of my facts - so badly I just had to laugh at myself.

I wonder how much weight is given to the test in the overall evaulation of an applicant's package? Also, if this is a pass-fail test or if receives an actual point-valued grade. Anyone know?

[thinking 101]

It was completely different than I had expected. My nerves got the best of me and I ended up not being able to finish in time, I had 3 q's left. Oh well, nothing I can do now. Doubt I'll get in but I'm just glad its over!

Overall it wasn't too bad at all, just a bit overwhelming.

[jakobjessen]

I'm applying this year and uhm, well, I'm from Denmark and my GPA is pretty good (about 3.9), I've done som prof. journalism and my recommendations are exellent. So obviously language and general knowledge (and money!) is my biggest concern. Can any of you be a little more specific? That is; what where the questions like? Do know if it possible to fail the test?

And by the way; did you get in?!

[Christy Potter]

I'm about three years late the party here, but I'm dying to know if those of you who posted here and said you'd made some factual mistakes in the Columbia writing test (or didn't finish on time) were accepted into the program. I took the test a couple of weeks ago and made a pretty good factual mistake myself. Gah!

[5224]

Can someone reply to this inquire?

[NewYork]

Hi There, 

 

Since I live in the New York City area, my test location was the Columbia U. campus so I'm not sure how helpful my experience will be for those who are taking the exam out-of-state. At anyrate: the exam is a 90-minute computer test. You're graded on grammar, spelling, sentence structure and relevancy to the question. On the date of my scheduled exam, the computers weren't working so we were required to take it as a handwritten test (be prepared this can happen to you too). The entire test was in essay format. The best way to describe it is to compare it to one of your undergraduate course study final exams. For those of you who were English majors or studied the Humanities, you should be in good hands. For those who were Math, Science or Business majors, you may want to review some of your final English papers for a reminder on how to write in essay format. For those of you who were Journalism majors, it has less to do with beat writing and more like writing a feature story. Everyone taking the exam should brush-up on current events,more specifically what's happening in local and federal governments and try to remember key public figures (both political and nonpolitical). It is hard to give specific examples because the relevance of news is ever changing. However, my exam focused on public figures and current events that were relevant within the last month. The catch is, it didn't specify names, it asked you to write on specific figures you thought were relevant. Helpful Hint: relevant meaning most important! Also, the importance of news stories differ depending on where you live. I live in NYC so my answers wouldn't help someone in Wisconsin or India!

 

All in all, my exam had three open-ended questions, it asked for news sources and for follow-up questions. To pass the test, you have to think like a journalist and take the exam like a journalist. Treat it as if you were in a newsroom writing a feature that's going to press as soon as it's handed to the editor and you should be fine. Don't forget spelling, grammar, style and other writing requirements. Please use my advice as a review guide and not as the exact exam. I doubt Columbia would issue the same test twice.