Chance me: Columbia fall 2013

[GwenWoods]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and I was wondering if anyone could estimate my chances at being accepted for Columbia's M.S. program, or maybe outline your own stats if you currently attend the program. I'm interested in the magazine specialization and want to go into environmental journalism—read: work for National Geographic.

Undergrad: University of Western Ontario (I'm Canadian). Honours specialization in media, information and technoculture (kind of like pre-journalism), minor in geography, certificate in writing

GPA: 3.7 (cumulative of all four years)

Awards: Graduated with Distinction (known as summa cum laude in the U.S.) , Dean's Honour List, Writing Program's Student Award for Non-Fiction Writing, three awards from my campus newspaper (News Staff Writer of the Year, Most Influential Story of the Year, Excellence in Hard News Writing), and the Undergraduate Student Leadership Award

Work & Internships:

- Worked full-time throughout my third and fourth year as a news editor, and then a features editor at my university's daily student newspaper—the only daily in Canada. I have a portfolio of approximately 200 clips.

- CTV National News internship, the most-watched nightly news program in Canada. Interned as a reporter and researcher.

- I now work 60+ hours a week as the editor-in-chief of my university's student newspaper and will be working in this position until next spring. I am in charge of 22 full-time staff members and have control over a $400,000 budget. I pretty much do everything in this position—write, edit, manage staff, deal with legal issues and complaints, create a daily page layout, story search, create assignments, graphic design, etc. The paper has a daily circulation of 11,000 copies.

- I've also worked as an assistant clerk for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario, although that's not super relevant.

Volunteer:

-Acted as a project team leader for two years with my university's environmental student group and organized a number of events.

- Tutored Sudanese refugee children in English and French, as well ESL students, for Students Taking Action Now: Darfur for three months.

All of this is within the past three years or so.

So, does Columbia typically require more than this, do you think?

I'm also interested in the Universty of Colorado because of their specialization in environmental journalism, but I'm a bit concerned about it's reputation. Does anyone know about this school?

Thanks!

[Rachel B]

A friend of mine applied to Columbia's M.S. program and was accepted. She double majored at her undergrad institution in environmental studies and creative writing with a GPA of 3.8. She also had numerous honors and did an internship with the New York Times. However, she ended up declining Columbia's offer and instead is attending Medill at Northwestern. I would say you have a fairly good chance of getting in, but you might also want to look at other programs, including NYU's M.A. program with the option for an Advanced Certificate in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting. NYU is also a very prestigious journalism school.

Also, this is directly from the National Geographic website:

Vacancies on our editorial staff are usually filled by men and women who have had quite a few years of experience in the newspaper or magazine publishing fields. In preparation for such work, many of our writers have made a thorough study of the sciences, journalism, and English, and in some cases know several languages. A solid academic background and a proven record of success in one's chosen field are most important. However, because we cannot know a person's particular talents nor assure employment after a completed course, we do not encourage gearing a career or educational program specifically toward employment by the National Geographic Society.

[GwenWoods]

I've looked into NYU in the past, but I'm not sure if I could handle spending a lot of time on health reporting. I did a lot of medical reporting at CTV and it wasn't really my cup of tea. I'm also not that passionate about living in New York, Boulder appealed to me because it offered such close access to the wilderness and outdoors, which I feel could be more beneficial than an urban metropolis. But thanks for the advice! I'd choose Columbia because it's Columbia, but other than that I'm quite enamoured with the University of Colorado.

And I've seen that before on National Geographic's website, I don't expect getting in there will be easy, but I'm a pretty determined person and I don't want to let one line on a website defeat me—you'll always miss 100 per cent of the shots you don't take, as the saying goes.

[commcomm]

You're perfectly qualified to get into Columbia. As you've most likely heard from others, it's not as much about your qualifications as it is about "fit", AKA, will the program be able to offer you what you need and will your admission benefit the program.

I love Colorado and hope to live there someday - but the University of Colorado's journalism program is probably not a place many would recommend right now. I'm sure you've read about the program's "transition". I'm not an expert on the subject - but would obviously encourage you to make sure the program will still be viable for a few years before applying.

[GwenWoods]

Thanks for the advice! It's hard being removed from the situation up here in Canada. I do have some concerns about Colorado—if only Columbia was in the mountains. I'm set to visit the school this July to speak with the advisors, so hopefully I'll have a better feel for the school then. I'm very much an outdoorsy person at heart, so I know the mountains would make me happy, but if I'm thinking in the long run, Columbia is probably the better option. Of course, financial aid is another big deciding factor, and the opportunity to do internships. I doubt Columbia will let you stay in the U.S. for a few months after the program has ended to do an internship, and Canada doesn't have as strong of a journalism job market.

I'm still a bit worried about Columbia though, I don't know if my GPA is too low. How do schools determine how your admission will benefit the program? Is there any exact criteria this is predicated upon?

Thanks!

[Rachel B]

I've looked into NYU in the past, but I'm not sure if I could handle spending a lot of time on health reporting. I did a lot of medical reporting at CTV and it wasn't really my cup of tea. I'm also not that passionate about living in New York, Boulder appealed to me because it offered such close access to the wilderness and outdoors, which I feel could be more beneficial than an urban metropolis. But thanks for the advice! I'd choose Columbia because it's Columbia, but other than that I'm quite enamoured with the University of Colorado.

And I've seen that before on National Geographic's website, I don't expect getting in there will be easy, but I'm a pretty determined person and I don't want to let one line on a website defeat me—you'll always miss 100 per cent of the shots you don't take, as the saying goes.

I don't want to discourage you either. But there's also a saying that goes "don't put all your eggs in one basket." Being so limited and focused can sometimes be a liability. You want to make sure you can support yourself on your journey and you have a back-up plan.

[GwenWoods]

I moreso said National Geographic as in "that would be my dream job" and to give some indication of the type of work I wanted to go into, not "I have no back-up plan and will only accept National Geographic." I made this thread to discuss chances at grad schools, not chances at a place of employment. I'm more interested in knowing what it takes to get into Columbia and what I should aim for.