Application to Journalism Programs Fall 2013

[Hope&me]

Hi All,

I have completed my undergraduate degree in computer engineering and I have a science background academically. I've written lots of poems since childhood and now I'm a freelance writer/ghost writer/blogger and also volunteering in non-profit journalism.

I have a couple of writing samples to my name but all of them are not journalistic pieces of writing. I really want to get into journalism school, and specialize in print journalism and more specifically write for arts, culture, food, fashion, etc.

Here are some of the schools I'm looking to apply to. Please give me some advice on how I can draft a strong SOP and highlight my best achievements considering the lack of journalism experience I have.

1. Missouri School of Journalism

2. Columbia - MS in Journalism

3. Indiana, Bloomington

4. NYU - Arthur J Institute

5. Wisconsin Madison

6. Michigan State Uni

7. UT Austin

8. UNC Chapel Hill

9. Northwestern

10. Uni of Maryland. College Park

11. Uni of Florida

12. CUNY

I really could not find the acceptance rates statistics for any of the above, especially when it comes to prospective students with lack of journalism experience. I do have some experience, only about a couple of months that too with websites and online media. I'm not working at any news agency or newspaper.

Lastly, I've never really wanted to take up admission counseling and help them draft my SOPs. I've always done it on my own. But wanted to know whether I should write my own SOPs for J-School?

It would be great if someone could also provide a classification based on safety schools, medium, and ambitious schools. Suggestions for other schools and programs are also welcome and will be highly appreciated.

Please help.

Thanks a ton!

Hope&me

[GwenWoods]

I'm looking to apply for 2013 as well and have been extensively looking into all the American J-schools. You mentioned your lack of experience, but you didn't mention your GPA. Obviously that will play a huge part in dictating what will be safety schools or ambitious schools for you.

In terms of SOP, yes, you should absolutely write it yourself. While it's not unethical to have friends and family look over your SOP for mistakes, having an agency draft your SOP I would assume is considered plagiarism and if discovered would lead to and instant rejection. Not to mention, if you're intending to go into print journalism, you should be able to write your own 500-word statement—if not, I'd recommend rethinking your career path.

In terms of rankings, I've listed my observations on the following.

1. Missouri School of Journalism (Medium—this is considered to be a relatively good school)

2. Columbia - MS in Journalism (Ambitious—honest opinion, unless you have something over-the-top that makes you special, Columbia seems to want a lot of journalism experience, as well as near-perfect grades)

3. Indiana, Bloomington (Safety)

4. NYU - Arthur J Institute (Medium to ambitious—they also seem to want journalism experience)

5. Wisconsin Madison (Medium—one of the top ten schools in the country, but not unattainable)

6. Michigan State Uni (Safety)

7. UT Austin (Not sure)

8. UNC Chapel Hill (Medium to Ambitious)

9. Northwestern (Ambitious—you'll need to write two essays, not an SOP, as well as write the GREs. I've also heard not the best things for international funding)

10. Uni of Maryland. College Park (Not sure)

11. Uni of Florida (Safety)

12. CUNY (Ambitious)

[commcomm]

I have both my undergrad (broadcast) and Master's (Journalism theory) from Mizzou, so the following statement is absolutely biased: Missouri is an incredible J-school. It's worth mentioning that I'm not the only one who thinks so highly of ole' Missouri... it is consistently ranked as a top journalism school.

I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to spend less time in the classroom and more time actually practicing journalism. Most of Mizzou's courses are essentially part-time jobs at local media outlets. It sounds like you would want to work for Vox, a local arts/culture magazine. By the time you leave, you've got 2 years of experience on your resume.

You listed a whole bunch of great schools and while my vote is always for MU, there's a lot of great options out there. NYU and CUNY have excellent programs to fit your interests but @GwenWoods is correct: those schools are more difficult to get into.

Keep in mind: funding. A lot of MA programs aren't funded. Don't you dare pay for a Master's in journalism -- that's foolish in a field where it will take you a decade just to earn that money back. There are plenty of programs (yes, Mizzou is one of them) where nearly every grad student gets a teaching or research assistantship in exchange for a tuition waiver.

[Hope&me]

I'm looking to apply for 2013 as well and have been extensively looking into all the American J-schools. You mentioned your lack of experience, but you didn't mention your GPA. Obviously that will play a huge part in dictating what will be safety schools or ambitious schools for you.

In terms of SOP, yes, you should absolutely write it yourself. While it's not unethical to have friends and family look over your SOP for mistakes, having an agency draft your SOP I would assume is considered plagiarism and if discovered would lead to and instant rejection. Not to mention, if you're intending to go into print journalism, you should be able to write your own 500-word statement—if not, I'd recommend rethinking your career path.

In terms of rankings, I've listed my observations on the following.

1. Missouri School of Journalism (Medium—this is considered to be a relatively good school)

2. Columbia - MS in Journalism (Ambitious—honest opinion, unless you have something over-the-top that makes you special, Columbia seems to want a lot of journalism experience, as well as near-perfect grades)

3. Indiana, Bloomington (Safety)

4. NYU - Arthur J Institute (Medium to ambitious—they also seem to want journalism experience)

5. Wisconsin Madison (Medium—one of the top ten schools in the country, but not unattainable)

6. Michigan State Uni (Safety)

7. UT Austin (Not sure)

8. UNC Chapel Hill (Medium to Ambitious)

9. Northwestern (Ambitious—you'll need to write two essays, not an SOP, as well as write the GREs. I've also heard not the best things for international funding)

10. Uni of Maryland. College Park (Not sure)

11. Uni of Florida (Safety)

12. CUNY (Ambitious)

Thanks GwenWoods. My GPA on a scale of 10 is 7.72 by Indian standards. And yes, I'm writing the GRE as well.

So could you tell me about your profile?

[Hope&me]

I have both my undergrad (broadcast) and Master's (Journalism theory) from Mizzou, so the following statement is absolutely biased: Missouri is an incredible J-school. It's worth mentioning that I'm not the only one who thinks so highly of ole' Missouri... it is consistently ranked as a top journalism school.

I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to spend less time in the classroom and more time actually practicing journalism. Most of Mizzou's courses are essentially part-time jobs at local media outlets. It sounds like you would want to work for Vox, a local arts/culture magazine. By the time you leave, you've got 2 years of experience on your resume.

You listed a whole bunch of great schools and while my vote is always for MU, there's a lot of great options out there. NYU and CUNY have excellent programs to fit your interests but @GwenWoods is correct: those schools are more difficult to get into.

Keep in mind: funding. A lot of MA programs aren't funded. Don't you dare pay for a Master's in journalism -- that's foolish in a field where it will take you a decade just to earn that money back. There are plenty of programs (yes, Mizzou is one of them) where nearly every grad student gets a teaching or research assistantship in exchange for a tuition waiver.

Hi,

Thanks so much for the input. So you suggest I look up schools that offer teaching/research assistantships? I'm looking to pursue a professional career and not looking at research or a PhD.

It would be great if you could list out the schools you applied to?