transfering
 

so I'm thinking about transfering next fall, and i'm looking at three schools now:
University of Washington in Seattle
University of Missouri-Columbia
University of Illinois - Urbana -Champaign

now, UW was my dream school for ages, mizzou was a school i got into my senior year and UIUC is something i found in a random search last night and fell in love with. Now i can look at the websites no end, but i've never been to any of these cities or campuses, and i'd like to know if anyone could tell me anything about these schools?

i'd just like to know more about classes, the campus, the greek community, the towns. i'd be much obliged to anyone who can give me some info! thanks!

ETA: I'm also semi-interested in Ohio University..

Well for what purpose are you transferring? What's important to you?

to experience life outside of texas, and because i think i might be happier away from here.

and a good journalism or writing program, and a diversity in courses/majors offered is really important to me. as is a strong greek community and an active campus.

You are semi-interested in Ohio U? From what I hear they have an AWESOME journalism program! I know of someone who came from New Jersey just to obtain a journalism degree from OU!! It is a state school located in Athens, OH-- AKA middle of nowhere!! But they have an awesome Greek System and great campus/school spirit!! I have 4 friends from HS that went there and loved every minute of it!! Remember though-- Ohio U is ranked one of the top 10 party schools in the nation!! But they do have high standards to get into the school-- so not just any party animal can walk in off the street!! IMHO--Miami U is the best state school in Ohio--but OU ranks up in the top 3 with Miami and Ohio State!

ETA: ADPi has an excellent chapter there I hear!! Also, I believe one of my friends graduated with a degree in some sort of communications field from Ohio U-- PM me if you are interested in getting in touch with her to ask some questions!

Re: transfering
 

Hi,

I don't generally look in this forum, but I just happened to see this on the home page of GC.

I am a 1969 Ohio University graduate, but am still in touch with the university, having lectured in the Telecommunications School, being the Presdient of the Colorado Chapter of the OU Alumni Association. In fact, I'm getting ready to head back to Athens next month for Homecoming -- which I do yearly.

If you're interested in Journalism, only The Scripps (As in Scripps Howard Newspapers) School at O.U. and Missouri place at the top of the list in Print, Broadcast, Magazine and Advertising. Others may be as good in some areas, but those two rank near the top in everything.

Probably the two most currently recognized graduates of the broadcast side of the J-School are Matt Lauer of the TODAY Show and Roger Ailes, President of FOX NewsChannel.

For pure writing, two classmates of mine, Clarence Page, Tribune syndicated columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner and Joe Esterhaus, who has written for Rolling Stone and also written a number of screen plays are also former Bobcats.

At Ohio, there are tons of opportunities for OJT including WOUB-AM-FM-TV which are student operated; ACTV, a student run cable channel; ACRN, a student run campus radio network; The Post, a student run independent newspaper and others. The J-School (which is in the same college but separate from the Telecommunications School where my degree is from) also has TV studio facilities at Scripps Hall.

The university itself is an absolutely beautiful campus in the prototypical college town. Founded in 1804, it was the first institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory (West of the Appalachian Mountains) and has the Georgian archetecture of the Ivy League. Some of the buildings on the College Green still exist from the 1800's. Athens is 75 miles SouthEast of Columbus in the rolling Apalachian Foothills. It is just simply beautiful, especially in the Spring and Fall. There are miles of walking and bike trails along the Hocking river which runs along the South edge of the campus. The Ping student recreation center is one of the news and best in the country. A new Student Union is about to be built as well.

There are about 19,000 students on the Athens Campus, and the City of Athens population is about 25,000. There are hundreds of possible majors (literally) and Masters and PHD's in many of them.

Of course, I don't place much stock in this, and certainly wouldn't use it as a calling card (cough!), but Ohio University is number five on this year's Princeton Reviews top party schools list.

Greeklife wise, there are about 16 national fraternities and 12-14 national sororities. My Beta Chapter of Delta Tau Delta is the oldest continuously existing Delt chapter in the world, having been founded in 1862.

And, finally, I think Ohio has dropped the passport and visa requirements for Texans.

Just kidding. I'd be happy to talk with your more about my Alma Mater.

ETA this from the J-School webpage:

"1983 — The Associated Press Managing Editors Association names School as one of 10 outstanding schools of journalism in the country. Six sequences are accredited and professional master’s degree program accredited, making Ohio University and University of Missouri the only two programs in the country with this record."

I also discovered that the present director of the school is a contemporary of mine whom I knew on campus when we both were undergrads.

I'd really like to advise you to finish up at your university. When you transfer schools, not all of your credits will transfer, lengthening your stay in college and increasing the COSTS of college.

I think at some point we all entertain thoughts of leaving our university. It's normal. You want to be somewhere else.

But remember--you can move around the world once you graduate. Stick it out-- maybe get a part-time journalism internship or get involved with a new club on campus to occpy your time and meet new people.

If your heart is set on transferring, DO VISIT the schools first and talk to your current academic adviser about transferring. If you plan to affiliate with an ADPi chapter, check to make sure there is an ADPi chapter at your new school (remember, it is not a guarantee that you may affiliate at the new chapter, nor do you HAVE to affiliate).

Your experience is going to determine your career path. Even if the j-program at your school may not be superior to -say- UNC-Chapel Hill, it is your outside experience (school newspaper writing and internships) that will make or break you in the real world. Your degree is a meaningless piece of paper if you don't have legitimate clips and contacts to back it up when you go out for your first job.

I don't completely agree on thye idea that credits won't transfer when I transferred from Texas Wesleyan to UT-Austin I kept 31 of my 32 credit hours

::cough:: Kent State has an amazing journalism program and a chapter of ADPi is at Akron::cough:: ;) Good luck with your decision, though!

Being a Original Mo. boy, M U has had a well know Journalism school reknowned across the contry.

But if your present school had a good scholl, why not stay.

Transfering credits, I think that you will find all credits will transfer, there is a Regulatory Group to keep things like this on the up and up.

A new school will be a tramatic change also. Something to think about.

Cleveland State has a pretty good Journalism Program. That's my .02. Good Luck in your decision.

So have you made any further decisions Lyrica? I am so excited to see someone interested in a nearby university!! Good luck hon-- I hope it all works out and if you need any advice just PM me!

Missouri and Ohio U. both have really strong journalism programs. But I also need to put in a plug for my alma mater! Indiana University also has an amazing journalism school (one of the top five in the nation), a gorgeous campus, and a very strong Greek system (with a chapter of ADPi!) Might be worth a look. :)

i dont think i could fairly make any decisions before visiting the aforementioned schools and really analyzing by myself and with my father what the best plan for me would be. but i'll definitely let you know!!

oh and, im a journalism teaching major here, so i could teach high school, but i really want to write novels.. and i dont think i want to major in jour. anymore... so now im unsure as to my major as well:p

Well as for Journalism schools I know that ASU has an awesome one. It is the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. As for Greek life at ASU. It is extremely strong and diverse. I believe there are about 12 chapter on campus. ADPi has consistantly made quota for the last 4 years and total for the chapter is around 120. The alumnae association is also extremely strong. There are around 50 really active members (when I say active I mean the ones that I see at all the gatherings we have).

As for transferring, I would suggest looking into all the schools. Contacting the admissions office and seeing if you can find out how many of your classes will transfer. Also, I would DEFINATELY look at out of state tuition. I would also look at the schools requirements to be classified as in state. I would also, if you monetarily can afford too, visit the campus, especially the ones that have chapters that you possibly would like to affiliate too.

Good luck sweetie!!!!

In so many fields, it's all about the connections. I suspect journalism is one of those.

You'd probably make better connections at OU or Mizzou than at your school now--depending on what you want to do. Sometimes you're perfectly qualified for the internships or jobs, but the person from the better school gets them.

Very good point, Munchkin03. Many of the leading newspapers in the country are fed almost exclusively by alumni of certain respected college papers.

In a pre-professional major like journalism, it just doesn't matter how good your education was if you can't get hired.

And Journalism is such a broad major. You don't have to just write for a newspaper, you can get into editing, design, proofreading, publishing, communications even some public relations...

I transfered. Twice actually. All my credits came with me both times (though I know that it's not always the case), and it was the best decision I ever made. I HATED the school I started at. I transfered back to NJ for a year to regroup and see where things went from there. I don't think I ever really wanted to stay in NJ, but it was close and it was cheap. From there, I transfered to a school in Canada, where I had never been before I took the tour of Bishop's. That was my home, and I knew it from the second I set foot on the campus for the tour. I ended up with an extra year, but only because the program at Bishop's was a lot more demanding than at either of my other schools -- which is what I wanted. I had to take more classes that were specifically in my major... which sure beat what I had had before.

Follow your heart. Do what you think is going to make you happy. Don't listen when people try to write it off as a phase if you know in your heart that it's what you want to do.

Best wishes lyrica :)

I would definitely agree that you should visit the schools and TALK TO THE ACADEMIC ADVISORS about your transferring credits.

I transferred as a junior, but had already taken several junior-level courses my sophomore year, and not all of them transferred. I ended up losing a lot of credits, but I changed my major a semester later anyway.

Also take out of state tuition into consideration. I'm not sure how it works in other states, but from what I hear out of state tuition is scary... which is one of the reasons I stayed in Tx when I transferred.

Take advantage of contacts if you have any...

Our daughter transferred as a Junior to an out of state school and changed her major.

All of her credits were accepted, but it was only because the school (actually, the department) she was transferring to was willing to be very creative with electives. A different department at the same university wouldn't accept ANY of her previous credits.

Now, there were other things in play. She transferred to my and Mrs. DA's Alma Mater, and we knew some people who were able to help -- a lot.

In fact, the guy who accepted her into his program is a Delt whom I had met several times before. The head of the department is also a Delt, but the real helper was the Dean of the Honors College who was a grad student with me when I was an undergrad who was willing to call department heads at home on a Sunday night before classes.

The good news is that, while having to take a number of 19 hour quarters, she still graduated in four years with a 3.9+.

So, if your parents have any friends...use them.

Do any of the schools you want to attend have an exchange program with your college? One of my good friends took a year and attended Mizzou's journalism school. I did a similar thing with (what was at the time) the best undergrad architecture school in the country. Having that on my resume--when all the top firms hire their interns straight from that school--has helped out so much.

Sometimes it's just easier to get a better job--or any job at all--having attended one of the best schools in your field. We would all like to think that it doesn't matter what school you attend, but let's get real--in a lot of fields, it does.

This the very reason that I discussed on the Princeton Thread.:)

There are many Greeks out in the real world after college and they know that being a Greek brings a lot more information, growing because of interaction than just being a Student.

Networking is not only just between Individual Organizations, but all of us no matter what affiliation.

Do you know members of other Greek Organizations and feel a little closer to them for being Greek?

As munchkin said, a good school name helps, but if you do not have interacting skills then where do you go if you become a blob?

Playing on what Munchkin posted...

Check out the National Student Exchange (http://www.nse.org). This is a program where you can take a semester or a year at one of almost 200 state schools. UNT is part of it, as is UWash and TONS of other schools. I'm sure there is an office on your campus (check out the study abroad office?) where you can pick up a catalog and find out. Unfortunately, you'd have to wait til next year since exchanges are arranged during the spring semester for the upcoming school year.

Not to discourage you from transferring, though... I wish I had!

alas, the only thing i can get from my father's friends is into concerts free.

you are a goddess for asking this question. i looked into it, and UW is one of the schools that i could do an exchange with.. and its just an awesome sounding program to do.
thank you so so much. i may just get to go to my dream school for a year!

Sorry to bust in the thread, but I'm also looking at some of the schools lyrica mentioned for a graduate degree in print journalism, specializing in magazines.

So, if any of you have info on the following grad schools:

Mizzou
Southern Cal
UT-Austin
Syracuse
Indiana
Northwestern
UGA
Oklahoma

it would be greatly appreciated. I know that all these schools, with the exception of UT-Austin, have Gamma Phi chapters. ;)

The Medill (sp?) School of Journalism at Northwestern has an outstanding reputation for print journalism. It is considered fairly weak by most broadcasters I know, however.

If you're looking for journalism schools in the state of Washington, then Washington State is the place to go. The Edward R. Murrow School of Communications has turned out many successful graduates, such as Keith Jackson and Edward R. Murrow, the school's namesake. The newspaper has won several national colleigate awards and if you want to teach, WSU's College of Education is one of the best in the state. UW does not have a Bachelor's level Education program, they do have a grad program I believe. ADPi is at WSU, also.

My best friend went there for a combined masters in journalism and PR. She has been doing great with her career and is a VP of a health care PR firm at the age of 39, in Los Angeles!

Dee

ETA: Looks like my son should look into Ohio U. At the ripe old age of 8, he wants to be a meterologist and/or broadcast journalist. He could double major there!