Kurt Said:

Would you recommend NYU for journalism or creative writing?

We Answered:

Be sure to find a journalism program that's strong in new media/multimedia journalism. Many journalism students are woefully prepared for the real world because their programs do not teach them the latest skills they need.

According to an article by NYU journalism student Alana Taylor on PBS's MediaShift blog, NYU is not up to speed on the latest media technologies. Granted, this is just one student talking about one professor. But, you should probably do some further investigating. Higher education is a big investment of time, money and energy, so you want to be 100 percent sure you're making the best decision on where to go.

Also, have you considered City University of New York? It has new journalism school with a wonderful multimedia curriculum. And, because it's a public university, it's relatively affordable.

Too many journalism schools, including some of the well-known ones, however, are stuck in 1999. They aren't teaching students the new media skills they need, such as web design, podcasting and video editing. Sure, they give a lot of lip service, saying how important new media skills are. But they don't actually deliver.

Lucy Said:

Does NYU have a creative writing major? And what's the best SAT subject test to take?

We Answered:

NYU has a creative writing minor in the undergraduate liberal arts part of the university, the College of Arts and Sciences. If you apply to the school of individualized study, Gallatin, you can create your own major and focus primarily on Creative writing. CAS is easier to get into (or so I have heard) than Gallatin, and you can always transfer from CAS into Gallatin once you are here!

As far as subject tests go- take the ones you find most comfortable, the two Math ones were pretty easy, and so was the US History, but again, this is totally up to your own strengths!

Javier Said:

Best colleges for film writing and creative writing study?

We Answered:

columbia university is good too
basically any ivy league school will have a great writing department.

William Said:

What College has a good writing program?

We Answered:

First, one thing: there aren't tons of schools that offer Creative Writing. However, that doesn't mean they're not good for writing (they will just have stellar English departments, if you go to the right school.)
Majoring in Journalism and English is pretty different. Oftentimes, the schools with the best Journalism programs will not have the best English/Writing programs. Anyway.
Best for Creative Writing/Writing/English (ones with a * aren't as hard to get in to)
Kenyon
Sarah Lawrence*
Oberlin
Bard*
Middlebury
Johns Hopkins
Amherst
Emerson* (also good for journalism--might be a nice option for you)
Franklin & Marshall*
Hampshire* (a very alternative school)
Amherst
Mount Holyoke*
U Michigan Ann Arbor*
UC Irvine*
UNC Chapel Hill (if you're a NC resident it's not too hard to get in to)
Other decent/good programs: Bryn Mawr*, Occidental, Pepperdine*, Pitzer, Elon*, Hobart & William Smith*, Denison*, Eckerd*

For Journalism:
Northwestern
Syracuse* (though Newhouse is pretty tough)
U Missouri
USC (also pretty good for writing)
San Francisco State*
Arizona State*
U Georgia*
Indiana--Bloomington*

Jacob Said:

Should I make my UC personal statement creative?

We Answered:

The high volume of applications the UCs receive means that application evaluators are spending less than 10 minutes reviewing each application. For UC personal statement, you really need to address all aspects of the prompts and few students can pull off being creative or funny, address the prompts fully, and meet the word-limit (1,000 words total for both prompts) at the same time. It will make the evaluators happy if you are straightforward and get to the point. It doesn't hurt to be a little creative or funny, but remember that you must address the prompts fully.

Prompt 1 for Freshman Applicants

The way Prompt 1 is worded can be a bit misleading. According to what I heard from Berkeley admissions, application evaluators (or at the very least, Berkeley and Irvine - confirmed by a student who attended a seminar at Irvine) want you to discuss your dreams and aspirations, and what you have done so far to achieve those dreams and aspirations. While it is important for you to define your environment, you should NOT use your personal statement to describe your family, school or community.

I recommend approaching the first prompt by figuring out what your environment is, what your dreams/aspirations are, and what you have done in the context of your environment to achieve those dreams/aspirations.

Your environment can have physical boundaries (for example, your bedroom, the church prayer room, or the community center) or mental boundaries (for example, your upbringing or cultural tradition). Another way to think about your environment is by imagining yourself as a fish; are you in a fishbowl, a stream, a pond, or an ocean?

Your dreams and aspirations can be broad or specific; perhaps you aspire to help people (broad) or maybe your dream is to be a TB specialist serving with Doctor Without Borders in Somalia (specific). Either way, you should discuss how your achievements (academic and/or extracurricular, within the context of your environment) have helped you move toward achieving that dream/aspiration. You also want to consider talking about how you plan to continue these achievements in college.

Whatever you choose to discuss in this prompt, remember the main focus should be on YOU; what you have accomplished, what your goals are for the future, and why you will succeed (in life and/or in college).

Prompt 2 for All Applicants

Prompt 2 is a way for you to showcase something about yourself that makes you stand out from your peers. You can do that by discussing a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience (pq/t/a/c/e for short). Make sure you cover 1) why this pq/t/a/c/e is important to you, 2) why you are proud of this pq/t/a/c/e, and 3) what the pq/t/a/c/e says about you as an individual. You may also consider discussing how this pq/t/a/c/e will help you succeed in college. Again, the main focus of your essay should be on YOU; what makes you different from other applicants, who you are as a person (beyond your grades and test scores), and what interests you have. You can also think of Prompt 2 as a commercial spot for yourself. What would be the theme of the commercial? What clips from your life would be featured in the commercial?