My grad school choice

Last week I turned down Columbia University, arguably the top name in journalism instruction. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But given the value I'll get at the University of Maryland - the school I chose over Columbia - perhaps I'm crazy like a fox living a cushy life under a backyard deck in Olathe, Kansas.



Maryland made my decision quite a bit easier late in the game. The Terps offered me a fellowship that will pretty much cover all the tuition. The only condition: that I start in July. So I said, "Gee, let me think... um, SURE." Frankly, I was pretty intimidated by the idea of taking out a bunch of loans to get a journalism degree, so that was a nice load off my mind. But it isn't the only reason I chose Maryland.

After talking to the dean there, I learned that I'll be able to test out of at least one, and possibly two, of the early courses that seemed a lot like ones I took at KU. So that pretty much addresses my main concern with the Terps' academic program. By starting in the summer I'll also be able to finish in less than a year (read: before I'm 30), which is pretty awesome.

Columbia's a great school, but I think I may have been more drawn to the idea of a Columbia degree than a Columbia education. The Maryland program is more flexible. I'll be able to cover a number of different topics and maybe even take a sports reporting course taught by Kevin Blackistone (that name means something to ESPN addicts like myself). Maryland's got all kinds of great teachers. They recently lost a couple of well-known faculty members, but the program is still littered with Pulitzer winners. It's known for producing good writers.

Yes, it would have been amazing to live in New York for a year, but the DC area is nothing to sneeze at. Yes, Columbia's professional network is pretty much peerless, with alums at basically every major media outlet. But Maryland's network reaches far and wide too, and given that I already feel like I have a pretty good relationship with the dean there, I think I'll be in a better position to access that network. In the end, that was a big part of what sold me on Maryland: the people. Not that the people at Columbia and Northwestern weren't great too, but I just felt like I connected with the profs and administrators I met at Maryland more.

The goal is still to get a full-time reporting job and if that comes along in the next month I'd have to rethink my plans. But right now I'm prepping to become a Terp in July. And I'm pretty psyched about it.

Target Field

It's now been a little more than a week since my buddy Tim and I went to our first Twins game at the new stadium. Let me preface this by saying I am 1,000 percent against taxpayer funding for pro sports venues. I think it is the worst kind of corporate welfare there is. That being said... Target Field is pretty sweet.

The sightlines are outstanding. We were about as far up in right field as you can be and it still felt like we were close to the action. The Twin City skyline was behind us in all its semi-impressive glory and the sun was shining (at least it was in left field — we were in the shade, which was a little chilly, but not bad). There's many more food choices, including gelato and even a fresh fruit cart – although I'm not sure how many apples they're going to sell for $3 apiece. Then again, it's hard to find anything there for less than $3. I got two small tacos from Senor Smoke's (Juan Berenguer shout-out, for all you hardcore Twins fans) for $5. They were tasty, if not particularly filling.

It was a great day for a ballgame and the place was packed. The Royals, of course, didn't cooperate. They insisted on bashing out a rare 10-5 win (Alberto Callaspo for MVP!), but I left feeling pretty satisfied. At $17 for each seat the ticket prices weren't rage-inducing, but I still miss the $5 seats at the Dome.

The one complaint both Tim and I agreed on was the rightfield bathroom, which seemed like an afterthought. It was a cramped, triangular room with only one door in and out, which made for an uncomfortable bottleneck. Maybe it wasn't built with sellout crowds in mind, but you would think it should have been.

Anyway, maybe the other bathrooms are better. And when you've got a great view and there's a good team on the field, it's hard to complain. Except when the taxpayers have to pay for it. That I think we should always raise a fuss about, no matter how enjoyable the finished product is.

Master's tour, final leg: Columbia University

At first glance Columbia seems quite similar to Northwestern -- amazing program, untenable price tag. But there are a few things that make Columbia more enticing.

I was admitted to the Master's of Arts in Journalism: Health and Science reporting concentration. That is a very small program that will ensure I get plenty of individual attention from professors who, for the most part, are also award-winning authors. My classes will all be small and they'll generally be full of people who have as much or more (usually more) professional experience than me. I will also have the opportunity to take graduate-level classes at Columbia outside the J-school, in subjects like psychology, public health, or pretty much anything else related to my concentration that I can fit in. There's no doubt I'd have to work my butt off just to stay afloat in this program. On one hand, that's kind of scary. On the other hand, maybe that's just what I need — to be challenged, pushed, forced out of my comfort zone. Could be a great thing.

Columbia is also in New York City, which, aside from the astronomical cost of living, is the perfect place for a journalist (or student who is an aspiring journalist). It's a huge place full of people from every corner of the globe, so there's a million stories. Its the media capital of the world, so there's lots of places to work and people to network with. NYC also happens to be probably the only city in the USA where knowing a little Italian might come in handy. In fact, it helped me speak to a bunch of old ladies when I visited Ground Zero last weekend. (Side note: Old ladies really take to me. I'm not sure why this is, and it doesn't seem to translate to their granddaughters, but the NYC trip only reinforced it).





That said Columbia's not cheap. It's not as expensive as Northwestern, though, in large part because it's only a nine-month program versus 12 months at Northwestern. The nine month duration is also attractive. For some reason it seems like a plus to be able to get done with school before I turn 30. I know age ain't nothin' but a number (RIP Aaliyah), but I'm still not crazy about being a 30-year-old college student. The downside of a Master's program condensed into nine months is that, like Northwestern, no graduate assistantships allowed.

It's hard to pass up Columbia. In a lot of ways Columbia IS journalism — they have pictures of Pulitzer up all over that place, for Pete's sake. I was fairly surprised I got in; that was a nice e-mail to get. But it just doesn't seem wise to incur a massive amount of debt getting a journalism right now, no matter where that degree comes from. I've put in an appeal for more financial aid. If I get good results from that, and a guaranteed spot in on-campus housing (rent is a tad steep in NYC, as you might have heard), then I'd have to take a good, hard look at Columbia.

Otherwise, I think I'm a Maryland man.

Master's tour, second leg: Northwestern University

After spending two days in Chicago at Northwestern University's Master's in Journalism open house, my impressions are this: 1. It's a great program, 2. It's a large program, 3. It's a ridiculously expensive program.

1. It's a great program:
Just about anything you can imagine doing in media, you can do at Medill (Northwestern's school of journalism). If you want to start a magazine, you can do that. If you want to make a documentary film, you can do that. If you want to start your own news website, you can do that. If you want to report in Chicago, you can do that. If you want to report in DC, you can do that. If you want to report in London, Dubai or Cairo, well, you have to fill out an application and pay for an extra semester, but there's at least a decent chance you can do that. It's like a smorsgasboard of media and if you're passionate about journalism, I can see how you'd be like a kid in a candy store there.

2. It's a large program:
This was a turn-off for me. Last year they had 90 students start in the fall. That seems like a heck of a lot for a master's program if you ask me. Maryland had fewer than half that. The current students Northwestern brought in to talk to us insisted that they still got as much individual attention as they could possibly want, but I'm skeptical. One of them said he had a class with 38 people in it, which is not my idea of graduate school. Even the open house seemed ridiculously crowded at times, especially when they brought all of us to downtown Chicago to check out the Medill newsroom there. On the one hand the size of the program helps Northwestern maintain a great professional network -- more grads out in the workforce make for more connections once you get out of school and start job hunting. But I don't like the idea of paying a bunch of money to be just another fish in a rather crowded pond.

3. It's a ridiculously expensive program:
Ah yes, the price. Truly one of the greatest sticker shock moments of my life when I saw it. The all-inclusive estimate for the 12-month program (tuition, fees, room and board) comes to... wait for it... wait for it... about $83,000. That's right, $83,000. Have you picked your jaw up off the floor yet? I was awarded a $20,000 scholarship, which is nice and all, but the rest of my financial aid package consisted of four different loans totaling about $60,000. Loans that have interest rates of up to 7.5 percent. I was told that teaching assistantships are not possible at Medill ("Our program is too rigorous. We just don't think our students could handle it"). Taking out that much in loans seems crazy. I think that much debt would just be an absolute crushing weight on me. I mean, it's not like I'm getting a master's in chemical engineering. Even in the best of times it would not be easy to pay off those kind of loans with a journalism job. Right now, with the economy uncertain and the industry in flux, it seems like an exceedingly risky proposition. Especially for someone like me, who can't exactly go get a construction job if this whole journalism thing doesn't work out.

Conclusion: I like Northwestern a lot. It's in the Midwest, which feels comfortable. It's very close to my brother, sister-in-law and two adorable little nieces (see photo below), which is enticing. The campus is beautiful and it's right on Lake Michigan. The journalism program is globally renowned, with highly visible alums and all kinds of exciting opportunities. But the size of the program left me feeling like there's not many personal touches. I didn't get the same warm reception I got at Maryland. At times during the open house it honestly felt like Medill was a journalist factory, just trying to churn out as many alums as possible. Then there's the price, which makes me think that the only people who can honestly afford to go to Medill are the ones whose last names are on some of the buildings on campus. I've been brought up to not spend money I don't have. I just can't justify going into that kind of debt. I think I have basically ruled out Northwestern.

The University of Maryland

So I just returned from the first leg of my three-pronged "Master's in Journalism" tour: the University of Maryland. I would say my impression was about 75 percent positive.

First the good parts:

I loved the people. I met with the associate dean, the graduate coordinator, a professor and a handful of the current master's students. All of them gave me more than an hour of their time. The fact that it was Good Friday and there were hardly any classes going on may have freed up some of their time. But they all seemed genuinely interested in answering all my questions and just generally chatting.

I liked DC. I saw the cherry blossoms (beautiful--see photo below) and the FDR Memorial (powerful) and got to catch up with some old friends. I even found a cool little sports bar/lounge that I could see becoming a regular hangout if I do decide to spend next year at Maryland.

I really like the price. Maryland is about half the cost of my other two schools, Northwestern and Columbia. And I was told that it would be a snap for me to get a graduate assistantship, all of which provide 10 free tuition credits per semester and some of which apparently pay up to $21,000 for a year of working 20 hours a week. That's more than I make now working 65 hours a week. Between an assistantship and my Americorps award, it's conceivable that I get my master's at Maryland and graduate debt-free. That's huge.

Now the not-as-good stuff. The curriculum is a mixed bag. I would be required to take some classes that are very similar, if not identical, to some I've already taken at KU. That seems like a waste. It will take a full semester before I can work in the DC news bureau, which is really the experience I'm going for.

The other thing is that the main reason I'm going to grad school is to get a really good newspaper/magazine job when I get out. I think the other two schools might have a slight advantage in that department. The dean admitted that Maryland's program is more of an up-and-comer, whereas Northwestern and Columbia are old standbys that have larger networks of journalism grads. That being said, he also said he couldn't recall a master's student during his tenure who didn't get a job soon after graduating, though he noted that not all the jobs were in journalism. At least two of the current students I talked to had been published in the Baltimore Sun, so that's great exposure.

So, it's not perfect, but then maybe perfect doesn't exist. Maryland is pretty darn good. And there's a decent chance I could do it debt free, so what do I have to lose, right? Unless either of the other schools can come up with a darn good financial aid package, I'd have to say Maryland is the frontrunner.

Bouncing back from a tough loss

About a year ago this time, I was serving my last days as a sportswriter at The Olathe News after getting laid off. I was down — not because of a loss of income (it wasn't that much anyway), but from other losses. Loss of relationships, loss of role within a community, loss of a job that never felt like a job. It was not an encouraging time.

In the 12 months since then I have helped 46 kids learn to read, written the article that got the most hits on the St. Cloud Times website in 2009, finished a book and begun shopping it to literary agents, and been admitted to three of the top Master's in Journalism programs in the country.

I write this not to toot my own horn (well, maybe just a little bit), but to illustrate an important point: life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.

Times are tough right now. Jobs are not easy to find, especially if you're set on finding one in a specific profession or specific geographic area. But if you're open to new possibilities and willing to work more hours than you used to for less money, there are still opportunities.

Everybody needs a little help. I had help from a stimulus package that brought my COBRA health care premiums down from a crippling $400-some per month to a manageable $100-some per month. I had help from a federal Americorps program that allowed me to make about $750 a month and have health insurance in exchange for tutoring kids who were behind on their reading. I had help from two parents who welcomed me (and an occasionally ornery dog) back home.

With a little help and a little motivation, you can turn a negative into a positive relatively quickly. I think this is something I learned, in part, from playing sports growing up. Sports teach you at an early age that life isn't always fair. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you're still going to lose. There's some things you just can't control — like the weather, the strength of the opposition, or the health of the newspaper industry.

But you can always control the way you react to losing. You use it as a motivator, you use it as an opportunity, you don't let it drag you down — then you're a winner. There's always another game or another season coming up, after all.

A girl, a Chihuahua mix, a success story

I started volunteering at the Tri-County Humane Society this week as part of my ongoing quest to complete the 1700 hours of service I signed on for with Americorps. Monday was my orientation, but that was mainly just paperwork. Tuesday was when I started getting down and dirty with the dogs (and cats, grudgingly).

I cleaned out some cages, played tug with some puppies, replaced a peed-on blanket, retrieved a skittish cat from under some low shelves (without getting clawed, thank you very much) and did an industrial load of laundry. But the really exciting thing was... I got a dog adopted!

OK, so I didn't actually do the paperwork (I'm not qualified apparently, although I feel like I'm pen-and-paper gifted). But I did greet the prospective adopter, take out the dog she wanted, supervise as she played with it and answer her many questions (with the help of the handy-dandy info packet that I snatched off the cage before we went outside). After about an hour this gentle, quiet, four-year-old white Chihuahua mix had a new home with a very good-looking young lady. Gotta admit, I was a little jealous of that dog (for the record, she mentioned that the dog's fear of children was no problem because it was just "me and my boyfriend" at home — not that it would have made any difference. I've gotta keep things professional, right?)

So it was an outstanding day, very rewarding. If you or anyone you know is looking for a pet (and lives in central Minnesota, preferably), stop by the Tri-County Humane Society. There are some great dogs there (and cats too, if that's your thing. I don't understand it, but I'm not gonna judge).