Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Public Relations Specialists
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Purdue, IUPUI, Indiana University, and Ball State.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Purdue Calumet, IU Northwest, Purdue North Central, and IU South Bend.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Saint Mary's College and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Martin, Calumet College, Vincennes University, and IU Northwest.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Ivy Tech Kokomo, IU East, Grace College and Theological Seminary, and IU Northwest.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Notre Dame, Earlham, Saint Mary's College, and Taylor University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Hanover, Earlham, Goshen, and Manchester.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Notre Dame, Earlham, DePauw, and Indiana University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Notre Dame, University of Saint Francis-Ft Wayne, and Marian.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Hanover, Earlham, Notre Dame, and DePauw.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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DePauw University • Greencastle, IN
Studying Communications (completion in 2009)
• 9/30/2011
"I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. In addition to a great social experience, I felt like I got an exceptional education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I absolutely would. DePauw is a highly-regarded liberal arts school with a phenomenal communications department. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The Media Fellows program is nationally-regarded. Additionally, DePauw's liberal arts college is a top-50 school. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I attended a private, liberal arts college that prepared me well for the broader spectrum of communications work. However, due to the small nature of the school, there were not as many opportunities for specialized, concentrated learning as I would have liked. |
| Instruction | 10 | Given the size of the school, I believe that I was provided an incredible level of instruction. Many of my professors were nationally-renowned in their respective fields and had achieved the highest degrees possible. I was afforded the most impressive hands-on learning experiences, including multiple internships. |
| How Difficult | 9 | My program was very intensive. The level of commitment that was expected was incredibly high, as were the academic standards. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | DePauw was highly hands-on, particularly in the communications department. In my time, I was involved in the television station, radio station, newspaper, and yearbook, among other things. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | DePauw is a small, private, non-commuter campus. Degrees are often completed in four years and most students live on campus. Therefore, classes are held at very traditional times. While there are always a few evening offerings, there are no opportunities for summer or online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | My school had a mix of older facilities and resources but was, and still is, updating, upgrading, and renovating their facilities and resources to stay as current as possible. Academic resources, such as tutors and study groups, were plentiful and easily accessible. |
| Social Life | 10 | My social experience was fantastic! DePauw has a large and active Greek community and successful Division III athletics. The students are proud of their teams, Greek houses, etc., and there are tons of social activities every semester centered around those things. |
| Placement Services | 9 | I was very pleased with the career support offered to me while I was in school. I got my first job after graduation based on my DePauw connections. I can't comment on the post-graduation career support as I've not had to utilize it. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The alumni network at DePauw is incredibly healthy. Given the small and close-knit nature of the school, I've never been surprised at how extensive and thriving the alumni support is. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying English (completion in 1995)
• 2/24/2012
"I got a great education. I feel capable of adapting to almost any professional environment."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I think I would defer the person asking me for advice to someone who had studied PR and communications more directly. I would have good things to say about Indiana, but they wouldn't be relevant for that person. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I am not entirely sure, but it was top 15 when I enrolled, and I know it has fallen significantly. |
| Program Quality | 5 | Indiana had a very good English program when I went there, but the program became more corporate over time and its national ranking fell. I did not train specifically to work in PR, and even though English and writing training provides a good background for PR, there was no opportunity to select this as a focus -- the program was entirely academic, with a lot of resistance to private-sector work. |
| Instruction | 8 | It was not a PR program, so I cannot rate PR-specific aspects of it. I feel the curriculum was exceptional, but not particularly relevant. |
| How Difficult | 10 | The program I was in was a PhD program to become a university professor. Fewer than 1% of the population succeeds in this type of program; it was extremely difficult. I feel extremely well prepared for any writing or communications challenge, but it would have been nice to have options within this program to develop private-sector skills. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I was in an academic graduate program. I believe that book-oriented learning would be normal. There was a lot of writing, which maybe could be considered "hands on," but it was academic writing, which is not really "applied" practice for PR writing. My experience definitely makes PR writing easier, but it wasn't really training for it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I did not have any problems with schedule flexibility when I was attending the school. I believe they would be average for a university of this size. IU takes its mission to the public seriously. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | For enrolled students and faculty, libraries and media resources were exceptional, and professors were extremely engaged and pro-student. As a graduate student, I did not utilize many of the resources at the school. |
| Social Life | I did not participate in the university's social environment. The graduate program encouraged social interaction. | |
| Placement Services | I did not utilize the job placement and career services assistance -- I got a job independently without even trying. I assume it is average. | |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I do not use the alumni network. I would like it very much if the university provided remote access to library databases for alumni the way they do for enrolled students and faculty, even at a fee, but they are not unusual in not doing so. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Marketing (completion in 1991)
• 3/3/2012
"I'm satisfied that I received the education that I deserved. I believe that what you put in, you get out, and I did the best I could at that point in my life. I would have preferred to have more counseling."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend it if they wanted their post-school life to be in the Midwest. The best part about my school was the career center which got me started off well in my career. I would counsel anyone to pick a school with a strong career center and close to the location of your dreams. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The second job I secured in my career was - in part - due to the fact that the hiring manager knew Indiana had a good undergraduate business school. That's a rarity in New York as you tend to compete with colleagues from Ivy League schools. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Indiana has a good business program, but being a big school it was easy to get lost in the shuffle even once you get into the business school as an undergraduate. It wasn't that challenging, so it was easy for me to skate through. |
| Instruction | 4 | What I know now that I didn't know when I was in college is that it almost doesn't matter what you study as long as you love what you study and are excited by it. My best classes were math classes which has very little to do with my position today. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I did think the program was relatively easy, but it's hard to get into which is why I gave it an average score. The work load was a challenge considering I was working to pay my way through school too. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think it was very book oriented. We did have to do business school case studies as a group, but for the most part it was books. I only had to present once and I still remember that experience, because it was successful. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | I was able to take the toughest part of business school in the summer when I was there. There were no online options at that time, nor did I participate in evening or weekend classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The facilities were fine. We had computer labs that were overcrowded, but otherwise the facilities were fine. |
| Social Life | 7 | Indiana is a rare school that has a strong arts program, as well as a strong athletic program. That diversity made for an interesting campus life. I did support myself though, so I worked through school, which limited the time I had available. |
| Placement Services | 10 | It was well organized with many different companies visiting campus to interview us. I did secure my first job in the city of my choice before I graduated. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't tapped the alumni network at all for my career. I used to attend gatherings, but they didn't seem to really further my understanding of any subject. They were just networking events. |
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