journalism at mrc

[MonsieurFish]

well my girlfriend is planning in going into this.... so i've come here for questions. has anyone ever been to this? they ask for an average of above 70 in english and social, and above 50 in everything else. now if this is the criteria, she'll get in easily probably with an average of low 80's... however on their website it says:

"Each year, we accept 55 people for the bachelor program and 10 for the certificate. "

does anyone know what that means? they only accept 55 people into journalism per year? that seems like a pretty small number. do you think it would be hard to get into because of that, even though the averages needed are easily achieved? thanks

[getbak]

I took Broadcasting at MRC many moons ago, and it had similar entrance requirements to Journalism. I was there in the early 90s, so things may have changed, but probably not much.

Meeting the minimum requirements doesn't grant you automatic admission, but they don't necessarily pick the 55 people with the top averages either.

When I applied, I had to submit 4 writing samples (3 on any subject and one explaining why I wanted into the program and where I saw my place in the future of the industry). They also had a current events test you had to do that was specifically for people trying to get into Communications (Broadcasting, Journalism, PR). After all of that, there was a personal interview with one of the instructors.

When I went there, they said they had over 400 people apply for the Broadcasting program every year and only 50 got in. That said, one of the running jokes we had was "if that person was one of the top 50 applicants out of 400, I can't imagine what the bottom 350 looked like".

I don't know what criteria they use for choosing who gets in, but high school grades didn't appear to play a big role. One thing I did notice is that the Communications programs didn't really cater to people coming right out of High School.

I don't remember the exact numbers but a very small percentage of our class was right out of high school. I had just turned 20 when I started, and I was by no means the oldest person in the class, and there weren't very many who were younger than me. One of the other students in my class was the same age as me (and 2 years out of high school) and she said she had applied the previous 2 years, and she said that she didn't get in previously because she was too young.

[Jayems]

PM sent.

And like getbak said, there were about 350+ who applied when I did. Staying on top of current events is a very important step. And just because you've got articles written in some mags or papers doesn't guarantee you a spot. Most has to do with personality and drive.

[octothorp]

Yeah, I went through the program back in 1996; I was in the first class after it switched into the applied degree program. There were two distinct groups of people in our class and I can imagine that both groups came from different admission methodologies: there were definitely a number of people who had excellent grades throughout school and were generally on the verge of tears when they started to get Ds and Fs on current event tests in college; then there was another group that were good writers and generally smart, but didn't really care about grades. The interview and writing portions were probably the most important sections of the admission process for this latter group. There was also a writing aptitude test. I finished in the 99th percentile in mine, but I really don't think it was that important.

In your writing samples, don't worry about big words or complex sentence structure: an ability to clearly and concisely present complicated ideas and facts will be looked on favourably. My writing samples included a high school english essay, a piece I had written for a school newspaper, and a short story that was really lame in retrospect. I'd also say that having an idea of where you want to go with your career is important; if you can figure out what your niche is, and make a convincing argument of why you'd be good at this and what you'd be willing to do to get there, it definitely reflects well; and those ambitions don't need to be particularly ambitious. Faculty will look more favourably on someone who wants to be a beat reporter and understands what it takes to get there, than on someone who wants to be a international correspondent and doesn't seem to know what it takes to get to that point.

[iggypop]

Id suggest Sait. Thats where the majority of my friends, who are journalism students, are going.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by iggypop

Id suggest Sait. Thats where the majority of my friends, who are journalism students, are going.

The difference between SAIT and MRC is huge though.

Yes, SAIT is only two years, but it is a diploma, and you only focus on one area (or so I've heard.)

So, you have to pick your focus, be it print, photo or broadcast and thus limiting your options at graduation time. At MRC, you learn all that in an applied degree. There are some major pros and cons SAIT, and likewise with MRC.

[asmoboba]

I would highly recommend MRC. I took Broadcasting there a few years ago, but am also familiar with the Journalism program and both seemed very good. They also have great facilities.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting in. As someone else said, there are a fair chunk who get into the program who have no business being there, so anyone who's motivated and intelligent with good grades coming in should be fine.

[asmoboba]

Sorry I should add that they do tend to go for older applicants over younger...an 18 year old just out of high school will have to impress them more than a 22 year old who has a bit more life experience.

Still, that being said, there were 18 year olds in my program who I can't believe were accepted...clearly just there to goof around.

[MonsieurFish]

k thanks alot for the help guys

[Sainters7]

I as well took Broadcasting at MRC not too long ago, we'd see the Journalism kids around all the time. Don't know much about the journalism program but I had heard the requirements were similar. I was also told only 60 or so out of 350-400 get in every year and I agree that I'd hate to see the ones who didnt get accepted, many were there just to goof around. A handful of kids dropped it after one semester.

[Mango]

I'm currently part of the post-grad journalism program there. They let in 10, but only let in 9 this year.

First, they accept you based on your grades. Second, an interview with the faculty. The interview was probably one of the most stressful things I've ever been through. Drop me a line if you have any questions.

So far, it has been an amazing experience.

The post-grad is different than the undergrad applied, so I don't know how much help it is going to be. I find that having good time management skills is key. Again, drop me a PM.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by asmoboba

They also have great facilities.

Well, that's something that's changed since I went there. We had garbage to work with. We couldn't even finish our final tv commercial production assignment because the video head on the VTR was busted.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by getbak

Well, that's something that's changed since I went there. We had garbage to work with. We couldn't even finish our final tv commercial production assignment because the video head on the VTR was busted.

Oh dude, you should see it now! I graduated in '04, and in '05 they opened the new facility, I was so pissed when I saw it. It's incredible.

[FCAV]

I'm a SAIT journalism program grad. If you have any questions feel free to PM me about their program. I wont clog the thread and make it an MRC program vs. a SAIT program thread.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Aaron Vickers

I'm a SAIT journalism program grad. If you have any questions feel free to PM me about their program. I wont clog the thread and make it an MRC program vs. a SAIT program thread.

SAIT sucks!!!

[FCAV]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

SAIT sucks!!!

Go on...

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Aaron Vickers

Go on...

That was it, just playin off the fact you said you didnt want it to turn it into an MRC vs. SAIT thread. Just stirrin the pot baby

[FCAV]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

That was it, just playin off the fact you said you didnt want it to turn it into an MRC vs. SAIT thread. Just stirrin the pot baby

I figured an MRC grad would weave better words than 'SAIT sucks'

[krazycanuck]

i'm another broadcasting grad (err...ummm...dropout, I got a couple jobs doing what I wanted to be doing while I was still in school, so I left) There appears to be many of us on here!

I knew some people who were in the Journalism program at MRC, however they didn't really seem to like it. However, They were also more interested in the broadcast journalism side of things, which they do cover...but it's not focused on that at all. They go into broadcast journalism, but also print and internet publishing. If she's wanting to go into tv or radio news, the broadcasting program is probably a better bet and will get her more practical knowledge. Of the people I went to school with a number were working in television and radio news, before they graduated, or right after.

But, yeah...400 or so people apply for the broadcasting and journalism courses, not many are accepted and hardly any are accepted fresh out of high school. We had I think 5 people in our class who were fresh out of high school, and the rest were in their 20s right up to some people in their early 30s. I believe the entrance requirements also require an interview for the journalism program, like they do for broadcasting. Just talking to the instructors on what they look for in the interview, I would suggest your girlfriend go in hella prepared on why she wants to be in that industry, what she expects to do in the industry, why she wants to be at MRC and basically demonstrate an "I'm going to kick-ass attitude". It really isn't about who's smarter, although that does play somewhat of a role, but it's mostly about knowing what you're getting into and being committed to it.

Hope that Helps.

PS...SAIT SUCKS.