Despite drama, students continue to apply to J-school

Trepidation aside, it turns out that the number of applications submitted was about the same as past years.

Applications for spring 2011 were due  Oct. 1 in the Armory, and advisors are now sifting through them, determining who will be enrolled in the school.

The school has been making headlines recently concerning its future, and it was a possibility that the uncertainty and upcoming changes could affect students’ decisions to apply.

Jeanne Brown, a pre-journalism advisor for SJMC, said that there were some inquires and doubt.

“I had some new freshmen who expressed some concern about their major,” Brown said. “To my knowledge, we didn’t have anybody pull out of school.”

She said that when the news first came about the set up of a discontinuance committee, both students and parents were upset, but the advisors were able to provide information and reassure people.

“Susan [Avilla, a fellow advisor] and I went to the Principles of Journalism and Principles of Advertising classes and explained what was going on,” she said. “We answered a lot of questions about this application cycle, and we stressed that whoever comes in this year is going to get their degrees and have a full battery of classes to take.”

Despite the statements made by university officials and the assurance of advisors, the news that there may not be a journalism school to attend in a couple of years made some prospective students question if they should even apply.

Jennifer Brady, a 19-year-old sophomore pre-journalism major who applied for spring 2011, said the news made her reconsider.

“It definitely made me think twice about it,” Brady said. “It made me wonder if I should wait it out.”

Though she had her doubts, she said she thought the changes could be a good step for the school.

“I think it’ll be a lot different,” she said. “It is headed toward technology, which is good because I think journalism is headed that way.”

Melody Siefken, a 19-year-old sophomore pre-journalism major, said she decided to wait to apply.

“I am waiting and applying in the spring,” Siefken said. “By then, they will have a game plan with what they are going to do.”

Daniel Edwards, a junior pre-journalism major, said he isn’t sure if he is going to apply anymore, and the announcements caused him to question his original plans.

“Their rhetoric kept changing with every statement they would make,” Edwards said. “The uncertainty affected what I was thinking about doing.”

Overall, the numbers show that the recent announcements haven’t affected the number of students applying.

“We had 206 applications which was down very slightly from last fall, which was 213,” Brown said. “There is a fairly substantial decrease in news-editorial and a fairly substantial increase in advertising applications. But other than that, the applications seem to be about the same.”

She also said that all of what has been going on this semester will not be affecting how this round of applications are processed. But, she said, the spring round may see some slight changes.

“There are possible changes for spring, not in terms of the essays or how we review them, but we may be more flexible about how many hours we take,” she said.

Instead of requiring 30 hours, the advisors are contemplating admitting students with 25 hours or more instead to make sure all the freshman that qualify can be admitted in case any drastic changes do take place in the coming years, she said.

She said that within the journalism school, some changes are already taking place.

“We did design a new curriculum that was approved by the faculty last January, and about 80 percent of that new curriculum is in place,” she said. “The idea of the new curriculum was to break down some of the barriers that exist between the different majors, and I think that is going to continue.”

She said that these changes are not going to create issues, but will be beneficial for students.

“All the students we have now will be able to keep going,” she said. “We’ll be able to teach them, and everything will be fine. I think everybody who is currently in there is going to be in great shape.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Isa Jones at Alexandra.i.jones@colorado.edu.