Acing the Transition: Advice for Incoming PR Students

Congratulations, you have been accepted to the public relations program at Newhouse! This is truly an exciting time in your life and I know you are going to have the same life-changing experience that I have had.

That being said, I remember being in your shoes and feeling nervous about the transition to grad school, especially to a school as prestigious as Newhouse. Make your transition even smoother by…

1. Reading the news. The best way to keep up on the news is by reading accredited publications, such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Thankfully, both publications understand the financial situation of students and provide inexpensive means of receiving the news. WSJ offers students 15 weeks for $15 and if you visit nytimes.com you can subscribe to a free daily email briefing.

2. Blogging. Already a blogger? Great, keep it up! Never written a blog post in your life? Perfectly OK! Blogging is excruciatingly simple and most PR people find it enjoyable. During the summer you will be asked to create a blog and write one article per week. Make this transition easier by creating a blog ahead of time. I recommend using WordPress, as the templates are professional and you can set up a blog for free.

3. Playing around with Adobe. During the summer you will be required to complete Graphics 617, a six-week intensive graphic design course. Although the professors are fantastic, many students find graphic design to be stressful. To help yourself out, download the free trials of InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop from Adobe.com. Start experimenting with the programs and check out YouTube tutorials and Adobe.com/support when you get stuck. While this is not a school requirement, I guarantee that doing this will make “bootcamp” much less stressful.
4. Connect. Lastly, connect with Newhouse by following these Twitter accounts:
   1. @NewhousePR
   2. @NewhouseSU
   3. @newhousemasters

I hope that you find this advice helpful, and congratulations again! Your hard work and dedication have brought you to the best communications school in the country and you deserve to be proud!

Emilee Smith

Emilee is an artist, writer and musician who possesses a love of animals and a "Harry Potter" obsession. She is an avid reader, baker and aspires to publish novels. Emilee is currently earning a master's degree in public relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication.
@emileejaysmith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emileesmith