The best schools in any field will have a reputation for the programs they offer. When searching through possible schools for advertising and marketing, some will have reputations for Media Arts, Animation, Web Design and Interactive Media, Graphic Design, and Copywriting. Review articles written about colleges. Skim through social networking site gossip. Look for patterns. For example, you may hear and read consistently positive comments about Northwestern University for preparing students to work in executive and administrative advertising positions. The University of California at Berkeley and Bradford School have a reputation for their graphic design programs. Search under Communications for advertising programs, and Business Schools for marketing programs.
Networking in college works on a multi-lane highway. You can meet professionals in the field who work for agencies that can open doors for you when you graduate. Ask faculty at the schools how often they have industry visitors come and give speeches. You can work with a fellow student who invents the next great advertising application and end up working for her. At a job interview, you may be equal in qualifications to another student, yet you graduated from the same college as the person in charge of hiring decisions. They are more likely to hire someone who graduated from their alma mater when faced with a tough decision. Check the websites of the big agencies in New York City and look at where the executives have graduated.
The US Bureau of Labor statistics suggests that a wide array of bachelor's degree options make you competitive in the job market. The best advertising and marketing schools will have comprehensive programs designed to help you become proficient in your specialty, but also have a diverse selection of courses to broaden your knowledge for working successfully in the industry. Search for schools that offer additional courses in journalism, technical writing, business administration, public speaking, consumer behavior, and economics.
The instructors that you will be learning from are the school's best asset. The bios of the instructors teaching at the school are listed in the school's "staff" section of their website. Read over their bios to see if they've had actual experience in the field or if their knowledge is solely based on theory. If you have an opportunity to visit the school, take the opportunity to meet with potential instructors. The best instructors in marketing and advertising fields will have knowledge from working in the advertising industry as well as flexibility and versatility because times change and markets evolve.