April Daley came to the Medill School of Journalism confident that she was well prepared by her experience as a journalism cherub at the National High School Institute.

“Walking into my first class, I thought ‘This is nothing,’” Daley said. “I’d been exposed to current event quizzes and rotating rewrites before most of my classmates. Cherubs was so much like my first year at Medill.”

Cherubs hope to follow in Daley's footsteps, from the journalism program to Medill. Daley also worked as a community associate at the program.

Of 86 cherubs surveyed, 58 said they would apply to the school this coming fall. Twenty cherubs said they would not be applying to Medill and eight said they were unsure if they would apply.

These numbers match the average, said director Roger Boye, who has tracked cherub statistics for the past 25 years. According to Boye, each year an average of 60 cherubs apply to Medill. Of those students, 30 are admitted to the school and 20 actually enroll.

Lily Altavena, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said she plans to apply early decision to Medill this fall.

“I really like how Medill integrates new media but still teaches traditional journalism,” Altavena said. “I know I want to be a journalist, and after seeing the campus, I am really excited to apply.”

Instructor Sarahmariah Gomez said that the program is a good way for cherubs to see if they like the environment Medill provides. The cherub program covers similar subjets, including multimedia, ethics, reporting and writing.

Gomez also teaches classes during the year at Medill.

“In my classes at Medill, I can definitely tell who are cherubs and who are not,” Gomez said. “While the rest of the class is still learning to handle tight deadlines, a heavy workload and basic journalism, cherubs have already experienced these things and know what to do.”

Boye agreed that being a cherub is a head start for Medill students and that some of his best journalism students were once cherubs. Boye said that while being a cherub does not compensate for a “less than stellar” transcript, it can definitely help the acceptance to Medill.

“If all else is equal between two students applying to Medill, being a cherub shows a productive summer and can be the tipping point in the application process,” Boye said.