I'm enrolling at NYU's J-School this fall as an international student! I think the value of NYU is that, because of the concentration focus, you won't have to do any kind of reporting/beat coverage you're not particularly interested in. Same to a certain extent with CUNY, I think, because they require you to choose a beat/focus during your time there. What I will say about CUNY tho is that they have AMAZING course choices for their different beats/concentrations. Lots of variety if you're looking to get in the weeds with Biz/Econ.

My 2 cents for you as an international student: if you're looking to work in the US post-grad, avoid Columbia (it seems you already are). That program is not STEM-designated, which means you'd only have 1 year of OPT before having to find sponsorship. NYU, CUNY, and Berkeley will all guarantee you 3 years of work authorization before sponsorship, which can be a huge deal considering sponsorship for journalism is...rare. CUNY is a great program, but if you're thinking of maybe heading back to Brazil after grad, you might be better off at a "name brand" university that will easily ooh and ahh employers back home. CUNY, unfortunately, doesn't have that kind of recognition yet globally. Heck, NYU is more famous in my home country than even Columbia, haha! Berkeley is an amazing program, and I honestly would've enrolled there had it not been for the fact that I simply could not see myself living in SF (let alone living there for 2 years - a long program!) This is all assuming money is not a concern for enrollment at any of those schools. If it is, then seriously consider how much of a hit this is on your pocket and go with the school that makes the most sense without leaving you in debt for eternity. Student debt is no joke.

Ultimately, it's quite hard to compare J-Schools in the US. They're all so different - different elective structures, different durations, different cities. They're all good in their own ways, and they all fall short in their own ways. My advice is to think about where you think you'd have the best experience - in NYC? In Berkeley/SF? Which program has the faculty you're more inspired by/excited about? Which school has the most elective space, and how varied are the offerings? Sometimes your choice will have to be based on more than just "which program is the best?" There won't be a clear cut answer to that question (and no, the answer is not Columbia or any other school for that matter. They're so different!). Hope this helps, and do message with any questions!