<p>I am looking for a good undergraduate school to pursue political science. I plan to follow that up with graduate school for law.
I am a white, male, junior currently, from a small Minnesotan town.
Act: 31 (Retaking this spring. Hopefully 32 or 33.)
GPA: 3.81
AP Work: Bio 3, U.S. Hist 5, Eng 11 and World Hist. currently. Physics, Calc, and Eng 12 next year.
EC: Speech 5 years very successful at.
Knowledge Bowl for two, most likely captain next year.
I prefer a private college that is not overly zealous in regards to religion and emphasizes academics above all else.
Location wise, I would like to either staying in the midwest or head to the northeast or northwest coats. Nothing south, I cannot stand heat.
In addition, it must also have a good financial aid system
Thank you in advance. I can clarify anything if need be. :)</p>
<p>Georgetown, John Hopkins, Duke, NYU, U Chicago, Columbia, Yale.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking what do you want to do after you are done with law school?</p>
<p>I plan to move into public policy in some form.</p>
<p>I am also adding realistic to the qualifications. Because unless somehow I am way off here, isn’t U Chicago, Columbia, and Yale just a bit of a stretch?</p>
<p>Based on your stats and indicated preference, a great match would be American Universty
in Washington, D.C. Excellent school, great academics, continual upward increase in USNWP
rankings, great internship opportunities, one of the top political science and public policy administration departments and superb faculty.</p>
<p>Duke would be a good choice-has Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Tufts and Holy Cross in New England are solid schools. Holy Cross is a Jesuit school like Georgetown and both are secular in atmosphere. HC has 1 Supreme Court Justice, 2 other Justices with Holy Cross affiliations, 1 US Senator, 3-4 Congressmen, Chris Matthews of MSNBC, and Obama’s speechwriter as alumni of Holy Cross. Both Duke and Holy Cross are need blind for admissions.</p>
<p>*In addition, it must also have a good financial aid system
*</p>
<p>Does this mean that you’re lowish income and need lots of aid? </p>
<p>Or does this mean that you’re middle/upper-middle income and your parents can’t pay much for college?</p>
<p>It makes a big difference.</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota is an excellent political science school and would probably be affordable.</p>
<p>If you could get one of their big scholarships, George Mason outside DC would be worth a look too.</p>
<p>How much can your family afford to pay? What is your EFC?</p>
<p>I am not sure yet our EFC according to the FAFSA or CSS, but it should be incredibly low. My family’s income is low and generally in school’s bottom aid bracket.</p>
<p>Well, then, you’ll have to CAREFULLY select schools that will meet need.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you can increase your ACT to a level that makes you more competitive to top privates that give the best aid.</p>
<p>Also…take the SAT…you might do better on that.</p>
<p>Avoid most OOS publics unless they will give you huge merit aid. the only OOS publics that give FA to OOS students are UVA and UNC. </p>
<p>however, there are some OOS publics that give big merit.</p>
<p>Be sure to apply to a couple of financial safety schools…those are schools that you know for sure that you’ll have all costs covered.</p>
<p>how did you do on the PSAT? Are you a likely NMSF?</p>
<p>Maybe check out Macalester??</p>
<p>While not meeting all your criteria U Wisconsin and U Minnesota would both be very good smart economic choices. UW’s department has very good Washington DC ties. </p>
<p>[About</a> Us](<a href=“http://polisci.wisc.edu/AboutUs.aspx]About”>http://polisci.wisc.edu/AboutUs.aspx)</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is very strong in political science. Your stats are on the high side of their entering class which opens up the possibility of merit aid. Do well at “the U” as an undergrad and do well on the LSAT, and you can get into any law school in the country.</p>
<p>The University of Wisconsin-Madison is also very strong in political science, and with the Minnesota-Wisconsin tuition reciprocity agreement it’s effectively a second in-state public flagship for you. Even if you prefer a private college, these two publics should definitely be on your list, probably as “safeties.” I’m quite sure they’d both be glad to have you.</p>
<p>Also check out Macalester and Carleton, two outstanding LACs right in your backyard. Mac’s a little easier to get into, with a 46% admit rate; your 31 ACT is just below their 75th percentile of 32. Get your ACT up to 32 and it’s an easy match for you. Carleton is a little reachier, with a 30% admit rate; your ACT score is right at their median. There are many comparable LACs farther away from home, but frankly it’s hard to beat what’s in your own backyard so unless you really want to get away to another region (and it sounds like that’s not your goal), I’d definitely put these two fine schools on your list.</p>
<p>Almost every top LAC and major research university is going to have a very good poli sci department. My D1 is currently a freshman at Haverford College just outside Philadelphia, is probably going to major in poli sci, and loves it for the great “academics first” atmosphere. Haverford was her top choice and she was admitted ED, but for opportunities to study poli sci she’d have done as well had she ended up at any of the other colleges on her list which included places like Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Brown, and Middlebury. IMO there are advantages to studying poli sci at a LAC rather than a major university because poli sci is such a popular major that intro poli sci classes (and even upper-level class at some schools) at the major universities tend to be huge, and the departments so big that it’s harder to get individualized attention. That said, I still think as a Minnesotan you need to have “the U” and Wisconsin-Madison on your list because both offer a quality education at a reasonable cost, and at a minimum they’re a strong safety net if other options don’t work out for admission or financially.</p>
<p>There are so many schools that would fit the OP criteria that it makes little sense to list individual schools. Asking for good schools for political sciences is similar to asking for a good school in general. Obviously, there are variations in the excellence of the potential schools, but the issues of academic and safeties are far more important than compiling a who is who list. </p>
<p>I would advise the OP to build his list from the bottom up, starting with the obvious academic safeties represented by the in-state and regional universities. With admissions in the 50% range, that should be a good element to be able to rely on. The next step is to monitor the availabillity of financial aid as the FAFSA’s EFC might not be met. With the safeties lined up, one ought to add a few likely and reachy schools and focus on schools that cover demonstrated need. Of course, as one looks at better schools than the academic safeties, the selectivity in admissions rises by a fair margin. For competitive students, there is a world of diiference between a 50-60& admit school and one in the 10-30% range. </p>
<p>Again, most schools will be good to excellent for Pol Sciences, but not all will be known for good financial aid.</p>
<p>The “U of M” has always been my safety school. 
I thank you all for your help, and preferably I would really love to stay in the midwest if possible as a previous poster noted.
As of now my list top to bottom is:
- Carleton
- Hamline (Friend reviews and visit so far, really liked it)
- Macalester
- U of M
- UW
Are there any other midwest ones worth adding?</p>
<p>Ohio State’s political science program is top twenty (or fifteen depending on the survey). Additionally, three area study centers (Slavic and East European, East Asian and Middle Eastern) are federally designated National Resource Centers. The John Glenn School of Public Policy is also very well regarded and does a great job of placing undergraduates into internships at the state, national and international levels.</p>
<p>Your stats would probably qualify for pre-entry into either the Honors program or the Scholars program. Two of the programs choices in the latter are International Relations and Law, Politics and Society.</p>
<p>^ ztrman,
Hamline is a nice little school, but academically it’s not on the same level as Carleton or Macalester. OK as a “safety,” but frankly Minnesota and Wisconsin have more to offer academically—unless you’re really looking for a small-college experience.</p>
<p>Other Midwest schools to consider for political science would be Grinnell, Chicago, Northwestern, Wash U if you’re willing to go as far south as St. Louis, possibly Kenyon (in Ohio), possibly Earlham (in Indiana). The first four of these are highly competitive in admissions, Kenyon a little less so, Earlham even less so but with very strong academics, several notches above Hamline, IMO. Michigan has the top poli sci department in the Midwest—its grad program is ranked #4 nationally by US News and its NRC rankings are similar–but there’s little reason to pay OOS tuition there when you can attend either Minnesota or Wisconsin for much less. Ohio State is also good but more on the Minnesota/Wisconsin level, so again no reason to go to an OOS public when you can get the same thing cheaper closer to home. Some other good Midwest LACs would be St. Olaf, Beloit (WI), Lawrence U (WI), and Oberlin (OH).</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Program. Kalamazoo College](<a href=“Academics | Kalamazoo College”>Academics | Kalamazoo College)</p>
<p>Check out Kalamazoo College, excellent reputation!</p>