I’ll be applying to several colleges this year, but I’m pretty sure my chances aren’t that good.
I’m 18 years old and from Germany, and the Colleges on my list are:
BU, Brown, Cornell, Emory, George Washington, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, USC and UMich. I’d rather apply to private institutions because as an international student, I’ve got better chances there.
Since I’m from Germany, I can’t really tell my GPA (I think it’s about 3.9, but I’m not sure). I’ll receive my SAT scores next week, I’ll probably have ~2000… My extracurricular activities are very good, my teacher recommendations too. I won’t be applying for financial aid (does that make a difference?), and I want to major in political science.
Can anybody recommend me some safer colleges? I’m really not sure about my current choices…
You have all reaches. Where are your match and safety schools?
I don’t know why you think your chances are better at privates. That isn’t true. (UMich is public…BTW)
You need some match and safety schools. As a poly sci major, there are many schools that could be match and safeties.
My safety schools are the ones in Germany, with an average of 1.5 in the final exams, I can study political science at nearly every university, which are better than the average US universities… Many people told me that, as an international student, my chances to be admitted to publics are low, since they prefer US citizens over international students. Isn’t that true?
I hoped that people could recommend me some match schools. 
(btw, wouldn’t you consider GWU a match school? :s)
My recommendation would be to study in Germany and then do a ‘study abroad’ to get a taste of a semester/year at US school. You can always do graduate school in US.
You are a bit behind learning about appropriate US schools. You have a lot of reaches, but I imagine you are having difficulty figuring out what would be a good fit US school. Do you have any family/friends in US universities?
Drake U (a private university) in Des Moines Iowa has a lot of international students and is very good in political science. My two nephews attended there and got a great education - one did study political science (along with two other majors). Be prepared to read a lot and write a lot - but that is an excellent place for a solid education.
Your stats will determine some about admission. Different schools have different admission standards. Some are more international service oriented.
Firstly, thanks for you recommendation, I’ll definitely do that if I don’t get offers from the US colleges. Luckily, admission-deadlines in Germany are in July, so I’ve got lots of time left.
Secondly, I am!! That’s why I made this post. I don’t know anybody who studies at a US university, that’s why I’m asking you. Drake U sounds good, I’m definitely gonna look that one up.
My problem is, that I cannot define a match or a safe school. If I got 2000 on the SAT I, would a school with an average of 1900 in the SAT I be a match? are there any (informal, of course) guidelines to defining that?
Safety/Match/Reach for an international student who can pay the full costs of attendance are essentially the same as for US applicants. So since you have decent safeties in your own country, feel free to apply wherever you think might be good places to study here.
There are lots of lists of ‘top undergraduate programs’ in political science. Google them and do a cross-reference, then read up on those that interest you. Here’s an example :http://college.usatoday.com/2014/08/26/the-top-10-best-colleges-for-a-major-in-political-science/ Play with the wording and you’ll get lots of lists. In the DC area, Georgetown and George Washington are both good choices for Poli Sci and International Relations for obvious reasons.