<p>Hi there:</p>
<p>Does anyone have suggestions for a kid interested in International Relations, who can't go north of CT and isn't interested in a red state (sorry, she's already a religious minority and is looking for a diverse environment).</p>
<p>SATs are 1300, good teacher rec's, lots of ECs and leadership, and is in the running for a stint at NJ Gov School this summer...</p>
<p>I'd appreciate any suggestions we may not have considered!</p>
<p>I am certain that you have already considered the "George" DC schools; how about American U. There are the Claremont Colleges in CA. I personally went to Pepperdine and majored in Poli. Sci and went on to IESE Graduate school in Spain for my MBA/MED. Several people from Pepperdine have gone this route. Of course, that was many moons ago.</p>
<p>for this major my d's excellent GC suggested: G'Town,Johns Hopkins, GWU, Connecticut College</p>
<p>Tufts - D1 GRADUATING May 18 :) :)- Check out the EPIIC program. Good Luck</p>
<p>American's School of International Service is really extraordinary - especially with internship options beginning the first year, and which prides itself on international diversity. LACs with excellent language departments (critical for a career), study abroad options, and substantial support for IR include Macalester, Smith, Middlebury, and (and much underrated) Kalamazoo (but without the internship options of the schools in DC).</p>
<p>My D is waiting to hear from several of the schools mentioned. Crabbylady, what is your D1 planning to do after she graduates?</p>
<p>If your D is interested in a small LAC, look at Dickinson College. It has a global focus and excellent study abroad as well as IR.</p>
<p>Check out: Whitehead</a> School of Diplomacy and International Relations</p>
<p>Syracuse University.</p>
<p>abu, I live overseas and interact frequently with career diplomats both in the foreign service and Washington based as well as many people involved in corollaries like non-governmental organizations or multi-national corporations. Because I'm interested in education I always check out their alma maters. For graduate programs the top people almost always go to the top schools: Georgetown, Princeton, Tufts, JHU.</p>
<p>For undergraduate, however, the range of colleges is infinitely wide -- from ivy league to LAC to big State U. Just in the past week I attended a breakfast and the undergraduate schools of four of the official Americans were: USTR Conn College, State UC Davis and the Embassy Michigan State and Princeton. </p>
<p>I am convinced that choice of undergrad college is much less of a factor in a career in IR than you would think. The elements that are constant for entree to the top graduate programs are good grades, good internship opportunities, good recommendations, good language skills, all of which can be had at many, many schools.</p>
<p>So my advice to your daughter would be to choose a school that's a good fit for her personally, giving priority to size, location and personality. Even if they don't have IR or International Studies per se, a degree in political science, economics, history or American studies can lead into IR graduate school just as seamlessly, as long as it is supplemented by internships and study abroad experiences in her area of interest. Again, some schools are better structured to provide these opportunities, but almost all offer reasonably good opportunities.</p>
<p>[Having said that, among my son's highschool peers, three who were (and still are) on the diplomatic career track chose Tufts, JHU and Pomona for undergrad. ]</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone taking the time to answer!</p>
<p>Hi mamabear1234! (love your screen name) - Thanks for asking about my daughter-</p>
<p>Crystal Ball Cloudy right now -D1 double majored in IR + Women's Studies - she is applying to graduate schools -and the Peace Corps - her long term goal is law school and to eventually have a voice in issues regarding violence against women - in the international law arena. At the moment she's working her heart out writing her honors thesis which focuses on her research study in Barcelona for 13 months - we occassionally hear she wants to take a year off because she's really tired of school -and return to Barcelona (her kind of town) to work . She is also looking at several internship possibilities. </p>
<p>Tufts and the EPIIC program were amazing experiences for my daughter. She worked really hard - IR is not an easy major-I cannot begin to tell you the volumes of literature she has injested in the last 4 years - the opportunities and faculity support were always available.</p>
<p>Note to self - WHO KNEW 4 years would go so quickly :)</p>
<p>I could not thibk of ny place better than Barcelona to take a year off. On the other hand, if she finds inspiration, there a number of top schools in Barcelona for Business and Law. Or there are top US graduate programs that have exchange with Barcelona schools. For example, my alma mater - IESE (Intl MBA program) had exchange opportunities with London School of Econ, Harvard BS, INSEAD, Stanford and Wharton just to name a few. She could have her cake and eat it too.</p>
<p>Your daughters sound like an amazing young woman! That's closer to the path my D is interested in -- more advocacy and justice work, less foreign service.</p>
<p>Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Tufts, American, GWU</p>
<p>And wow - that's great crabbylady! S1 is a freshman, hoping to major in IR and Arabic (the language requirement was the big question mark for me, but so far so good).</p>
<p>Webster University has one of the better small school International Relations program in the country. Big time study abroad, and a heavy emphasis on internationalism. It's located in St. Louis, MO.</p>
<p>i'll repeat the votes for American University! incredibly comprehensive IR program in their SIS. many different concentrations and divisions within it. and the location and professors can't be beat. d did internship 2 blocks from White House in first year!</p>
<p>Webster University (the Geneva campus) has one of the best IR programs, IMHO. Students are exposed to the international scene (the location being in Geneva). A lot of graduates get internships and jobs with various UN branches eventually. I myself have been exposed to various UN-sponsored events, and am working with the WHO summer 2009 as an intern.</p>
<p>So glad Kalamazoo College was mentioned. Quite small, so often overlooked. It will be "just right" for some.</p>