<p>I'm a student athlete from Florida and I am trying to decide on schools for next year. I love American, the coaches, and the team but am not entirely sure about the academic side of the school. I am considering AU, Dartmouth and Cornell where I would be a priority walk on, Wake Forest, and the University of Florida (ranked by US news as a better school than AU). I could go to UF for free and run at a major program as a walk on or I can go to AU and pay a relatively small sum of money. My stats include multiple time all state, many time district and region champion, Eagle Scout, 3.4 GPA, 2200 SAT, 700&800 for SAT II's, NHS, other national honor societies, many socially and politically engaged clubs and organizations, among other things. I know some kids that go to AU that aren't the brightest. I just really want to know whether or not American has a good reputation and will give me the opportunity I need to succeed. I could go to my state school and transfer to an out of state school if I do well but if I go to AU I would likely stay there. If I take advantage of the opportunities that AU presents me will it look good on my resume? Political science and public health major, also. Thanks to everyone. Serious predicament and I really need some answers</p>
<p>AU is a great choice for Political Science. But only you can decide if the athletic opportunity outweighs your concerns about academics (and btw, your GPA is pretty typical for AU, so I doubt you have to worry about too many AU students not being “the brightest”). Since you don’t even know where you’ll be accepted yet, and your GPA is low for the two Ivies, I think you should stop worrying about this issue until you have acceptances in hand.</p>
<p>While your GPA might be typical for AU, your SATs are well above the school’s average. AU is generally regarded as the third best school in DC (behind Gtown and GW) which makes it a fine school, but not close to some of your other choices academically (ex. Dartmouth, Cornell). What you need to do is figure out which school has the best total package for your situation taking into account financials, track, academics, social life and go with that. </p>