Best College for future Politician?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey this is my first post on CC, first of all, so if I mess up let me know(idk what i would mess up though lol)</p>

<p>So I am a high school junior thinking about college. I want to be a politician when i grow up, therefore I would like to go to a good poly sci and IR school, I have essentially narrowed it down to:</p>

<p>Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard
and more of plan B: Notre Dame and Columbia</p>

<p>Should I add more schools to this list? IR and poly sci are of equal importance for me. I am Catholic and would prefer to attend a catholic university. I would really like to study abroad. I am probably going to go to graduate school after undergrad. </p>

<p>So which university (above or not) would best help me to become ready for a political life?</p>

<p>Also, since these schools aren't easy to get into, my info is below (some of the stuff, like National Merit Finalist havent I havent been awarded yet, but I can assume I will get it b/c of my current score of 206, which is good enough for my state)</p>

<p>National Merit Finalist (PSAT score of 206)
ACT: 32
SAT: CR: 760, Math: 670, Writing: 580 although i am about to get my new scores back
Will graduate top 5 in class of 450 with 4.0 GPA UW, and 4.3 W
President of National Honor Society
Parliamentarian in Skills USA(basically a drafting club at my school)
Will be some officer in DECA (business club)
Will be some officer in local board sponsored by a local bank (decently prestigious)
Will attend 4 week state sponsored "Governors School" (not politically orientated despite its name, but will "study" social studies while I'm there)
Will attend Boys State
Hopefully attend Boys Nation
Won State Geometry competition
Won State Deca competition in Business Law and Ethics event
Hopefully will start a debate club/politics club at my school next year
Hopefully will volunteer this summer a lot for congressional candidate's campaign
Small group leader, among other things at my church
100+ hours of community service (30 outside church)
Winner of local oratorical scholarship competitions
Will have 4's and 5's on five AP exams</p>

<p>Thats most of what I have, but if there are any areas lacking, please let me know.</p>

<p>Sorry this post is so long, but I have read other ppl's posts on CC and learned a whole lot.</p>

<p>Thanks if anyone can offer me any advice/ info.</p>

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<p>hey, just wanted to “bump it up”</p>

<p>also my SAT II’s are:
590 Chemistry<br>
740 Mathematics Level 2<br>
580 Spanish </p>

<p>thanks if anyone can help,</p>

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<p>Here are some related threads that anyone reading this might find useful, I really did.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/147364-best-political-science-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/147364-best-political-science-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/580351-undergraduate-political-science-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/580351-undergraduate-political-science-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/537834-best-political-science-department.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/537834-best-political-science-department.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Notre Dame and Columbia as your plan B? With no plan C? You are in some serious need of safety schools, especially given your test scores. </p>

<p>Why is Yale missing? It’s produced many leaders.</p>

<p>If you’re into nice weather and a more laid back lifestyle, you should also consider Stanford. It has an awesome polisci faculty, the Hoover Institute (technically unaffiliated I think), one of the best law schools in the land, and quarter-long programs in Washington. Unfortunately the student body as a whole isn’t very politically-conscious.</p>

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<p>Yes, you need to add more schools to your list. Frankly, Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia are all high reaches for you, and Georgetown is a low reach as well. There is no university on earth that can prepare you to become a politician, and a degree in PoliSci will not help you become one either. Thinking that a college degree will prep you for “political life” is like thinking playing baseball at a junior college will prep you for the major leagues - don’t get your hopes up kid.</p>

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<p>Occidental College. (Obama)
University of Delaware. (Biden)
Eureka College. (Reagan)
Southern Utah and Utah State. (Harry Reid)
University of Louisville. (Mitch McConnell)
Trinity Washington University. (Pelosi)
George Washington University. (Eric Cantor)</p>

<p>and not to be outdone:</p>

<p>“Attended College.” Yvette Clark (Member of Congress, NY-11), Trent Franks (Member of Congress, AZ-2), Wally Herger (Member of Congress, CA-2), Lynn Westmoreland (Member of Congress, GA-3)</p>

<p>The list goes on …</p>

<p>For a future politician I have two thoughts on college:</p>

<h1>1 West Point</h1>

<h1>2 Your state flagship</h1>

<p>Otherwise you risk:</p>

<h1>1 You’re an elitist</h1>

<h1>2 You’re indoctrinated by (insert evil demon here)</h1>

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<p>IDK, the Ivy League seemed to work out for every president since 1988…</p>

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<p>In my opinion, West Point or Annapolis would be the best by far. It’s really hard not to respect the integrity and honor of an individual who put themselves out there in defense of our nation.</p>

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<p>KINZER: honestly, what do you think a politician does? C’mon. Go to “meeting chairing classes” or graduate from “politics” colleges?</p>

<p>People who excel at leadership become successful politicians. Why don’t you ask people around you if what you’re lacking or strong in your leadership skills? To state bluntly “I want to be a politician” shows naivete.</p>

<p>Here’s a start for you. Approach your school board or your principal and ask to be the student representative at school board meetings. There, you’ll see grass roots politics at its finest.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys for the help,</p>

<p>but a couple of you guys stated that these Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia would be reaches for me. </p>

<p>Senior said it was because of my test scores, but I am in the 25th-75th percentile for all of these schools in both my SAT combined score and my act score. Are the SAT II’s too low? Or are there other things that are holding me back? What more should I do?</p>

<p>Also, I have thought about Stanford and Yale, and Stanford is too far away geographically, and I have always gotten the impression that Yale was more “stuck-up” than the other Ivies. I could be wrong though, but any thoughts on that?</p>

<p>T26E4, i really like your idea of being the student representative on school board meetings. thanks</p>

<p>Again thank everyone for posting back. (Sorry my posts are so long)</p>

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<p>I have a similar interests, but its true that you can’t be a politician right out of college. There are some colleges that can prepare you better to work in government (for a cabinet Department, etc). Being in DC seems to be pretty important for this, it really affords unparalleled opportunities for internships, since the government is so close by. </p>

<p>You need to get those test scores up, they’re solid but for top tier schools like the ones you want which are essentially reaches for everybody, you need very high test scores and grades just to have a shot. Luckily for you Georgetown doesn’t count the writing part of the SAT though. Other than that, it’s solid, just make sure those “will” and “hopefully will” items actually happen. </p>

<p>Also, look into Tufts, George Washington, Johns Hopkins - very good IR programs, maybe just a step down from Georgetown. Beyond that, I would apply to American as a safety. It’s not quite as prestigious, but you still get the DC opportunities and I just visited there, everyone seemed to be having a great time. </p>

<p>I’m just a junior as well, but I have similar aspirations and those are my two cents having just come back from visiting some of those schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks bustnburn.</p>

<p>That makes sense. </p>

<p>So what colleges, other than American, did you visit?</p>

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<p>Your test scores won’t keep you out, it’s just to consider an ivy a safety or match, you have to be near-perfect in all regards (the more common case), or outstanding in one and above average in the rest (like if you cured cancer or wrote theme songs for blockbuster movies). Your test scores exclude you from the first, and nothing on my skim of your profile really put you in the latter.</p>

<p>Part of me wishes I went to a military academy (if I could’ve got in, that is), although part of me didn’t. It well definitely give you discipline and leadership skills, but I hear it’s a living-h***, plus isn’t there a requirement to serve afterward. In other words, I would advise against going to a military academy in order to be on a fast track to becoming a politician.</p>

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<p>No problem Kinzer, I visited Hopkins, Annapolis, UVA, Georgetown, GW, and American. Although Hopkins has a good IR program, I got the feeling it was really math/science oriented, which I’m a fan of. Naval Academy was amazing in terms of looks, but I’m not sure if I want to be in the military and they are also math/science focused, I’m thinking about West Point instead. Georgetown was my favorite, it looks amazing, the SFS is very highly regarded (they have Madeleine Albright on faculty, I mean you can’t beat that). GW was on spring break but it looks good, although not quite on Georgetown’s level and it doesn’t have much of a campus, it’s right in the middle of the city. UVA was also impressive, but the location (2+ hours from DC) isn’t ideal. Overall, I’m starting to see that you need to be in DC to make connections and get internships.</p>

<p>Senior, you seem to know a lot, mind chancing me/giving any advice? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/886899-chance-dc-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/886899-chance-dc-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Holy Cross- 1 US Senator, 3 Congressmen, 1 Supreme Court Justice.</p>

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<p>It looks to me like the Ivies are high reaches for you unless your SATs jump considerably. You’re only pulling a 1,430/2,010 right now. The Princeton Review lists Georgetown as having a range of 1,310-1,490 (they only reported scores for CR and M), Princeton as having a range of 2,080-2,360, and Harvard as having a range of 2,080-2,370. As for your Plan B schools, Notre Dame is 1,960-2,230 and Columbia is 2,050-2,320. In other words- between the 25th and the 75th percentile for all these schools? Not so much (especially considering that a lot of the lower scores probably came from legacies).</p>

<p>YOU REALLY NEED SOME SAFETIES HERE. Georgetown and Notre Dame are low-to-mid reaches, Columbia is mid-to-high, Princeton and Harvard are quite high.</p>

<p>In any case, I would like to question the wisdom of going to any of these schools in preparation for becoming a politician. In the current trends of anti-intellectualism and anti-elitism, an Ivy League track record would hurt you, not harm you. The way to go would be one of two routes. The first one would be to go to one of the military schools, do the required service, and then go into politics on your military record. The problem with that is that the schools are very hard to get into, very hard to get through, and then at the end you’re risking life, limb, and your status as somebody not currently affected by PTSD. Also, it seems both very stupid and very rude to boot somebody who might actually want to be a military officer out of West Point so that you can go instead and become a politician.</p>

<p>The other thing that would be smart for you to do would be to go to a good all-around public school- in your state or in somebody else’s- perhaps one near DC, so that you could network some. The thing is, most politicians are lawyers before they’re politicians; so I would say that you should go to a good public school, then move on to a good law school and try your way from there. I say the school should be good all-around because, let’s face it, a) it’s hard to be a politician and b) everybody changes in college, and if you end up changing your ambitions for some reason you really don’t want to be stuck in a school where your options are suddenly hugely limited.</p>

<p>The closest (semi-reputable) public school to DC is probably the University of Maryland, College Park, which is probably around 5 miles from the border. I know political science is a popular major there, though I don’t actually know how good the program is. Other schools you should probably look into are UVA (even though I guess that was already mentioned) and several schools in the UC system (although Berkeley would likely give you a ‘liberal elitist’ image). Maryland would definitely take you with your GPA, as would many UC campuses. UVA would probably be more of a stretch, but I can see it being doable if you bring up your test scores by a fair amount.</p>

<p>[Please</a> chance me back!](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/886683-please-chance-me-will-chance-back.html]Please”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/886683-please-chance-me-will-chance-back.html)</p>

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<p>oh and btw i forgot to mention that i did cross country and track for four years each, and my high school is a good public highschool. And when i said 4’s and 5’s on the AP exams, i was referring to the number of exams i will have taken when applying to colleges. When i graduate, i will have taken 10 ap classes in total and had 4 years of spanish</p>

<p>idk if that changes anything, but i just wanted to add a better picture of me</p>

<p>and senior, yeah from what i hear military academies are not the funnest place to go. I have a friend who graduated last year, really cocky then, allready he’s a new man. Hes says its because airforce was too hard to let him be cocky</p>

<p>thanks again guys</p>

<p>bustnburn, so what was Georgetown’s campus like?</p>

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<p>Don’t even CONSIDER any of the service academies unless you really really want to serve as a military officer, leading others, for a considerable amount of time.</p>

<p>No one should look at any of them as solely a stepping stone.</p>

<p>BTW: your impression of Yale being “stuck up” is very contrary to my experience there.</p>

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<p>a 206 is good enough to get national merit FINALIST in your state?! where do you live, alaska? wyoming?</p>

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<p>I suggest you enroll in an economics program for undergraduate studies and then matriculate into either a law school or a ph.d program.</p>