<p>I'm interested in politics, economics, policy studies, etc... social sciences stuff. Right now I'm aiming for MIT, Yale, Georgetown, and JHU, with some SUNY schools as safeties. What other schools are most similar to these? (I'm uninterested in "party schools," i.e. Duke, Penn, etc.)</p>
<p>As a NYS resident, you might consider Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell, a NYS statutory college. Cornell Arts and Sciences had Econ and Poly Sci. U of Rochester is pretty strong in poly sci and econ. Also Columbia, Colgate, Hamilton, Vassar. Outside NY: U Chicago, Northwestern, Swarthmore, Tufts.</p>
<p>I don't think Duke and U Penn are party schools.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a great econ program and minimal to non-existant partying...University of Chicago is the place to go----</p>
<p>I'm concerned that Duke and Penn are dominated by fraternities and drinking, and that there is no real culture of intellectualism on their campuses. I've seen this in more than one source. Is this ungrounded?</p>
<p>Absolutely ungrounded. Both are intellectual powerhouses.</p>