Hello,
I am interested in Political science and Government and I want to pursue a career in Government/Law.
Can you chance me for the Universities below?
My top choices are GWU (dream school but its too expensive!!!), Georgetown, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, UWisc-Madison, UMich, UWashington-Seattle (in-state), UCSD, UCDavis, UCIrvine, UTexas Austin, UMD-CP
Do I have realistic chance of getting into a few of the above?
What are my chances of getting merit aid from any of the above except UW-Seattle (I will not qualify for any need based financial aid)?
What other target/safeties should I consider that have good Poli Sci programs, to ensure I have solid chance of getting into a good school?
31 ACT and UW 3.65 GPA, 8 APs
EC’s;
-President of speech and debate team at my high school
WA State Senate page
Interned for a State Senator and field organizer for two successful state senate campaigns
Intern at a non-profit organization for mental illness and served as Public Policy Committee Chair
Youth Social Media and GOTV (get out the vote) campaign Correspondent
Co-founder of Women Empowerment website and social media platform
Published article on the non-profit organization website and a local newspaper
Honors Latin Scholar (Top 10 for National Latin Exam)
1st place award for Behavioral and Social Sciences at Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF)
13 years of Carnatic music, Level 3 certificate from esteemed university in India, ranked 1st in theory
Destination Imagination circuit state champion
Math Tutor for elementary school kids
Assistant Bollywood dance teacher and organizer for charity shows
I would really appreciate any insights into my chances as it would help me decide on the universities.
Thank you!
UC’s-no merit aid. These are taxpayer-funded universities.
If you are OOS-you pay full fees: $65K per year.
UT’s are public u’s and reserve most of their spots for residents.
Consider your in-state u’s and private universities (for merit aid).
@“aunt bea” thank you. what about chances of admission into those universities without merit aid?
any other private universities that Id have a good (safe) chance of getting in (with or without merit aid)?
If GWU is too expensive, so will the UCs be. Georgetown, Columbia, Brown and Cornell will probably be out of your reach with your stats. UT-Austin has only 10% out of state students so is a reach for OOS. Michigan is tough for OOS too. You need more matches and you need some safeties.
Makes sense. How can I find more matches and safeties. Any suggestions?
I was thinking about Indiana University - Bloomington, Ohio state, UPitt, George Mason, UMD-CP, UIUC, UWisc-Mad, UArizona, Arizona State, UMass-Amherst
Are these potential match/safeties? Any other good ones for Poli Sci?
Extra honors points for OOS applicants are for AP/IB classes only. Tests scores can be submitted but due to a court injunction, they may or may not be considered.
If your UC Capped weighted is 4.0 or above, you have a decent chance at the UC’s but are they affordable? Does not matter if you are accepted if you cannot pay for them.
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCSD: 33%
UCD: 47%
UCI: 35%
**2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range: **
UCSD: 4.18(4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)
UCD: 4.11 (3.97-4.25)
You have all publics on that list, some of the state flagships there are also not great for OOS. Also, it’s hard to tell what kind of school you’re looking for from your list. Big, small, rural, urban, sporty, Greek life, etc? And what is your budget?
Does your school have naviance? This will help you figure out matches and safeties if it does. If you want significant merit funding, you need to target schools that (1) actually offer it (at all, or to out of state) and (2) where you are generally above the 75th percentile on stats.
FYI my daughter had similar stats to yours and was also looking at PolSci/IR in her college search. GW was one of her top targets, she also liked American (which seems a noticeable omission from your list for the subjects you’re interested in). She also had George Mason pencilled in as one of her safeties, indicated as such by naviance. FYI her counselor mostly discouraged her from applying to OOS public flagships due to their tendency to strongly favor instate; the exception to that was Arizona which seems generous in accommodating OOS students.
@SJ2727 thank you. Yes, I forgot to add American which is on my list. So is George Mason.
Will find out about Naviance.
I’m looking for a quality education in Poli Sci that doesn’t break the bank as I plan to go to law school too eventually. Budget probably is ~33k per year. Big or small doesn’t matter as long as it has a solid program with good reputation and I have a good chance of getting in. Prefer to be near urban area/state capitals etc to maximize chances of internships and other opportunities.