CMU vs Rochester vs Hamilton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
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<p>Planning to study Political Science/IR,Math,Econ, or some combination of the three.</p>

<p>Not sure what future plans are, but graduate school of some kind is most likely in my future, whether immediately after or within 5 or so years.</p>

<p>I will take out the maximum stafford loans at Hamilton (27K over 4 years) and 19K at CMU.</p>

<p>I will take out 10K stafford loans at UR (total over 4 years)</p>

<p>The loan amounts vary based on finaid packages and a set level of family contribution.</p>

<p>CMU: probably the most highly regarded of the 4, at least in Econ/math. Accepted as a Econ major (in the college of humanities and social sciences, though I think its in cooperation with Tepper). This might change. I'd like to try to get into the Quantitative Social Science Scholars and I like the fact that they have a decisions science major;it sounds pretty interesting. </p>

<p>Worries: Not sure if I would fit in socially given everything I've heard/seen about it..From all that I can tell their polisci department is incredibly lacking. If I decide to take the finance route, I will probably get screwed over by all of the tepper business students.</p>

<p>Hamilton:
It seems fairly strong in all of the departments I am interested in.
I Like the rural atmosphere and small school vibe from the initial visit, but I am a bit worried I might get bored of the environment/small size after a while.... </p>

<p>Rochester:
Wasn't initially on my radar but its starting to grow alot on me. Fairly strong econ and polisci departments, don't know about math. The city is lacking but it seems like theres a lot going on campus and there's eastman nearby so I don't think I'm going to run out of things to do. Will its lack of prestige hold me back? Since its the lowest cost option, should I just take it and run?</p>

<p>How do the academics at all of these schools compare? Employment opportunities? Chances for going to a top graduate school? What about costs, how much should this come into play?</p>

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<p>The PoliSci department at CMU is primarily in Heinz college, which is one of the top-rated public policy schools in the nation. There isn’t a formal political science department in H&SS, so I guess that’s why you might have thought the polisci department is lacking. </p>

<p>In addition, the polisci research done in H&SS is primarily math-driven. We have one post-doctoral researcher who uses game theory to study terrorism and international conflict, and another post-doc research who develops quantitative models to analyze political systems and political behavior. Based on what you have said, you seem like you would prefer CMU’s mathematical polisci research compared to traditional polisci research.</p>

<p>The social science research at CMU is more quantitative compared to other universities, so I think you would be a good fit here. If you are interested in political science, I would recommend looking in the Center of International Relations and Politics (CIRP). If Dr. Skinner, head of the CIRP, writes you a letter of recommendation, you will be able to get into many top graduate programs in political science (assuming you have a strong academic and research record as well).</p>

<p>I am a member of the Quantitative Social Science Scholars (QSSS) program, and since you are interested in mathematics, you seem like you would be a good fit for our program. If you are interested in applying to the program, you should talk to Russell Golman, who is the program director.</p>