College Choice: International Relations

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey! I'm a HS senior making my final choices for colleges to apply to. Unfortunately, I seem a bit... scattered.</p>

<p>SAT: 750 Reading, 760 Math, 770 Writing (2280 Comp)
ACT: 34 Composite (35 English, 33 Math, 33 Reading, 36 Science), 10 Writing
SAT IIs: 740 Literature, 740 US History, 700 Math Level 2
GPA: ...Used to be 3.98, will likely graduate with a 3.8. The mid-year report will /not/ be fabulous. (Predicted: 3 As, 1 B, 1 C)
Essays: Great.
Recs: Should be good.
ECs: ...not so fabulous. Student government at-large member, plus a whole lot of vocal music related stuff (inc. theater), and some volunteer work. Plus work experience.</p>

<p>I'd like to major in International Relations, with a focus either on natl. security issues, or the Middle East, or both.</p>

<p>Here are the schools I've been looking at:</p>

<p>Reach: Columbia/Sciences Po Double Degree Program, Georgetown, Princeton, Stanford, Yale</p>

<p>Fit: American, George Washington</p>

<p>Safety: U of Michigan</p>

<p>Am I right about these categories? Are there any other schools I should be looking at, particularly in the "fit" and "safety" categories?</p>

<p>My parents are willing to pay up to around $35,000/year for schooling. The rest will come through student loans. While this is fine for schools with fantastic programs, I'd rather not come out of a safety school with only an OK rep, with a whole ton of student loans.</p>

<p>Great study abroad programs are a major plus.</p>

2

<p>I don’t know if you’d get aid or scholarships but
Tufts University has a great IR program</p>

3

<p>Is U.Mich your in-state school?
If not, what is your financial safety? **IF **you don’t qualify for FA (have you run the net price calculators for your schools?), then you are talking about a gap of about 20K per year if your family can afford 35K. That’s a lot of debt over 4 years.</p>

<p>Have you looked at schools that are more generous with merit aid? These two tables (LACs, Universities) can help - look at **both **the %students receiving non-need-based aid and the average amount of non-need-based aid.
[Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2012-13](<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)=ALL&id=none
[Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2012-13](<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)=ALL&id=none</p>

<p>Using the tables, you might find a few more matches and safeties that also meet your requirements. If you are an above average student at those schools, you are more likely to get merit aid. As an example, how about Clark University?</p>

<p>Tufts is excellent but only offers need-based aid.</p>

4

<p>UM /is/ my in-state school. So finances there are no problem whatsoever. :)</p>

<p>In addition, my parents are willing to pay a bit more (40, 45k) for more prestigious institutions.</p>

<p>I’m not really on the “small, liberal arts college” bandwagon. Particularly if they are small, liberal arts colleges in small towns. I like being in the middle of something, and I like the opportunity to focus on my major. I’ve spent the past two years taking all of my classes at a local university (I’m in an early college program), so another two years of interest exploration is not something I’m looking forward to… Maybe that’s asking a little too much, though.</p>

5

<p>[The</a> Top Ten International Relations Undergraduate Programs | Foreign Policy](<a href=“http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/top_ten_international_relations_undergraduate_programs]The”>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/top_ten_international_relations_undergraduate_programs)
[World’s</a> Best Universities in Politics and International Studies | US News](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-politics-and-international-studies]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-politics-and-international-studies)</p>

<p>Search for other IR threads here on CC to get more suggestions. </p>

<p>You will also need to see which of your college courses are transferable to your target schools.</p>

6

<p>Doesn’t University of Michigan have a decent Near Eastern Studies department, including language courses in Arabic, Hebrew, and various other languages of the region?</p>

<p>[Near</a> Eastern Studies](<a href=“http://www.lsa.umich.edu/neareast/]Near”>http://www.lsa.umich.edu/neareast/)

[Center</a> for Middle Eastern and North African Studies](<a href=“http://www.ii.umich.edu/cmenas/]Center”>Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) | U-M LSA)</p>

7

<p>You should also add Dartmouth and Duke to your list-both have strong Political Science programs.</p>