<p>My son is a junior and we are just starting the college process. He loves history, government and politics and thinks he wants to major in Poli Sci in college. Looking for schools in the Northeast or Midwest that have strong Poli Sci departments and also opportunities for internships. We looked at GWU, Georgetown and American this past summer. How do we go about looking for colleges by strong, specific departments? Any particular resoures?</p>
<p>This might help: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1386756-good-political-science-undergrad-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1386756-good-political-science-undergrad-programs.html</a></p>
<p>DC area will get some strong internships, as will NY area.</p>
<p>Usually colleges that have law schools will also have strong Poly Sci and History depts, so maybe try considering that.</p>
<p>What else does your son want in a school besides being in the NE or MidW? </p>
<p>Has he taken the SAT or ACT yet? </p>
<p>Have you determined a budget for college? If you want financial aid, will you qualify for the amount that you need? (keep in mind that most schools do NOT meet need… i.e. American Univ does not meet need). </p>
<p>If you’re willing to pay $55k+ per year, there will certainly be lots of choices…</p>
<p>Northwestern
DePaul
Loyola Chicago
Fordham
Boston U
NYU
and many more.</p>
<p>If aid is an issue, then you’ll need a strategy to target schools that will be affordable.</p>
<p>That link was helpful. So far, has only taken PSAT…189 composite score.</p>
<p>Michigan-Ann Arbor is extremely strong in Political Science (top 5) and History (top 10). The University also started a PPE major, although that is restricted for now.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.lsa.umich.edu/ppe[/url]”>https://www.lsa.umich.edu/ppe</a></p>
<p>drake university</p>
<p>In Boston:
Harvard (not officially Poli Sci)
MIT
Boston College
Northeastern University
Tufts
BU (not as good as the others)</p>
<p>In Chicago:
Univ of Chicago
Northwestern
UIC</p>
<p>In D.C.:
Georgetown
GW
American (decent but not stellar)</p>
<p>In Minneapolis:
Univ of Minnesota - Twin Cities
St. Thomas</p>
<p>In New York:
Columbia
NYU
Fordham</p>
<p>In Philly:
Penn
Temple
Villanova</p>
<p>Northeast: Harvard, NYU, Penn State, Columbia, Yale, MIT, Princeton, Binghamton, Pittsburgh, Rochester, George Washington, Stony Brook, Cornell, Tufts, Brown, Bowdoin, BU (international Relations), Penn, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Georgetown (International Relations), Dartmouth, Colgate, Hamilton, Swarthmore</p>
<p>Midwest: Michigan, Chicago, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Macalester (International Relations)</p>
<p>Dickinson is a good choice. It is a few hours from DC. My D was a double major in Political Science & Public Policy there. She had internships at the State Department (semester in Washington), with a senator (summer), and at the Army War College (located in the same town as Dickinson). Great merit aid, too, and very committed to study abroad (she also was able to study for a semester in a fairly unusual country where there was no program, but Dickinson was very supportive of this). She landed a good job in DC (before she even graduated). So it was a great fit for her!</p>
<p>This is a great thread! Another school worth looking into is Florida State University; it has one of the top-ranked public polisci programs in the country and it’s located in the capital of one of the most politically interesting states in the country.</p>
<p>WUStL is an obvious suggestion. Extremely strong political science program, a wonderful quality of life, and better financial aid than most of the above suggestions. Aside from maybe Chicago, it’d be my top pick in the Midwest.</p>
<p>Duke, Georgetown, Bowdoin, Holy Cross. Holy Cross has one of the strongest political alumni networks in Washington. Chris Matthews, Obama’s speechwriter, 3 Supreme Court affiliations(including 1 alum), 1 US Senator, 4 Congressmen.</p>