Hi all,
I’m a transfer student for Fall 2017 (would defer until Spring 2018 if I pick Columbia) and have been accepted by UCLA, Cal, and Columbia GS. I’m a veteran, and as such the cost of attending Berkeley and UCLA would be covered by the GI Bill. Columbia, on the other hand, would require that I take out loans, though I don’t exactly know how much yet.
I’d be a Global Studies major at UCB, Human Rights or Political Science at Columbia, and I eventually want to work with the State Department or an international NGO, ideally living and working in the Middle East.
I know that New York City has far more opportunities to intern at organizations relevant to my interests than the Bay Area does.
Financial considerations aside, simply taking into account the field I eventually want to get into: does anyone have any specific recommendations/ relevant experiences they could share with me as I make this decision?
Thanks.
EDIT: Just to clarify, I do eventually plan on obtaining a Masters in IR, hopefully at a school along the lines of Georgetown/ Harvard/ Johns Hopkins, and pertinent info regarding applying to these programs coming from GS as opposed to Berkeley and vice versa would be extremely helpful.