<p>Thanks to all who have responded!
The safety schools I’m looking at now are:
Goucher
Clark
Wooster (or Ohio Wesleyan)
Skidmore
Lawrence
Occidental (Not sure if this is really a safety, though someone mentioned it & my test scores are well above their 75th percentile)
University of Rochester (they seem to have an amazing Poli. Sci. faculty and my test scores are well above their 75th percentile)</p>
<p>Have you thought about the College of William and Mary, with its dual enrollment program in international relations at St. Andrew’s in Scotland? Might fit the bill!</p>
<p>
Yes, that is true. Although I am not an expert on either school, I have visited both and part of my recommendation is subjective. There were some things about Wooster that I simply did not like. </p>
<p>First, Wooster did not seem as clean nor as well maintained as I would hope. Second, both the students and the facilities seemed a little too much like high school. Wooster did not feel serious. OWU seems more serious, and so do the students. The layout of the Wooster campus is better than OWU’s, though, mainly because it is more compact. Unfortunately both have major city streets running right through campus.</p>
<p>I understand that a lot of college professors actually send their children to Wooster. So it must be pretty good. I do not doubt that Wooster provides an excellent education.</p>
<p>So, I think this is a very personal type decision. My own views might be biased by my personal preferences. </p>
<p>By the way, I love your decision to include U.Rochester. I did not know that its Political Science department was so good. I definitely rank UR above OWU. Actually, I like Rochester better than any college in Ohio (which is where I live) except for Kenyon. If I had known about UR, I would have applied there. One of my favorite schools. Nice size too.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help @NROTCgrad! </p>
<p>Just to show how personal and individual it all is – we actually were terribly impressed with Wooster. The buildings were nice, the one-on-one student tour guide was well-spoken, thoughtful, and a great representative of the school. As a parent, I was impressed by the coherence of the administration – how things were organized and why. The students seemed serious academically yet a collegial environment. </p>
<p>And it was a rainy dreary day when we went!</p>
<p>Fresh new thought…</p>
<p>Given your interest in Oxford University, you might want to explore the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. It is based on the Oxford and Cambridge tutorial method. It is a small college (about 225 students) within the larger university. The best of both worlds: liberal arts college and research university. The curriculum is highly flexible and is ideal for anybody who knows precisely what they want to study. You are largely in charge of your own educational plan. Students meet once per week in a face to face tutorial with their major professor. This tutorial usually is just you and the professor, one on one, but could include up to three more students.</p>
<p>This is not your typical honors program. Personally, for smart Ohio students, I consider it the best academic bargain in the state. You would be out of state, of course, but you might find it interesting. I would think it would be close to a safety for you, although it is competitive.
<a href=“http://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/”>http://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/</a></p>
<p>Ohio University also happens to be my favorite state university here. Miami is too preppy, and OSU has too much football. OU is more liberal than either one. I also like the city of Athens. Very vibrant downtown.</p>
<p>
UPDATE: I just looked. This is a new development. According to my data, in 2011 OWU and Wooster had almost identical SAT and ACT scores, with only slight differences. OWU still has about the same stats as in 2011, but Wooster has shown distinct improvement. So, something good is happening with Wooster. Also, my visit to Wooster was in either 2010 or 2011, and obviously things do change.</p>
<p>So glad I read through these threads. I think my daughter might be interested in this, although Ohio is not on her radar. Hope I can get her to take a look :)</p>