Duke vs Johns Hopkins vs Northwestern

<p>Which department/academic programs is better for a political science major?</p>

<p>Also, NYU vs UCB vs UCLA vs UPenn</p>

<p>Is it true that since Johns Hopkins is close to D.C., this will give me the best opportunity for internships related to politics?</p>

<p>I have only attended Johns Hopkins, although I am familiar with Northwestern. I can’t speak to the “versus” part, but I can tell you about JHU, where I was a political science major. I thought it was great. I had fantastic classes, fantastic professors and was able to intern in DC every summer as well as during my senior year of college (part time of course). I went on to a fantastic IR grad program and I think JHU set me up for it. The workload is tough but not overbearing–I pretty much lived the “Work hard, play harder” mentality for four years! It also has a beautiful campus in a lively city, much like Northwestern, which is just outside of Chicago (I grew up in Chicago, lived there for a while after grad school, and am moving back there soon). Although Chicago is better than Baltimore as a city, you probably won’t leave the “JHU Bubble” much until you’re an upperclassman. JHU is a bit smaller than Northwestern (4,000 UG to NU’s 7,000ish), and there is a bigger Greek system at NU. The NU sport of choice is football, while at JHU we are all about lax. With schools at this level, there is no “better,” only “better for you.”</p>

<p>So in sum, JHU was awesome for political science. I am sure NU and Duke are great too. However, they all have very different “vibes” so I recommend you visit and see which you like the best.</p>

<p>MasterMargarita, thanks for your input! I think I’m going to apply ED to JHU for a major in political science and a minor in international studies</p>