<p>I got into all three. I'm having a really hard time deciding. I am pretty sure I want to go into international politics/econ. and am hoping to take advantage of internship opportunities in the schools' respective areas. However, I don't know if my plans will change once I start college. I may hate IR. Transferring to Ivy league schools to ensure an overall strong holistic academic education is also a possibility my sophomore year if i don't like any of these schools. I'd say academic opportunity, prestige, student life, alumni giveback/networking for jobs, location, and internship opportunities are the biggest hooks for me. </p>
<p>Also, I'm from the northern suburbs of Chicago and although I know Northwestern is an amazing school, the very thought of staying so close to home is kind of a setback. I really want to go to the east coast. </p>
<p>Let me know what you guys think!</p>
<p>If you want to do IR, SFS is the way go to. What’s your shyness about committing to IR? Have you have enough exposure to it? Is fin aid an issue/consideration? What did you feel about the ‘vibes’ of the campuses?</p>
<p>Thanks for your post! I appreciate it.</p>
<p>Well, that’s exactly it. I feel like having a strong foundation in IR is crucial in this ever-globalizing world. Other than basic social studies classes and reading newspapers, I can’t say I’ve had enough exposure to IR. I’d be surprised if any high school student did. </p>
<p>As far as the vibes of the campuses, I fell in love with Georgetown’s “Hilltop” and its convenient proximity to the heart of Washington D.C. Duke and Northwestern are really pretty too. Northwestern’s proximity to Chicago is fantastic as well. But again, I’m from Chicago and I already know most of the area. I’d like something new, however, I’m concerned about the overall education I’d receive from each school. I’d take academics/career prospect over anything any day.</p>
<p>Quick question: I heard Georgetown SFS is extremely selective and that its program rivals/exceeds those of Harvard’s, Stanford’s, and Princeton’s? If we go by rankings (which I’m not really a big fan of), i saw that Gtown’s SFS has consistently been ranked in the top 3 for IR in undergrad and #1 for Grad school. I don’t know if i want to pursue a graduate’s degree in IR. I just want a strong holistic academic foundation focused on the humanities and prepare me for Ivy caliber law school/business school.</p>
<p>Sounds like you just want to convince yourself to go to Georgetown.</p>
<p>And yes, what you hear about the rankings are correct. I think their acceptance rate is in the mid-teens most years. For exposure, I meant it in a more loose sense, such as Model UN or how up to date are you on current foreign affairs.</p>
<p>I think IR is a great major as it mixes politics, geography, history, economics, foreign culture/language, and is equally practical and it is theory-based and holistic, which can’t be said for most majors. There’s nothing wrong with choosing it even if you aren’t in love with it. You could’ve chosen a lot worse. </p>
<p>Georgetown SFS ranks on par with the ivys for IR. Many would actually rank it above it for policy or political careers (opposed to an academic track) due to its proximity to all that DC has to offers. From events at embassies to former ambassadors as professors to the huge and complex alumni web that’s spread itself over DC, it’s a great education and resource. I’d consider SFS to be superior to all but Harvard, and that I would just go to for name-recognition only. If you haven’t already, head on over to the GT forum here and check it out, they should be able to provide you more details than I can (same goes to Northwestern and Duke).</p>
<p>Also not to think too far into the future, but know that law school and b-school have totally different admissions criteria. Law school admissions is 95% LSAT and GPA. So some have argued (and have a point) that if one had a 3.9 GPA from Southern Illinois in sociology, they will have an advantage over someone with a 3.5 in mechanical engineering from Cornell. Now some say that law schools will account for how each school grades and the difficult of ones major and peers, but most agree that it maybe will matter for .1 or .2 of a GPA. </p>
<p>Business school on the other had really is work experience and your GMAT score. GPA is usually a fourth criteria behind essays since they really want people to have a reason to go to b-school (other than money) and how they would benefit from an MBA. So for business school at least, the school you go to does matter more than for law school as there is a very rough correlation of the prestige/responsibility of the job you get from a top tier school than a directional state school.</p>