<p>I'm a real nerd with huge passion for studying foreign cultures and have been drawn to Georgetown almost my whole life. I'm left politically and want an intellectually engaging experience. Which of the two schools should I favor and what details should I consider?
Thanks much!</p>
<p>Any particular cultures of interest? Do you have any idea what you want to do after college (law school, foreign service, etc.)? Do you participate in activities like MUN? Do you think you would love, or at least tolerate, the Core?</p>
<p>I would normally say Georgetown for International Studies, but based on your post, it seems like you’d be more of a fit for UChicago. </p>
<p>Another cool thing about UChicago is that if by 3rd you have a 3.55 GPA or higher and have finished all or at least most of your core and major classes, you can spend your fourth year pursuing an MA in International Relations and graduate with a joint degree (both BA and MA 
) . </p>
<p>Not sure whether or not Georgetown has a similar program.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I’ll go into policy and plan to minor in economics. I’m fluent in French, in AP Latin, studying Arabic and Russian. I know I don’t want to go into State Dept, but my interests are still broad - drooling over the course catalogs. Just checked out Hopkins and was really impressed. Campus culture seems much friendlier, less hard-bitten than Georgetown. My guidance counselor is pushing me toward Princeton - I’ll probably make valedictorian in my class of 140 - but my SATs are 2140, taking the ACT, hoping to score way up. Three SAT IIs are 800s</p>
<p>“Studying foreign cultures” and “international relations” are two fairly different areas of interest. Chicago has an “International Studies” major, but it is much more of an IR program than a “studying foreign cultures” program.</p>
<p>For International Relations, Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service is pretty much the gold standard (and Hopkins is also very strong, especially at the grad-school level), although Chicago has a fine program and reputation, and you don’t have to go into a separate school and cut off some of your other options. For studying foreign cultures, it probably depends which ones you are interested in studying, but there Chicago is likely to have something of an academic advantage, which would deepen if you looked at anthropology and sociology and such-like theories of how to assess a different culture.</p>
<p>As for going into policy and minoring in economics, at Chicago (and elsewhere) lots of people consider public policy something like economics-lite. If you have the math skills to minor in economics successfully, you should probably major in economics and use your electives within the major to take a public-policy-oriented track. On the other hand, several of my kids’ friends did public policy AB and international relations AM simultaneously, something that was helped by the relative ease of the public policy major requirements.</p>
<p>Honestly, you should do yourself a favor and apply pretty much anywhere social sciences are strong / respected part of the UG curriculum. If Chicago appeals to you, then naturally Columbia and the other research Ivies should as well. They are all great places to study poli sci, history, etc. </p>
<p>That said, JHU and Georgetown have proximity to DC, and it is fair to say that the most coveted DC jobs are gotten not through one or two internships but <em>several</em> progressive one’s throughout college. While it is not an easy feat, there are GT and JHU students who hold down two or even three days a week of employment in the district to build the necessary pedigree.</p>
<p>Uchicagoalum: the internships are a really compelling reason to tip toward DC/Baltimore.
JHS: thanks for the great advice; I’m really going to have to consider the differentiation between International Studies and International Relations. Plan now is to appy EA to both GT and UC. My counselor wants me to apply to Princeton regular - sounds like good balance where you do a first year liberal arts curriculum then go to Woodrow for remaining 3 yrs. But impossible to get accepted, probably and no one from my HS seems to get in there (counselor says kids from my school - more of a crunchy/hipster scene - don’t tend to apply to schools “like that”)
Your thoughts?</p>
<p>The thing to remember about Hopkins is: despite what they tell you, SAIS is not close or easy to get to. 90+% of your undergrad work is going to be with Homewood resources only, and those aren’t that impressive in IR. They’re good, but not anywhere close to Georgetown etc.</p>
<p>NavalTradition is correct. There are very few undergraduates who take advantage of SAIS classes as electives alongside BA coursework. It is a logistical disaster in a car to get in an out of DC on weekdays. While there is a formal joint degree program, the admissions standards are exceedingly onerous GPA-wise since a college applicant has to make a compelling case vs. external applicants who are required to have extensive policy experience in addition to respectable grades. </p>
<p>In contrast, a small minority take advantage of the MA in Government or MA in Global Security Studies programs in DC in the context of a five year join degree (you basically finish the coursework for your BA in a social science subject and then proceed directly to the MA - and almost certainly relocate to DC in the process). SAIS aside, JHU is very generous in offering spots to its college alumi in its Arts & Sciences and Engineering master’s programs (which tend to have larger numbers recent graduates in their classes generally). </p>
<p>The potential for a a higher degree degree aside, the Homewood (main campus) scene for political science and history is decent, but on the weaker end of selective universities if you are considering how heavy hitting the faculty are (at its core, JHU is a strong STEM school with some pockets of global excellence in the humanities; the social sciences have always been a low institutional priority). Accordingly, I would only choose Hopkins for a UG social sciences over places like Penn, Columbia, Chicago (where social sciences form flagship, anchor departments) if I was certain I would have the hustle to get into DC for non-academic reasons across multiple terms. Which brings one back to the question, if you are really so willing to lean into a “inside the belway” lifestyle, why not pick Georgetown since this really its core competency both geographically and academically.</p>