<p>Hello everyone. I am going to be a high school senior this upcoming fall. I am leaning towards something along the lines of political science or public administration for a major in college. I am looking for help finding a realistic undergraduate school for myself. Here are some things you may need to know:</p>
<p>*My family is very poor and only makes around $20,000 a year
*SAT scores: Math-500, Reading-570, Writing-710; may take it again
*I live in Western, NY but would prefer to go to college in a big city such as NYC or DC</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Also, I'm not completely sure, but my high school GPA is probably somewhere around the 93-94 area. Not sure what that translates into on the 4.0 scale, but...</p>
<p>I also took AP English Language and AP US History this year (have not received scores yet) and will be taking AP English Literature, AP Biology, and AP Psychology this upcoming year.</p>
<p>Also not much in the way of extracurricular activities, no music or sports, a little community service, so I'm definitely going to need a school that looks highly on rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and standardized test scores.</p>
<p>Got a good PM response from poi. Can anyone else help??</p>
<p>You could look into GWU and American U in DC. GWU might be a bit of a reach, and I'm not sure if they'll give you enough fin. aid, but it's worth a look. American is also a slight reach, but if you raise your SAT scores a bit, you can call it a match. DC is a great place to be if you're interested in political science, obviously. There's also Catholic University, which could be a safe match for you, also in DC. Again, I'm not sure what kind of financial aid you'll get at any of these places, but they should certainly be on your radar.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. DC and American are probably out of my range even with aid. Catholic looks pretty appealing though.</p>
<p>What about a big respectable state school in NY like Albany (state capital, home of a great MPA program), Binghamton, Buffalo or Stony Brook?
Very cheap in-state and you can work yourself into internships.</p>
<p>Yeah, I've been looking at Albany and Stony Brook. Stony Brook is more appealing right now because it's closer to NYC.</p>
<p>Anyone else out there??</p>
<p>George Mason.</p>
<p>But you should really be thinking a private school where you could get financial aid.</p>
<p>I am realistically going to need to go somewhere where combined tuition and room and board are less than $25,000 and where I'd get a decent chunk of financial aid.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat as you, and I chose Albany. I was also a poli sci major.
It is very reasonable cost wise (although I still accumulated debt.), and you get a 'city' experience without the huge price tag. You definitely get a 'college life' experience. I got a lot of fin aid as well.
Internships in state government are abundant as well; I did mine at the dept of education.
If you decide to stay and are dedicated enough, they have an accelerated masters program with Rockefeller.</p>
<p>What are you doing now for work? Has your degree from Albany helped?</p>
<p>A political science degree does not do much for you unless you go to grad school.
I could have easily took a job making 35k in local or state government... I chose not to.
I now work in a resort in Las Vegas while attending UNLV for grad school.</p>
<p>A political science degree does not do much for you unless you go to grad school.
I could have easily took a job making 35k in local or state government... I chose not to.
I now work in a resort in Las Vegas while attending UNLV for grad school.</p>
<p>Well if you are willing to love to DC you can get a Job. International Relations and Affairs is a much better choice IMO.
But you are right, They both are law school set ups.</p>