Im going to be a Junior in high school this year, and I live in the Chicago suburbs. I really want to go into international relations/linguistics, in hopes to someday become a foreign service officer. I have always wanted to go to Georgetown and I know that they have one of the best ir programs in the country. However, I’m looking for something a tier down or so, a little bit easier to get into and more affordable like George Washington or American university. I would also like to visit some colleges this summer that are in a few hours driving distance, but unfortunately all of the really good ir programs are on the east coast. Anyone have good suggestions for ir schools that are not Ivy League level but still very good?
I think Macalester is good for IR?
Macalester came to mind for me too. They also give merit aid.
Since when are GW and American “affordable”? Be sure you run the net price calculators on each college website.
How about Dickinson? Still a 10 hour drive, but not all the way to the East coast.
One of the strongest overseas study programs in the country is at Kalamazoo. An amazing number of students, over 80% if I remember correctly, study abroad. Living abroad will serve you well if you want to enter the foreign service.
Run the npc on Macalester, Dickinson, Kalamazoo, Hobart and William Smith, Goucher (the last two safeties).
American, UDenver are two others you should run the npc on.
Beside Georgetown, Tufts and Princeton are stellar.
I concur with the above, Macalester relies on international relations as a point of difference. They’ve been serious about it for decades. Another strong program there these days is Econ. Oh and they do actually have a longstanding Linguistics department, which not all small LACs do. Their aid packages are pretty good too (I’m an alum).
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the UN went to Macalester.
Ohio University
Thanks, I’ll check out macalaster. I have family near there so that seems like a good place to visit.