Hi, I’m a high school junior, and I’m trying to get a few more schools on my list to check out this summer. I’m planning on majoring in political science, although I’m not 100% sure on that (there’s a good chance I’d double major/minor in international relations, journalism, or something else). I’m from western New York, and I’m looking for schools within a 6 hour drive-- Boston and DC are the farthest I’ve considered.
Other schools that I’ve liked are American University, George Washington University, and Hamilton College (not applying to this one though, because they don’t offer merit scholarships). I’m looking small to midsize, preferably near a city (especially Boston!), but maybe not downtown areas-- which is why American appealed to me so much, I think.
I’m female, my unweighted GPA is 4.0 and superscored SAT score is 2260 (760 math, 760 writing, 740 reading) . I’m hoping for a school where I have a chance at merit scholarships.
Any schools that come to mind? College search databases aren’t very helpful when I want to know what sort of reputations schools have regarding poli sci, so I figured I’d ask here.
Thank you so much!
Wellesley comes to mind, although they don’t offer merit aid (they do meet full demonstrated need, though). They’ve got quite a few notable grads from their political science major, they’re on the smaller side, and they’re outside of Boston. If you’re open to an all-female school, I’d suggest looking more into them.
Are you certain that colleges which meet full demonstrated need – but no merit scholarships – are not financially suitable for you?
I’m not quite sure? My family calculated what we’d have to pay each year for Hamilton based on the price calculator on their website, and the expected parent contribution was higher than my parents were willing to pay, so they flat out told me I can’t apply there.
For a college with some of the attributes of Hamilton, but one which does offer merit scholarships, consider St. Lawrence. They offer distinct majors in government and global studies. The go-to city there would be Montréal.
Tufts University, which is just outside of Boston in Medford, has strong academics and a good International Relations program. Brandeis University, also outside of Boston in Waltham, is another possibility. Not sure about merit aid at either.
Merit money is unlikely to be a major contributor unless you focus on schools well below your stats.
There are a few very good ones you should look at however, St. Lawrence, Clark, Gettysburg and Dickinson. Suny Geneseo should be on your list.
University of Alabama and University of South Carolina award high amounts to high stat students.
I think you might want to consider Muhlenberg. They have a very good political science department. The Muhlenberg Polling Center is a good opportunity too. They would consider you for merit aid, which they just increased. They do a great job of getting their students into post graduate programs of all kinds. It is an amazing small LAC with a very good mix of premed, prelaw and theater students who all seem to get along and support each other in whatever people are passionate about. Worth a look… Best of luck to you!
Canisius, Fordham, SUNY Albany, SUNY Plattsburg, Hobart William Smith, Princeton, Columbia, Barnard, U Rochester, Vassar, George Mason U.
Boston College, Northeastern University, American University, George Washington University, and Fordham University are all great schools that have good programs. Also look at University of Maryland and George Mason University.
I agree with BatesParent2019
And my sense is that given your goals and stats attending a college where most students have stats significantly below yours is not a good career choice.
New York State has several exceptional public universities. Are they on your list?
If you are willing to go a little further afield (and further south), here are some schools with strong political science and/or international relations and/or journalism programs that you might think about: College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, VA (which offers a joint degree with St. Andrews University in Scotland); the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, and Davidson College, outside of Charlotte, NC. Your test scores might get you considered at William and Mary for the 1693 Scholars awards (although only 7-8 are awarded each year); Carolina gives out merit aid to OOS students; and Davidson offers competitive merit awards.
Additionally, here are some websites that will help you identify which schools give merit aid.
First, this website: http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts. The columns with headings about “non-need-based aid” mean “merit aid” and/or “grant aid”. You can list the schools from high to low for percentage of students receiving “non-need-based aid” and the average amount awarded; this may help you cull schools based on institutional merit aid.
Second, this website is one that our school’s guidance counselors identified as listing merit scholarships offered by state and school; if you use it, be sure to go the the school’s website for updated information, as the scholarships listed may have changed in terms of amounts and/or criteria from what is listed: https://www.meritaid.com/.
Finally, if you plan on visiting any schools, my advice is to do it when the schools are in session, and actual students are around; that way you can get an idea of what the study body is like, and whether you might fit in or not.
Good luck.
Current student from William & Mary here. It is an excellent place to study international relations or political science if you are willing to get out of the northeastern bubble. To clarify though, the joint degree program in Scotland is specifically for history, econ, international relations, or english at the moment and there is no formal journalism major. There are alot of research and internship opportunities within the field, which is what I am doing over the summer and the professors in government or international relations are some of the best on campus. PM me if you want more details.
<<<
@shawnspencer Does W&M give much merit? If not, then would it be unaffordable for this student??
<<<<
I’m female, my unweighted GPA is 4.0 and superscored SAT score is 2260 (760 math, 760 writing, 740 reading) . I’m hoping for a school where I have a chance at merit scholarships.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
Merit is usually based on single sitting M+CR…(not often super-scores). What is your best M+CR from ONE sitting?
[QUOTE=""]
My family calculated what we'd have to pay each year for Hamilton based on the price calculator on their website, and the expected parent contribution was higher than my parents were willing to pay, so they flat out told me I can't apply there.
[/QUOTE]
Ok…so you need to find out what they WILL pay. What did the Hamilton calculator say? What was the estimated cost?
If your parents are vague, then ask them in terms of “per month”. They know their monthly costs. They know what they have left over each month. Ask them if they can pay $2000 per month towards college? If they say, “no,” the ask if they can pay $1500 per month. If they still say no, then ask them if they can pay $500 per month. and so forth.
A school that comes to mind for being good with merit and for politics is Catholic Univerity in DC. It’s location can’t be beat. It has an honors college and the top students are very welcome in DC internships. The one heads up I’d say about catholiic is that you would be required to take some Catholic theology classes unlike,say at Fordham,which is also quite generous with merit. Don’t know if that would be an issue for you. But if politics is your goal I personally think you’re better off at Catholic or some other DC school.
Holy Cross and Tufts.
Can’t beat Columbia in New York for International Relations, History, Political Science or Philosophy.
Neither Holy Cross nor Tufts offer much merit money. Nor does Columbia.
You’re likely to face the same affordability issue with these schools as you did with Hamilton.
Check out the Kiplinger’s “best value” pages. Click-sort on the “non-need-based aid” columns to identify schools that offer relatively many merit scholarships, or large average amounts. These won’t necessarily be the schools with the very largest merit scholarships for your stats, but they may include some affordable possibilities.
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts
Also have a look at Foreign Policy magazine’s listings of strong IR programs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower
Schools with both strong IR, and relatively good merit money, include:
American University
GW
University of Rochester
University of Denver
Duke and UChicago offer some merit scholarships, but the competition for them would be extreme.
Also check out the out-of-state sticker prices for Minnesota and WIsconsin.