Hello everyone,
I’m trying to find schools with strong political science schools that are a pretty sure bet when it comes to admissions. Not saying guaranteed but schools where it is definitely more likely than not. Here are a few stats.
ACT: 32
WGPA: 4.6
UWGPA: 4.0
Eagle Scout
Internship with Mayor of San Diego
Boys State
1 year varsity track
2 years varsity water polo and swim (went to CIF for both)
Academic League Captain and MVP (set school records)
Theatre (Rooster in Annie, Frederick in Young Frankenstein, Danny in Grease)
I would put money on you getting in Villanova, which is great and nationally known for Political Science.
Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, wisconsin, Miami of Ohio, Miami of Florida, Ohio State, Indiana, U of Massachusetts, Arizona, Nebraska, Boston U., Texas A&M, Florida, Florida State, American U., Maryland, Georgia. Those near DC or which are in a state capital city might be especially interesting due to the opportunitkes for internships and other first-hand involvement in and observation of go Dr.ment.
Saint Anselm College often hosts presidential debates for the NH primary and is mainly notable for its PoliSci program; it would be a safety for you.
As stated above, St. A’s would be a great merit award play. It has probably the best Poli Sci program in the country in the nuts and bolts of on the ground politics. Every Presidential candidate since the Eisenhower era has spoken or debated there. It’s also known for its top nursing program.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/secrets-hampshires-st-anselm-college-presidential-history-made/story?id=35860870
Check out Michigan, not by any means a safety or match for almost anyone - but you seem to fit the student profile quite nicely (ACT might be a tad bit low).
Michigan, Tufts, and Georgetown would all be good reaches for a PoliSci student with those stats, with OP placing solidly within their average accepted student profiles.
You would probably get into Dickinson. Michigan is NOT anything close to the sure bet the OP is asking for. OP, do your best to visit your safeties – make sure you would really want to attend. And run the net price calculators to make sure they are affordable, too.
^True, and I definitely didn’t mean to suggest that UMich, Tufts, or Georgetown are anything but reaches, just thought I’d mention the other two since Mich came up.
A rule of thumb can be: a univ with a very good law school will likely have a very good poly sci program in their undergrad.
What is your budget"? how much will your parents pay each year?
“My family makes a decent amount of money (between $125,000 and $150,000), but live in somewhere with a high cost of living. I really want to attend a private college, but my parents aren’t sure we can afford it. Two of my top choices are Reed and Claremont McKenna. Stanford is another, but its VERY doubtful I will get in. What type of financial aid will I get at these schools? Also, is it true that you can get more aid if you apply ED???”
Howard may give you a full ride for your stats, and it is in DC.
Based on post #12 forget about Reed (or Stanford). Virtually no merit aid and with that income no/little FA. The only type of need based aid that would require applying early is SEOG. Merit can run out but you need to pick schools that Offer merit aid. Otherwise there is no funding bump for ED.
You need to talk with your parents about what exactly they can pay and run some net-price calculators. At some highly selective schools (like Stanford), the need-based aid might be enough, even though your household income is fairly high, but we don’t know what your financial situation.