I have my choices narrowed down to George Washington or Clemson. I am going to double major in political science and economics. I am 100% set on going to law school. I have a full ride to Clemson, have not heard back money wise from GW. Which should I choose?
GW will surely have a better poli sci deparment…
but if you get no money from them, it would be at the cost of 60k/year
not worth it.
Go where the money is.
Wow I have the same choice to make!! I have similar majors, but am undecided on law school. GW and Clemson are so different that it’s hard to begin to make a choice.
Given that I’m not set on law school, I’m leaning towards GW primarily because of the opportunities for internships and the diversity that I’d encounter there. Obviously I’ve never started a career before, but to me it seems that you would be more likely to get a good first job with some competitive internships under your belt. Also, I think @AimingTop50 is right about the poli sci department. That being said, one of my friends is an econ major at Clemson and he loves it.
While @aao5620 is right in that the internships and networking that GW provides are incredibly valuable, I don’t know if they can equal graduating debt-free. If you intend to go to law school (where you will incur a lot of debt) it’s probably wise to take the free ride.
On the flip side, looking at Clemson’s rankings (I’ve never researched them before) their strengths are not in your intended majors. This could potentially hurt you in applying to law school (if you want to attend the best law schools). Sure, you might graduate with a 3.8 from Clemson in a program they don’t excel at, but that 3.6 in Poli Sci from GW will probably be more impressive.
You want me to make your decision even harder? lol. If you were to go to GW, you’d probably stand a better chance getting in to their law school, which is fairly high-rated (in the low-20s, I believe).
Honestly, I think this comes down to how much GW gives you. If you have to pay out of pocket (including loans) more than $30-40K for your 4 years, I’d pick Clemson. I’ve been out of school for a little while now- student loans are a huge burden for young adults.