<p>Hey everybody,
Holiday season going well? I'm hoping so. </p>
<p>Basically, I'm writing because I'm torn between GW and Fordham-
I've read responses on CC before and know the advice given here is top notch.
Any responses would be very, very much appreciated. </p>
<p>Currently, I'm trying to decide between attending GW's Elliott School and Fordham's Lincoln Center Campus in Manhattan. As some of you might have guessed, my intended major is International Relations. I'd love to be a foreign service officer one day. </p>
<p>I was admitted EA to Fordham and recieved a positive pre-read as an athletic recruit (confirmed with admissions) for GW and so am pretty confident that my chances for admission are high. </p>
<p>That said, I can't seem to decide between GW and Fordham. </p>
<p>I love DC. I've grown up in the suburbs and have been in the heart of the city for
four years for high school. GW sounds ideal because of the caliber of its IR program and it's access to internships year round. The team I'd play on also competes at a higher level of D1 than Fordham. It's in DC, though, and a change might be nice for my college years...</p>
<p>Fordham's Lincoln Center is in Manhattan... location sounds amazing. It's IR program isn't well known and Fordham is more of a regional school. Also, I'd have to deal with an extensive core curriculum- at GW there are ways around undesireable classes. It's athletics are competative but not on the same level as GW- but it's Manhattan! and it's a Jesuit education. Those two things alone are very appealing- maybe because it's not DC. </p>
<p>Sorry for whining, but please- does anybody have any advice? :/</p>
<p>It sounds like your heart is really with GW. It's really important to follow your heart. My daughter's heart was with Fordham Lincoln Center, as much as she tried to convince herself that another school was better for her programmatically, FCLC is where her heart was, along with Manhattan. You really just need to listen to your heart. Only you can decide/know what is best for you. You need to look holistically, at the entire picture. Where do you see yourself being more comfortable?</p>
<p>Since you're looking in the NYC area, have you considered the Whitehead School of Diplomacy? I know it is attached to Seton Hall, but the program sounds solid in International Relations. They keep telling me about a strong alliance with the UN which really has me interested. But GW is in DC and the city speaks for itself.</p>
<p>Everyone else at the LC campus at Fordham is a performing arts major.
Additionally it would be extremely difficult for you to play sports at Fordham if your major is at the Lincoln Center campus. If you really want to go to Fordham and play sports switch to Rose Hill and the International Political Economy major which will give you very similar career opportunities.
Overall GW has a much stronger IR program though.</p>
<p>Foreign Policy magazine ranked the top International Relations programs in the country in 2007. The results:
1. Harvard
2. Princeton
3. Stanford
4. Georgetown
5. Columbia
6. Yale
7.UChicago
8. Dartmouth
9. UC Berkeley
10. GW</p>
<p>Fordham doesn't even round out the top 20. GW is with the Ivy League for IR. There's really no competition.</p>
<p>Well in a viewbook I recieved from GW, they claim to be ranked #2 in the nation for having graduates become foreign service officers (im assuming Georgetown is ranked #1). GW has an excellent reputation for getting its students where they want to go in terms of careers. And the schools access to D.C. and its vast source of connections gives students better opportunites for employment than many schools that are ranked higher than it in International Relations. I myself am going to GW next year to major in international relations and I also want to become a foreign service officer; its been a dream of mine for years now. Fordham is the kind of school that gives a solid education in all areas. GW is a school that lacks in such fields as mathematics, science, etc.... but is just amazing in terms of IR, politics, etc.... And if you are really serious about IR and one day becoming a foreign service officer (or a related career), DEFINITLEY shoot for GW over Fordham.</p>
<p>That's the undergrad rankings. Hopkins was #19 in the ugrad (#2 in grad). GW was ranked #7 in grad. </p>
<p>The survey was done by Foreign Policy magazine, a highly-respected academic journal, and was of all international relations faculty in the US (just under 1200 colleges). If you have the resources, it's Foreign Policy March/April 2007, "Inside the Ivory Tower."</p>
<p>i too was accepted to fordham EA..and would have attended if i had not been accepted to GW ED bc GW is my #1 and fordham my #2...so i would definitely pick GW over fordham bc international relations is better at GW and DC is a better location for the major than NYC..nyc is good for many things but in this case DC is better...also not to mention i had some events that occured with me and Fordham that made me never want to go there</p>
<p>I think GW is a better choice as everyone else is saying. I've visited there, not Fordham though, so I can only speak for GW. DC is a better local, GWU advertised having the most internships per student, and these internships are going to be mostly in DC, which is perfect for IR. GWU seems to really try to sell their IR programs, I think they are trying to compete with Georgetown across town.</p>
<p>It's official, I'm going to the Elliott School. </p>
<p>Thanks everybody, so so much-
jptmom, multitasker, waveswatcher, sictransitgloria, spw, dartmoose, bluebayou, meadesport, doublej, allieb, patm, and tonytet, you're all great and helped me out very much. </p>