<p>I am going to major in Internatoinal Relations / Political Science
I am accepted to Haverford College, Claremont McKenna College and American University.
Where should I go?</p>
<p>For IR or Polisci I vote CMC or AU. Don’t really think Haverford is particularly strong.</p>
<p>Still, CMC and AU are pretty different. Small LAC in California, mid-sized university in the Northeast…</p>
<p>Haverford is terrific in poli sci, especially IR/global/comparative. It’s a small department relative to the other two but IMO it’s got a lot more intellectual throw-weight, pound for pound. I’d go for quality over quantity every time, but it’s a judgment call. Read each school’s website carefully. Look at the credentials, accomplishments, publications, and research agendas of any faculty members you find interesting. See what the department says about itself. And then go with the one providing the strongest fit with your interests, goals, and ambitions. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind, though, that relatively few students end up finishing with a degree in the field they start with; most change at least once, many twice or or more, so think about other fields you might be attracted to. As among these three schools, CMC is very strong overall, American a little less so, but IMO Haverford is overall the strongest.</p>
<p>CMC gets my vote for the reasons stated above, and if you do change your major, or need a different environment you can cross enroll at 4 other schools.</p>
<p>I would go for CMC or Haverford. American is a good university, but it is not as good as the other two.</p>
<p>^ As part of a consortium with Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and Penn, I think Haverford provides the most curricular options.</p>
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I’m convinced that CMC, as part of the Claremont consortium, offers a wide selection of courses with excellence in various academic areas. The commute between Claremont members is so short, unlike between Haverford and Swarthmore which is 15 mi (23 mins by car)</p>
<p>I think CMC would be your best bet.</p>
<p>I vote for Haverford, it’s great for PoliSci.</p>
<p>According to Foreign Policy magazine, AU ranks in the top 20 in the nation (actually, 17th) for undergraduate international relations. Haverford and CMC aren’t even ranked. There are more IR majors at AU than there are students at Haverford or CMC, many times as many courses, far better language instruction, huge numbers of in-term internships (many of them paid), access to graduate level course (AU is ranked in the top 10 at the graduate level), and much better integrated study abroad options.</p>
<p>It really isn’t close - for IR.</p>
<p>Is everyone on CC a LAC fanatic? I would go for American because it is more recognized domestically and internationally.</p>
<p>Question for the original poster, are you considering graduate studies in law or public policy? If so, I think an LAC is the way to go.</p>
<p>Counterpoint to Mini’s advice (which I’m not saying you should ignore):
It’s not as though “IR” is a hard science that can only be learned in the #17 or better IR department. It’s a derivative field. I don’t mean that in a pejorative way, just that it’s derived from a long tradition of political thought.</p>
<p>So instead of picking the school with the highest rated IR department, consider picking the one that is the best academically (overall) and the best personal fit for you. Go somewhere where you can read Machiavelli, Marx, Clausewitz, Grotius, etc. etc. and discuss their ideas in small classes with other smart kids and good teachers. I don’t know anything about CMC (not too much about AU either) but am pretty confident that Haverford provides a good environment for this kind of learning.</p>
<p>I would vote for Haverford or CMC depending upon where you want to be; near Philly or near L.A.</p>
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<p>ACtually, one SHOULD ignore Mini’s advice. Not because Mini’s advice is usually lacking in foundation! However, in this case, and despite many reminders in the past, Mini continues to use an incredibly poor source to justify his (or her) conclusions. </p>
<p>As it has been shown on this forum repeatedly, anyone familiar with the methodology used by Foreign Policy, should have no problem identifying why Haverford and CMC weren’t even ranked. Stated mildly, the UG ranking was a total afterthought and total baloney. </p>
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<p>As far as other opinions, especially about “intellectual throw-weight, pound for pound” and “quality over quantity” I’d encourage everyone to check the faculty listing of each school in discussion here and weigh those criteria with a modicum of objectivity.</p>
<p>How interesting is that! We both seem to point in the same direction, and yet come to seemingly very different opinions. Did you really follow your advice and read the following websites and analyzed the “intellectual throw-weight” of each professor? </p>
<p>[Haverford</a> College: Faculty Profiles](<a href=“http://www.haverford.edu/academics/facprofiles.php]Haverford”>http://www.haverford.edu/academics/facprofiles.php)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Political Science
Cristina Beltr</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind Haverford students can take courses at Penn, Bryn Mawr and I believe Swarthmore. The CMC has Pomona, Pitzer and Scripps (and Mudd but not many poli sci courses there)</p>
<p>Despite what Xiggi says, the Foreign Policy Magazine rankings are an incredibly good source of information. More than 1,700 foreign policy academics, more than half the academics in the field in the entire country, participated in the study. This is a far, far higher percentage than any survey - in ANY subject - available to the general public.</p>
<p>Let me ask Xiggi a couple of direct questions: how many IN-TERM foreign policy-related internships did CMC (or Haverford) have last year? How many State Department internships? How many Council on Foreign Relations internships? How many Agency for International Relations internships? How many World Bank and International Monetary Fund internships? How many non-European languages could one study at CMC or Haverford for more than two years? How many directly funded and coordinated international relations-related programs abroad did CMC or Haverford conduct last year? How many working internships did CMC or Haverford directly sponsor abroad, for credit? How many graduate-level courses in international relations did CMC and Haverford students take last year? How many spring break trips organized around international relations research and economic development research did CMC and Haverford sponsor in the past two years? Just for the heck of it, can you throw in the number of Pickering Undergraduate Fellowships CMC and Haverford juniors have won in the past two years?</p>
<p>As usual, Xiggi is poorly informed about why a majority of foreign policy academics in the United States would disagree with his conclusion.</p>
<p>I’d vote CMC. I don’t know if you’re interested, but they have a great PPE (politics, philosophy, economics) program there.</p>
<p>cmc was founded n 1959 what warrants such great prestige from this LAC? How can this school have such a good track record in such a short time?</p>
<p>Yes, Haverford students can take courses at Swarthmore.
Penn adds a huge selection (though it’s not as nearby as the “bi-college” partner, Bryn Mawr).</p>