Help finding a Very good, non-Ivy school

College Search & Selection
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<p>So I would like to know of some schools, public and private, small and large, that are good at the social sciences (particularly Political Science and International Relations) and within my range. My Standardized test scores are the weakest part of my application, as i got a 1940( 670 CR, 600 M, 670 W) on the SAT and a 28 on the ACT. I have a 3.8 unweighted, 4.6 Weighted GPA at a very rigorous gifted school. I have taken almost all AP/Honors classes (except band and french) and got a 4 on World History ( hopefully got 5s and 4s on the ones i took Junior year).
ECs: JV (Captain), Varsity soccer, Club Soccer, Paid Job as referee for soccer
Clubs: Interact (rotary) president (100 + hours), National Junior Honor Society, National Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society, Students for Obama Club</p>

<p>I would like to know of some match schools in Urban/Suburban areas in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, West, and Midwest. Can be private, public, or liberal arts.</p>

2

<p>American University in Washington, DC is renowned for poli sci and international relations and is test optional.</p>

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<p>Wake Forest is SAT optional which may be worth a shot as a reach/high match since you have a good GPA.</p>

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<p>The University of Michigan is a slight reach, but if you improve your SAT score a bit (they ask for a 2100) and do well on your essays, it has incredibly highly ranked humanities majors and is an incredible school ranked with top programs in nearly every major.</p>

5

<p>McGill University has a strong poli sci department and if you are interested in international relations where better to study than in a foreign city (Montreal). McGill’s student population is also about 12% American so you wouldnt be isolated. Your SATs scores are a little below the American entry average but Canadian schools care much more about gpa then test scores so your good gpa would probably overcome your your slightly low SAT score (I believe the average last year was about a score of 2080)
So I would list it as a high match.</p>

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<p>If you’ve got time, I highly recommend Kaplan Test Prep if you’re looking for an SAT prep course. I had a 28 ACT and an 1830 SAT until I finished the Kaplan course and raised my SAT score to a 2090.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the responses. </p>

<p>McGill is definitely an appealing choice, as I am considering international schools (Edinburgh, St. Andrews, KCL) as well. </p>

<p>Doesn’t U Mich give a major upperhand to in state students?</p>

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<p>Georgetown is amazing for poli sci</p>

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<p>Georgetown is probably more of a reach, but American and GWU are both in my range i think</p>

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<p>All the schools posted here + the UK schools you are considering are excellent choices. </p>

<p>Since you seem to have enough money to be able to study overseas, what about looking at those overseas American Universities (eg Paris, Rome, ect.)?</p>

<p>Also another benefit to McGill: It will be cheaper tuition at ($16,872.46 per year including health insurance) than your other foreign options especially after the UK tuition hike- Edinburgh is £13,300= $20,545) at but I don’t know if that is an important factor for you or not.</p>

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<p>One issue i have with McGill is that i have heard that the first two years have very big class sizes. Money isn’t a big issue, but styudying overseas would still be cheaper than at a most selective US schools (end being 60K plus). </p>

<p>I was considering applying to American University, but not the full time programs overseas. Hopefully I could get some money from American since it is a little below my level.</p>

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<p>Your not wrong about the class sizes for the first couple years at McGill. It is a large university and for some of the introductory classes they can be big, however I dont think any bigger than any other large prestigious state/province university (UMich?). It also all depends on what courses you take. after a year or so the classes shrink down a lot because everyone starts to specialize.</p>

<p>These are all excellent and pretty selective schools that are being listed here though, so if you get accepted by more than one, it iss a good problem to have :)</p>

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<p>holy cross very good school near boston is sat optional.</p>

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<p>

You’re a little confused. American University in DC has no relationship to American University in Paris or Rome. Similar names, but entirely separate institutions. The DC school has no full time overseas program, but, like most schools, students there can participate in year-long or semester-long study abroad programs all over the world.</p>

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<p>So how do those American Universities fare in terms of reputation?</p>

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<p>I second Georgetown.</p>

<p>American university is not a “very good non-ivy school.” It is a mediocre school by most measures. I think the OP was looking for something just outside of the Ivies.</p>

<p>I would look into Georgetown, Stanford, Cal, Duke, Tufts, Boston College.</p>

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<p>Georgetown is NOT a top school for political science. That has been discussed numerous times on numerous threads here on CC.</p>

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<p>Duke University has a strong political science department and is a respected university. NYU and U of Rochester are also universities that come to mind.</p>

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<p>University of Washington, Seattle, the BEST! Top Non-Ivy choice, Northwest, great view, great city, good people! </p>

<p>[University</a> of Washington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Washington]University”>University of Washington - Wikipedia)</p>

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<p>Washington is not a top school.</p>