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<p>The OP said he was looking for a school “in his range” (670/600/670), strong in political science and IR, in an urban/suburban Northeastern/other location. American University (Washington DC) fits that description quite well.</p>
<p>AU gets high marks in Foreign Policy magazine’s “Ivory Tower” rankings of top IR programs.
([Inside</a> the Ivory Tower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower]Inside”>Inside the Ivory Tower - Wikipedia)). It has a nice campus on the NW edge of Washington DC with convenient access to downtown locations.</p>
<p>Georgetown would be good, too, but it’s much more selective.</p>
<p>American University would be a good one because you cant just have an application full of Edinburgh, Georgetown, UMich and McGill, because they are all really difficult schools to get into, even with good grades, so filling out apps to a couple schools like AU is never a bad idea in addition to the more selective schools. Also from what I have heard about AU in DC it is a pretty decent school, it is not like a middle-of-nowhere-prairie-state college.</p>
<p>Go to the Fairtest list of SAT optional schools and dig from there. Same for a web search for the schools that are “highly competitive” for admissions. (Topmost is “most competitive.”) if you don’t think you match, drop down from there.</p>
<p>Don’t confuse what some think of a school’s overall rep. You’re looking at specific programs. Check the range of courses (and how they are available- and the profs, what they are up to.) DC is a great place for poli sci/IR, good for some connections to internships and can be a lot of fun. If you need fin aid, check that out, too. And, it wouldn’t hurt, as a prospective PS/iR kid, to add some activity where you work with local govt or an org- ie, pursue this interest outside hs. Even if it’s a small role.</p>
<p>“I would look into Georgetown, Stanford, Cal, Duke, Tufts, Boston College.”</p>
<p>Informative… you’re saying that Washington and American U are “mediocre” schools and suggest Stanford and Duke? The OP has a 28 ACT. Stanford is a reach for students who have near perfect ACTs/GPAs… even if the OP improved his/her act it would be well out of reach (unless there is some major hook that I’m missing).</p>
<p>I agree than AU is a good choice as i could probably get in and it is very good at what i am interested in.</p>
<p>Instead of suggesting “SAT optional” schools, focus more on my GPA and other stats. I know my SAT isn’t great, but I can definitely improve and I have other parts of my resume that I think make up for my less than stellar SAT scores. Instead, help me find diverse schools (big, small, Urban, suburban) that are great at Poli-Sci and IR but may not be really reputable.</p>
<p>“Instead of suggesting “SAT optional” schools, focus more on my GPA and other stats. I know my SAT isn’t great, but I can definitely improve and I have other parts of my resume that I think make up for my less than stellar SAT scores. Instead, help me find diverse schools (big, small, Urban, suburban) that are great at Poli-Sci and IR but may not be really reputable.”</p>
<p>Your SAT scores aren’t bad, it just aren’t outstanding so you should maybe look at schools that place a heavier emphasis on GPA or class rank than test scores. Unfortunately I have know idea which schools in America have a reputation for this, so hopefully someone else on this thread can help answer that.
However, I know Canadian schools like UToronto and UBC (as well as McGill) weigh GPA heavier than standardized test scores for American applicants since Canadian students don’t write SATs or ACTs, so that might be a route, especially if student population diversity is something that appeals to you. These three Canadian schools are also the best known Canadian Universities in the US and degrees granted by them in any field will be held in high regard by employers or grad schools.<br>
The downside is that both UofT and UBC are large public research universities like McGill so the class sizes in intro courses will be large.</p>
<p>What have you done, so far, to search for these? Have any of the college guides? It’s a faster way to gain the most bang for your time, in the beginning. Not random, based on which posters tune in (and get your criteria.) Some sort by major, region, competitiveness, etc. In some, when you look at one school, they note similar ones. Plus they have so much more basic info. Here, you’re going to get random ideas.</p>
<p>I have actually done my own research already, but I see CC as a way to find some other schools that I may have not thought about before.</p>
<p>As far as UK goes:
University of St Andrews has one of the best IR programs in the world
LSE, of course, for politics
Oxford is notoriously tough on American applicants, so I’m not sure if it’s relevant here if you’re avoiding Ivy-level</p>
<p>Willamette is literally across the street from the Oregon state capitol and has a very good political science program. Many classes require students to work with various offices. No idea how its IR is, but it could be a good safety and offers merit aid. All classes are small. </p>
<p>Macalaster is an outstanding LAC for poly sci/IR. Urban location and a large international presence. </p>
<p>Emory University has a great political science program, a solid IR major, as well as rapidly improving programs in various area studies. It’s in suburban Atlanta, the regional hub of the Southeast. Most intro classes max out at around 80 students although social science courses are typically smaller.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in the Americas, UCLA is an outstanding school for that. It also houses an outstanding Asian studies department (very expensive for OOS students but if you’re very rich, it may not matter). </p>
<p>If you want a LAC in LA, look to Occidental. On the tour the guide mentioned that IR was one of its strongest programs. In terms of exposure to various cultures, it’s hard to beat Los Angeles.</p>
<p>It is in a smallish town, but Dickinson is good for political science and may be in your range.</p>
<p>Pitt has a well-respected IR program at the graduate level. I don 't know about undergraduate, but you could check it out on the website.</p>
<p>Hey guys thanks for your responses. I have narrowed my list to Amercian (safety), UVA (slight reach), John Hopkins (reach), and Tufts (reach). I want to add one match and a safety, and have looked into University of Wisconsin Madison, Reed, and a few others, but I haven’t yet decided.</p>
<p>I think Reed would be a reach with 1940/28. Lewis and Clark across the river might work.</p>
<p>Well I am still in the range for the mid 50 % of the SAT range for Reed, and I have a good GPA as well. </p>
<p>After doing some research about it, however, I decided I probably won’t apply.</p>
<p>We saw a great program at Xavier University in Cincinnati called PPP–Politics, Philosophy and the Public. That program is more selective than the university as a whole, but I am sure it’s still in your range. It’s well worth checking out for the opportunities students have for hands-on political and non-profit work, plus a close relationship with others in the major and the professors.</p>
<p>that PPP program looks decent. i’ll consider it after a find out about a few more schools.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>Anyone care to help?</p>