<p>Well, the May 1 deadline is approaching and I have a completely random list of institutions to decide from. I plan on majoring in international relations, and I was accepted at Emory, Tulane, George Washington University, University of Richmond, Carnegie Mellon, and a few other schools I'm not really considering at this point. Most people point me in the direction of Emory because of its USNWR ranking...however, Emory does not have an international relations major and they don't really seem to have the breadth of Polisci courses that these other schools offer. I'm intrigued by CMU, but also a bit terrified. I want to have a relatively normal social life in college, and when I was touring CMU and saw things like "Sin Graph graffiti" in the bathrooms I was a bit dismayed. Nonetheless, I really like their IR program and their academics. Then there's Tulane...I thoroughly enjoyed Tulane, but I'm not sure if New Orleans is the best academic backdrop for an IR major (opportunities for internships/lectures/experiential learning seem to be rather limited unless you're interested in Latin America). Richmond is probably my favorite school out of all, but it doesn't have the brand name, and I don't really want to sit through their core curriculum if I already know exactly what I want. And finally, there's GW. GW is basically a machine that pushes out a new batch of State Department employees every year. I really like GW, but I feel bad turning down Emory and Carnegie Mellon, and I know that GW has a reputation for lots of red tape. What do you think I should do - I would love some feedback as I am currently tearing my hair out here trying to decide?</p>
<p>The Eliot School at GW is easily the best IR program on that list, great reputation, and great location. I wouldn’t let the US News rankings make your decision, they’re pretty inaccurate for anything other than broad, generalized rankings.</p>
<p>So, in my opinion, I’d take GW, it’s got an entire college devoted to IR and is an overall great school, (the freshman dorms even have maids!)</p>