<p>Good GPA (3.8-3.9)
Great SAT (2300+)
Great ECs (many leadership roles)
Many hours of Comm. Service (300+)
National Achievements in Leadership
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>
<p>It depends—</p>
<p>Academically, UR would seem to be in your range.</p>
<p>But fit depends upon lots of other factors a well.</p>
<p>School size and location, campus atmosphere, areas of interest/majors to name just a few.</p>
<p>What features exactly are you looking for in a school? If you can answer that, maybe you can get some more definitive answers from this thread.</p>
<p>Thank you, WayOutWestMom!
I want to major in Pol.Sci, so I want my dream school to have a great Pol.Sci program.</p>
<p>School size- does not matter
Location- Does not matter *somewhere safe, of course
campus atmosphere- very academic, although I would love to party every 2 weeks</p>
<p>your transcript is amazing (i’m super jealous!)
but i think its important to remember that the school itself has to fit you.
for the longest time, i wanted to go to this certain college, but once i visited, i discovered that i hated it, and vice versa with other colleges.
rochester is an area with extreme weather conditions and its super cold from what i’ve heard, and apparently that bothers a lot of people. also, i think its also good to see what type of student life there is. for example, if its a Party school? diverse school? big school? small school?
i think those are important factors, and i know i don’t have a lot of knowledge in this whole college choosing process, but what i do know is that wherever i choose to go in the future, it’s going to be my home for the 4+ years of my life so i want to go somewhere i love.</p>
<p>UR has a great political science program, but don’t base your college choices on rankings, name recognition, etc. You have to really look into the school to know if it’s a “good fit” or not. Roam around the UR website, look at the Political Science department, check out the courses, talk to professors, talk to students, etc.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I cannot speak for the poli sci program as I am not familiar with it. But I can tell you my D’s perceptions of UR.</p>
<p>It is safe school. It’s in an urban setting (though Rochester proper isn’t all that big. Don’t be expecting NYC, Boston or San Franscisco), but it’s isolated in a “bubble” that is between the Genesee River, a historic graveyard and the Medical School campus. River campus has little crime except for the occasional property crime (stolen bike, stolen laptop), mostly perpetrated by non-students who come to campus specifically to steal. D says it’s pretty common for students to leave stuff (backpacks, computers, purses, cell phones) unattended while going to the restroom. (Which, of course, is when stuff gets stolen…)</p>
<p>Students at UR are pretty serious about their academics, but if you want parties–those are there too. </p>
<p>Students are genuinely nice to one another. You are not going to see alot of throat cutting among students.</p>
<p>And one word of advice: Don’t get hung up on the idea of a “dream school”. That leads to disappointment and frustration. Find a number of schools that you could see yourself at, including schools that would be affordable with minimal financial aid or where you are <em>guaranteed</em> to get a lot of merit aid for your stats. Apply to all of them. (Well, within reason. Probably no more than 6-10.) Then, when the acceptances–and inevitable rejections-- and financial aid offers roll in next spring, you will have options and hopefully several choices to pick from.</p>
<p>I agree with the opinions above about a “dream school”. D loved the idea of Tufts ever since she was in elementary school. Used to talk about it all the time - went there for a visit during Feb vacation week and for some reason, hated it! It’s off her list for now. Perhaps too many expectations??</p>
<p>She visited U of R with little knowledge about the school (only knew what I had read and told her) - and loved the campus. Liked everything she saw that day and is planning to apply in the fall.</p>
<p>I know that PoliSci, which includes Int. Relations, is one of the largest programs. [url=<a href="http://www.rochester.edu/college/psc/index1.php]Here’s[/url">http://www.rochester.edu/college/psc/index1.php]Here’s[/url</a>] the website.</p>
<p>And it’s not Cleveland and you are a free agent this year.</p>
<p>^^^Staying with this idea, women’s hoops made the Final Four for DIII this year and men’s are usually pretty good as well…</p>
<p>Graduate school political science ranking (you can choose your own criteria):
[Political</a> Science Rankings — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](<a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/political-science]Political”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/political-science)</p>
<p>If you choose the sample “small, prestigious program”, Rochester is ranked #1 in the nation. It’s consistently ranked among the top 3 as long as you’re not concerned with size or undergraduate selectivity. </p>
<p>The undergraduate program of Rochester is not as renowned as its graduate program, but if you’re looking to major in political science, Rochester should be one of your top choices anyhow. Their reputation in the social sciences is disproportionate to their undergraduate selectivity, which means you have a large chance of getting in with merit aid while receiving a top-notch education.</p>
<p>The poli sci department is our highest ranked program, but I agree that rankings should not be a major factor in determining your school of choice. One of the advantages that our students have is access to research - as an undergraduate, you would be able to explore your specific interests within the department with a little more flexibilility. It is also important to understand what it means to study poli sci in a curriculum like Rochester’s, which is particularly unique in the freedom it provides students.</p>
<p>My biggest piece of advice - visit campus. It will provide for you the best information and the strongest sense of what Rochester is all about.</p>
<p>Arisamp… so glad to read that your daughter had such a positive experience on campus - if you or she has any questions, let me know!</p>