I’m a high school junior from California, and in the IB program. I’m interested in studying International Relations (and/or International Studies) - thinking about a career in the Foreign Service, or CIA. I’m also considering minoring in Business. I will not qualify for any financial aid, and so I am looking for a school with decent merit aid. Since I’ve heard that where you go for your undergraduate degree doesn’t matter as much as where you go for your graduate degree, I have been looking into colleges less expensive than Georgetown, Princeton, etc. I would prefer a college in the South, but it is not an absolutely important factor for me, and I am open to other colleges in other regions. The colleges I’ve been interested in so far are:
UT Austin
Georgia
Arkansas
Baylor
Ole Miss
Florida State
Emory
Oklahoma
I would appreciate any input on which school(s) might be better, and if there are other colleges that I am overlooking. Thank you!
I would take Emory off the list; unless you have stellar GPA/test scores, you will not get “decent merit aid” from them.
The Croft Institute at Ole Miss is a good choice. You might want to consider the International Studies Program at the College of Charleston (COC); the University of South Carolina (USC) offers a B.A. in international studies through its Department of Political Science. Both COC and USC (which are public universities) have honors colleges/programs as well, and offer merit aid to OOS students.
I realize that my scores would be helpful, but right now I’m just interested in learning about different colleges with good International Relations/International Studies programs. I appreciate anyone’s advice.
IR is a ‘hot’ major right now- one of the most popular. When you have a ‘hot’ major it makes first jobs in that field harder to get because there are a lot of people with the same qualifications coming on the market every June. Even if you are coming from one of the top ‘name’ programs (the recognized list is [here](http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/)) the really good jobs require a masters- and almost all the masters (and all the good ones) require several years work experience before you can apply. State Department is tough for fresh-out-of-college students anymore.
All of this is not to discourage you, but to help you focus on what to prioritize. First, as @dadof1 says, run the NPCs for all the colleges you consider. You want to be as near to debt-free as possible, to have money for grad school. Second, look at the program and opportunities/support for internships, study abroad, terms in DC, connections with other institutions. Third, seriously commit to being fully bilingual, and look at each colleges IR major for evidence that they expect/support that.
Be judicious in considering ranking: schools tend to be seen by employers in tiers. Small differences in rankings won’t matter as much to potential employers as the other pieces - internships/international + DC experience/languages are how you will differentiate yourself from all the other IR grads.
Some of the top IR schools are: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Georgetown, Yale, University of Chicago, Dartmouth, George Washington, & American.
Definitely run the NPCs, though, since most of the top schools are pricey.
If you want a less expensive option, then I would concentrate on your in-state publics. There are so many excellent options in CA. You can always study abroad or in another part of the US for a year to get a more diverse experience.