<p>D has a 3.25 uw and 3.6 weighted. 1970 SAT and 28 ACT. She has strong ECs and 4 APs. Looking for a mid size school (4K -20k). Location less important but prefers either coast. She is looking for a respected, well structured Global/International Studies program under $50K. Any feedback?</p>
<p>Kalamazoo College
Muhlenberg College
Macalster College</p>
<p>only muhlenberg is on the east coast
all three are amazing</p>
<p>American University. Right in DC, extremely intl. focused, and some merit could come your way.</p>
<p>A good school for your daughter’s interests and stats would be American University, but it costs a little over $50K. A less expensive alternative might be the University of Maryland (< $40K out-of-state), although it has over 26K undergraduates (plus over 10K grad students). UC San Diego (like American) makes the “Inside the Ivory Tower” list of top IR programs, and is (just barely) under your $50K limit for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>[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)</p>
<p>I should have been more specific regarding the major she is looking for. Her interests are more along the lines of International Development or Regional Studies rather than politics or or foreign policy. She took American U off her list because of the heavy emphasis on political science and policy as well as the political activism on campus.</p>
<p>Macalester again. Good for International Studies. They have an International Development major with area concentrations and a good reputation. </p>
<p>[About</a> - International Development - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/internationaldevelopment/about/]About”>About - International Development - Macalester College)</p>
<p>^ Macalester is interesting, but it costs over $50K/year, it’s small (not mid-sized), it’s not on either coast, and it would be a reach.</p>
<p>By “regional studies”, what region(s) does she have in mind?
Latin American Studies? East Asian Studies? Something else?</p>
<p>Latin American regional studies</p>
<p>I’m not sure your D has done enough research on American. Its School of International Service and its College of Arts and Sciences jointly offer a BA in “Language and Area Studies: Spanish/Latin America”. The description of the program does not seem to imply heavy poli sci and policy, though some political science grounding would be required, as I think it would be in any similar program elsewhere. As for the political activism on campus, I think your D is seriously overestimating its impact. My D is quite non-political and whatever political activism there is on campus is barely on her radar. AU students have a wide variety of interests; the image some have of students spending all their time rallying for one political cause of another is a total fallacy. That said, your D’s stats are not a sure thing for AU, and are definitely not the level required for a merit award.</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid & Tuition - Admissions & Financial Aid - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/admissions/financialaid/]Financial”>Financial Aid & Tuition - Admissions & Aid) </p>
<p>Depending on the financial aid status of the student, Macalester could very well be affordable as they meet 100% of demonstrated need. I can’t tell whether the 50k is total or annual. If total then the family might be eligible for good grants and a nice loan package from Macalester.</p>