I decided very recently I am going to VCU after being waitlisted to my top schools. Now I am kind of unsure and scared because a lot of my first choice schools were so prestigious I wasn’t necessarily concerned about the strength of their political science program specifically.
So basically does anyone know if the program is any good? does the “goodness” of the program even matter if I end up graduating with a high gpa or pursue grad school (not law school)? Is there anything that makes it stand out?
Is it too risky that I should consider another major?
i don’t know what I want to be I just know I enjoy gov/politics classes in high school and I get a 100 in every AP history/government class I’ve taken without making myself miserable studying. I really do enjoy it. Please honest responses, don’t tell me what I want to hear.
Outside of that, here’s my two cents (as a mere entering freshman at that, so take it with a grain of salt):
Does the “goodness” of the program even matter if I end up graduating with a high gpa or pursue grad school (not law school)?
I’d say it would obviously be better for you as a student wanting to learn if your program is as good as possible. With that being said, in the grand scheme of your life and career, a graduate degree from an impressive institution may very well overshadow your undergraduate education, marginalizing any major impacts you may interpret it has on your success. I would say that the impact of a high GPA alone, on the other hand, does depend on the “goodness” of the program for many employers/sources when entering competitive job markets (assuming the employer knows their stuff).
Is there anything that makes it stand out?
I would say that you can make most of your achievements stand out independently of your program’s strength by engaging in interesting projects and related endeavors (internships or jobs, maybe) during its completion. This will set the impression that you are passionate about what you do, take initiatives, and have probably accumulated a lot of experience when comparing to other applicants with similar degrees straight from college. This advice should hold true both for employers and graduate programs.
Is it too risky that I should consider another major?
Majors are only worth as much as what you do with them. Do you think you can get a good job with that combination? You should probably consider what you want to be before you can make a judgement call on the question. With that being said, I wouldn’t do an international relations concentration with poli sci simply because it seems a bit too close to it (IR is already an important part of PS, so it sounds to me like majoring in Comp Eng with a Comp Sci concentration). I would maybe go with a Poli Sci with either a BA (unless you intend to go for an MBA), Finance, or Economics to increase your demand. On another hand, a concentration in something like Statistics or Comp Sci may open some unique opportunities. But in the end, it’s up to you! if you think Poli Sci w/ IR is what you need/love to do, go for it, I guess.
Thank you so much this was so helpful and thoughtful. I got a 5 on the AP statistics exam and I tutor stat part time so when you mentioned Stat I immediately thought that it could be something that will work out. I dont know why I didnt consider concentrating or minoring in it. I will definitely keep that in mind. thanks again