I posted earlier about George Washington vs. McGill, but after receiving financial aid information I’ve decided that GW isn’t realistic. However, as American University offered some money, I’m now thinking about going there. The price I would pay for either University is about the same, so tuition isn’t really a factor, but I am having trouble making a decision. I love McGill, and it is by far my favorite school, but I want to study international relations which McGill only offers as a minor for a political science major. American has one of the best IR programs(ranked 10 according to Foreign Policy magazine), but in general McGill is a higher ranked school. Montreal is a very international city but DC may provide me better opportunities and internships. After college, I plan to go to Grad School and hope to one day work in the US Foreign Service or at the State Department. If anyone has any input that could help with my decision, or any resources that may provide me with more information, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
TL;DR: McGil (Montreal)l or American University(DC) for a student who wishes to study International Relations and possibly go into US politics?
McGill is a very respected school. When we’d review applicants for graduate programs from McGill we considered them to be coming from a nearly Ivy Plus caliber school-if that says anything. That is not true about american or about GW.
I am in a similar position, I decided to choose American University over more-highly rated universities because of the honors program scholarship. If you want to work in the US, DC has so many opportunities and AU can help. On the other hand, McGill is a great university, if you won’t end up in deep debt it would be good to go with that.
In my opinion the main thing in undergrad is to avoid debt because you don’t want to be starting your career after college with a huge amount of money you will have to pay off, in addition to all the other expenses of having to support yourself. This is doubly the case if you plan on doing a graduate degree or med/law school: you need to make sure you graduate from your bachelors with reasonable finances before you even consider a post-grad degree because those generally cost you more money and you do not want to get buried in student loans. In this case if you don’t feel super strongly one way or the other, go with the cheaper option and leave yourself more flexibility 4 years down the road.
If grad school is in the works, you can aim for D.C. or thereabouts at that time.
IR, as you probably know, can be considered a sub-field of political science, so with respect to your career, it’s no big deal to graduate with a PS major, especially if you can focus on IR in grad studies. IR is broad and interdisciplinary >> check McGill for coursework that touches upon IR. If they offer a minor, good enough.
On the other hand, if undergrad internships are very important to you (in the subfield/job you eventually want to work in), then American has an advantage. Phone McGill and clear up what internships are on offer in Ottawa (or if you can create one).
