<p>hi, i'm a junior looking at colleges, and i was mainly focused on small LACs in the past. however, i recently visited American, and i loved how many opportunities it seemed to offer in comparison to the smaller schools i was looking at, so now i'm thinking about looking into more schools that are a little bigger, say 5-7,000. i'll give some stats, interests, and schools i was looking into, so could you guys maybe help me out with suggestions of universities to check out? thanks so much!</p>
<p>stats:
-top 10% of class
-WGPA: 4.3, 4.36 at the end of this year (big upward trend: 4.25, 4.35, 4.5)
-UW GPA: around 3.8, 2.9
-SAT: 2350
-ok ECs, nothing great (in chorus, amnesty, photo club, president of GSA)</p>
<p>what i'm looking for:
-a strong IR/poly sci program
-needs to offer arabic
-politically involved student body
-good academics, but not snobby </p>
<p>Georgetown University (probably School of Foreign Service). Your stats, interests, and college preferences scream Georgetown.</p>
<p>7,000 undergrads, a match for your stats, great academics, among the best for PoliSci, arguably the best for IR (SFS), has an Arabic department, in a great part of DC, among the most politically active student bodies.</p>
<p>The other schools named here seem good fits, too, but Georgetown is the picture of what you described.</p>
<p>everyone, thanks for your suggestions so far! i’m definitely looking into william and mary now, as well as carnegie mellon and chicago.</p>
<p>billymc, that’s a great suggestion, and maybe i’ll continue looking into it; georgetown obviously has great programs in politics- my only concern is how conservative and catholic the campus is. i’m quite liberal, and while i enjoy talking to conservatives, i’d rather be in a place that’s a little more moderate (i’m basing this assumption off the feeling i got when i visited gtown a few weeks ago, so it may not be entirely accurate, just how i felt). do you think i should continue looking into it even if i didn’t really care for it initially when i visited?</p>
The Jesuits are the most liberal of the major Catholic orders, and Georgetown is generally regarded as the most liberal of their schools. While there’s certainly a Catholic atmosphere if you want one, they also have campus pastors, ministers, rabbis, and imams. Catholics make up ~50% of the students (as opposed to Notre Dame’s 85%), so there is not only regional diversity, but religious diversity, as well.</p>
<p>Honestly, I have never heard anyone else refer to Georgetown as conservative. It is often based by conservative Catholics as being too liberal or not Catholic enough (it’s plenty Catholic enough for those that want to go to Mass, just nothing is forced on you if you don’t want it). The student body is mainly liberal. The school is anti-abortion, of course, but the policy of Social Justice more resembles socialism than capitalism (though capitalism is represented in the business school). Georgetown could be more moderate, but that’s because it leans left, not right. I’m interested in how you got the opposite impression (was it the priests on campus?).</p>
<p>yeah, i think it was the whole idea of the live-in jesuits in the dorms and how even though they stress that there’s no real pressure, everything just seemed to be based on catholicism, which isn’t a problem, but it’s not really for me. since you have so many good things to say about gtown and others are seconding your advice, i guess i’ll keep it on my list and maybe do an overnight if i get in to get a better idea of the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Well, if you aren’t comfortable with Catholic priests and a somewhat Catholic atmosphere, then Georgetown probably isn’t for you (no college is for everyone).</p>
<p>hahaha good point; i’m sure that it would actually be ok, so i guess i’ll decide whether or not to apply after i’ve done more colleges tours to really narrow down what i’m looking for in a school. i think georgetown is probably not right for me, but it’s definitely worth a second look. thanks for all your input! :)</p>
<p>Tufts seems right for you. They are arguably the best for international relations, have Arabic, obviously a respected school, people are friendly and happy, it’s one of the most gay friendly schools in the nation, it’s pretty much in Boston (you can see the skyline from campus), students are obviously politically active, etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>ok, thanks for the suggestion- it’s a great school, the only problem is i don’t want to go to school in massachusetts, so unless there was nothing comparable i really wouldn’t look into an MA school- nothing against it obviously, i just really want to get out of state b/c i don’t want to spend the first 22 years of my life in the exact same place (sorry for not mentioning that earlier, i need to get out of MA and preferably i want to be in a different region, just to experience something new).</p>
<p>That’s true, Johns Hopkins is a well-respected name in IR. It’s one of their largest majors, according to Princeton Review’s college guidebook. A 10 second Google search reveals that they have Arabic, and they’re certainly on a high academic level.</p>
<p>And don’t forget the s in Johns Hopkins, they get snippy about that.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m in a similar scenario. Junior, polisci/IR, medium-sized school.</p>
<p>I loved Johns Hopkins and Georgetown. JHU has a first-rate IR program, easy Washington access, and an expansive foreign language program. Being Jewish, the Catholic thing was a concern for me at Georgetown as well. Yes, they have crosses on the walls, and yes, there are religious services. However, to me there was very much a
“religion-optional” sense to it. Also, the ethos of the Jesuits appeals to me: a focus on learning rather than acquiring wealth.</p>
<p>Other schools I’m considering that you may wish to check out are Columbia, Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis, Duke, and UNC-Chapel Hill (a bit big, however).</p>
<p>^yeah, brandeis is a great school- it would probably be on my list if i was considering MA schools. i really wish i was open to staying in MA (i just really want to experience a different area); there are so many great schools here…</p>
![http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Clinton_at_Georgetown_1967.jpg]And](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Clinton_at_Georgetown_1967.jpg%5DAnd){kind=link}
