<p>Anyways, I thought it would become clearer once decisions came in. Unfortunately it didn't. I cut Michigan because they gave me crap financial aid being an out-of-stater, and being a big school, I couldn't justify UM's cost while OSU was there. I also got into Xavier, but meh.</p>
<p>Anyways, I'm looking into going into political science. I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons of each school.</p>
<p>Northwestern
Six Hours from Home
~$23k Financial Aid Help</p>
<p>Ohio State
Three Hours from Home
~$7k Financial Aid Help</p>
<p>Miami
Four Hours from Home
~$8k Financial Aid Help</p>
<p>Case Western
30 minutes from Home
~30k Financial Aid Help</p>
<p>1000000% go to Northwestern unless that extra money from Case Western makes some sort of BIG difference. Northwestern is just flat out the best school on that list.</p>
<p>So far as I am concerned, it’s between NU and tOSU for Political Science Major! While overall, NU (medium size private) is a much higher ranked academic institution, tOSU (large public) ranks higher in Poli Sci and it is the best public university in the state of Ohio based on USNWR (higher PA score as well than CWRU & Miami-Oxford).</p>
<p>Ohio State’s Political Science Department is ranked 13th in the country by US News & World Report, with the American politics section fifth, international politics 12th and political methodology 10th. Simon Hix of The London School of Economics (LSE) ranked it as the fourth best political science department in the world, based on publications. Foreign Policy Magazine recently ranked it as the 15th best Ph.D. program in the world for the study of international relations while noting Professor Alexander Wendt as the third most influential scholar of international relations in the world. Source: <a href=“Ohio State News”>Ohio State News;
<p>TOSU’s Political Science (Graduate) > Northwestern based on USNWR:</p>
<p>Of all the universities you listed, tOSU is the ‘only one’ that offers unparalleled program(s) for undergrads who seek internship and post-graduate clerkship opportunities in the state house due to its proximity to the Capital (thanks to the well-established networkings between prominent university professors and state politicians). Furthermore, tOSU should cost much less than NU if you are in-state even with the financial-aid. Lastly, the school is becoming more and more competitive and academically-focused as of late, I believe the application for Ohio State has gone up ~30% this year with numerous new facilities on campus, such as the state-of-the-art Main library and Student Union recently opened to the students. So, overall, I would definitely give tOSU a strong consideration! </p>
<p>I will second Sparkeye7’s praise of Ohio State’s Political Science Department. It is truly excellent. If the OP is certain about studying political science, and particularly if the net cost at OSU is less than at Northwestern, OSU merits serious consideration.</p>