NYU is a very city-based school. The campus is integrated into the city and it is likely that you will spend much of your time there. Compared to other schools, there is a lack of a traditional campus and your life off campus will be as much or more than your time on it. This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. As I understand it, you apply to the IR program after your freshman year and about 25-45 students are accepted each year after taking the prereqs and you must maintain a 3.65 GPA. I can’t comment on the quality of the program, but I imagine it is respectable. (See more http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1516389-interested-in-international-relations-at-nyu-here%C2%92s-what-you-need-to-know-p1.html)
The Joint Degree Program with St Andrews is truly a unique program where you spend two years at WM and two years at St Andrews. Both have a really solid reputation for international relations and many people go to St Andrews to study just that (it is the most competitive of the joint degree program applications). However, you shouldn’t attend just for that reason and there are many things to consider. The students who have done it have said that they have had an unique experience that has given them an slight edge in terms of applying to jobs/internships because there aren’t many programs like it. Other benefits include priority registration and honors level research/classes. Also, St Andrews for IR is well respected in Europe if working there after graduation interests you. However, its for the right type of person. If spending two years at each school excites you, great! If the thought makes you nervous, I recommend doing further research into the program by reaching out to current students and attending the reception on Admitted Students Weekend. @StAWM2015 is also a senior in the program.
The last option is to simply attend William and Mary. This is the option I chose. William and Mary has many incredible opportunities on its own. The professors I have had for international relations have been absolutely phenomenal and there are many opportunities in the international relations field. This summer (I am a first year) I am doing a geocoding internship with [url =<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/offices/itpir/aiddata/”>http://www.wm.edu/offices/itpir/aiddata/</a>] AidData , an organization that tracks international aid, that works on campus. There are many alumni in the DC area, particularly in the area of IR/government and opportunities won’t be lacking. Among the extracurricular activities, the IR is one of the largest [url =<a href=“http://www.wmirc.org/%5Dclubs%5B/url”>http://www.wmirc.org/]clubs[/url] on campus, undergraduates can publish in an [url =<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/internationalrelations/resourcesforstudents/organizations/index.php%5Dinternational”>http://www.wm.edu/as/internationalrelations/resourcesforstudents/organizations/index.php]international relations journal, and there are numerous opportunities for study abroad or immersion through language houses.One of my friends this year (also a freshman) is a research assistant intern for [url =<a href=“Research | William & Mary”>Research | William & Mary</a>] PIPS /url where they write policy proposals for people in actual leadership positions. Also, the CIA agents came in once and did an crisis simulation training with them. Like I said, there are many opportunities available that really are not lacking.
William and Mary and NYU are similar in the sense that both their IR programs are very interdisciplinary and they pull from many different subject areas - history, econ, languages, government, ect. However, they are completely different environments and the structure of the schools are different (WM is liberal arts focused but you can declare your major anytime as long as you have the credits, NYU you have to apply to be accepted to the different majors/schools) St. Andrews will also have a different environment as it will allow for a more focused education alongside the traditional WM one. I was also accepted to the St Andrews program, but I chose to attend WM because it already offers you so much and I found that I wasn’t ready to spend two years in another country just yet. It’s a personal choice.
Anyways, I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask. I highly recommend visiting both schools again, prefferably during the admitted students weekends and talking to the students. It was a big deciding factor for me and I am glad where I ended up. Best of luck in your decision making!