Hi guys, I plan to go into something along the lines of International Relations/Political Science and am currently choosing between these three schools. Which of these three has the best program for this field of study?
Anyone have any idea?
Northeastern has an advantage of international co-op, or co-op’s in DC if you go the political science route. I know Northeastern is well regarded in international business, so I assume some of that would transfer over. Lots of various study abroad options too. I don’t know the program specifically that well though, nor at either of the other schools.
With Oxford, you essentially start out at a LAC – small classes, lots of direct prof interaction – and end up at Emory, which is a top-25 private U. Emory is the most prestigious of the three.
Northeastern’s strength is its co-op program (if you would like a co-op year…).
Miami is in a really nice area.
What’s your COA at each school?
@prezbucky cost of attendance is around the same, but I’m not too concerned about the cost. It’s more about the program, prestige and social life. I feel like Northeastern’s co-op program is a little useless to me since I want to go to graduate school anyway. Going to Oxford means I’m part of Emory University but I’m concerned about the social life/workload at Oxford. What would you say for my specific program is the best?
@prezbucky also would you say going to Oxford would be a good choice?
I’m not sure which is the best for IR or Poli Sci – maybe others can comment on that.
I would say that going to Oxford would be a good choice for you if you feel you would fit well there and would enjoy being at Emory later on. That isn’t a decisive answer, but I want you to think about the cultures and environments of the schools – and academics, obviously – before deciding.
As for social life and work load at Oxford, I would want to see what @bernie12 thinks about Oxford and Emory. He may also have insights into Emory’s International Studies and Poli Sci programs.
@siii432 : You are concerned about the workload (maybe be concerned about the social life as it is a small school that is LAC style, but the workload?)? Uhmmm, a higher workload is what makes a social science and a humanities degree more respected (hate to say it, but since humanities and soc. sciences have gotten a reputation for too light workloads at too many places, they do not signal super well from most schools, except to super GPA sensitive options like Law School) than what they would be otherwise unless you are just using them as a vehicle to gain entry to law school (where Emory has super strong placement into T-14s, especially now). Oxford would provide excellent entry level training in political science and then main campus at Emory provides very robust co-curricular opportunities (Carter Center opps is one among many others:http://polisci.emory.edu/home/undergraduate/special_programs/index.html) to further build upon that training. However, Emory’s political science program is now much more research, stats, and writing based (it always has been more so than normal as it is one of the few programs that has a math/polisci joint major, but now it requires upper division courses that require a large research paper and an emphasis on using much more statistics and quantitative methods to do the research. This along with any internships and co-curriculars in the field makes you more prepared for graduate school (they specifically re-structured the political science major to make students concentrate in an area of political science and go more in depth with learning in it as opposed to just picking random courses off of a menu) and more marketable to jobs. In addition, Emory has the QSS major which gives even more quantitative training in the field (which will make you stand out). The point is, unless you just need the major and a high GPA in it for law school, then you probably need a more rigorous program that provides more exposure to research and quantitative skills if you want to work or do graduate work in those fields. A cruisefest will not make you particularly competitive. You will drown in a sea of job applicants with primarily just basic coursework.
As suggested, Emory(I emphasize main campus because most soc. science majors do not get true access to upper division courses and co-curricular opps until junior year which is when you continue to main) overall is known for a more rigorous political science program than normal, whether on Oxford or main campus. It isn’t one of the social sciences where students go in expecting to completely skate. And also, the really good instructors are just by their nature, more rigorous than more average and below average instructors. Like all the instructors who teach the “law” related courses in the 300s(usually 350s) are known to be rigorous. Shapiro at Oxford is well-respected and is known to be quite rigorous in his standards. Typically if you want a good education or one that “signals”, you have to work. With that said, I would say that, political science at Emory, like any social science major, has plenty of people with super strong grades and a good social life. It isn’t as tough as some STEM majors. Even with a more rigorous instructor, if you put in the work, you know what you’ll get. And given the norms of social sciences, when there needs to be a curve in these instructors’ courses, it is much bigger than comparative STEM curves. You will rarely be super overwhelmed or uncertain about your class standing.
@bernie12 hey thanks for the reply! I really apppreciate it, I understand whole heartedly what you’re saying about the rigor and workload. It is definitely always a good thing - particularly for the LSATS. So over the other two schools I mentioned you recommend I go to Oxford College of Emory University then? Also about the social life, I wasn’t referring to the social life being bad because of the workload, I was more questioning whether there is anything to do on campus on weekends, in nearby towns etc.
@bernie And yes I am looking to go to Law School or the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.
@siii432 I cannot and should not make that decision for you. You have to decide what you want socially and in an education. You either really want the research 1 medium sized or large campus vibe and being in or near a city or not. If not being right next to an urban area will be a huge bummer, eliminate Oxford. You can go to Atlanta on weekends and I am sure Oxford has its own activities and traditions, but again, it is more akin to an LAC located a distance from an urban or suburban area (okay, they have a shuttle into one of the more legit suburban areas of Atlanta, and there is stuff there, but it isn’t the city). But academically, it is a great place to start for this and Emory is a great place to end. It depends on your values and what you want. See how much and in what way you value academics, find the academic fit, and then find the social fit, and way pros and cons.
Also, please keep an open mind. There are many great law schools that are highly ranked and will excel in that area. Do not, as an incoming freshman limit your scope to a single career and even more, a specific school.
LSAT is disconnected from coursework. You do benefit from courses that teach analytical skills or logic however. More intensity is just better for your employability and/or personal development. Also experience with some areas (or being able to reference a research project or quantitative skills gained from a course or project) can help competitiveness for internships and key undergraduate fellowships that make you standout unless you are already just super connected so will have access to that no matter what you do academically (and believe me, at a place like Emory, there are tons of such people).