<p>Hello !
I would really appreciate some input on this.</p>
<p>I got into the School of Public Affairs at American with a good scholarship.
I got into BU, which has a great International Relations major
and I am waitlisted at GW, where I am hoping to get in, but
my other two choices are still really tempting.</p>
<p>I want to go into law and international affairs and something possibly along the lines of linguistics and journalism.</p>
<p>I have visited all three schools, but I do not know which one is the best to choose. Fit wise, GW is perfect. BU is great but it is very cold. And American's campus is not the best but if the education can make up for it, I can deal with it. </p>
<p>I don't know what to do.
I need to make a deposit in a couple of days at either American or BU.
They both have their advantages and disadvantages for me.</p>
<p>Does anyone know from experience or can tell me where the best place is to go (especially considering what I want to major in) ? I'm very stuck.</p>
<p>American is ranked far, far ahead of Boston University for undergraduate IR in the rankings listed in Foreign Policy magazine (2007) - tied for 10th with GW, ahead of Tufts, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Williams, Duke, and Swarthmore. And the internship opportunities, articulated with the curriculum beginning in your first year, can't be topped. </p>
<p>Rankings of IR undergraduate programs published in the March/April 2007 issue of Foreign Policy magazine:</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard University 48%</li>
<li>Princeton University 46%</li>
<li>Stanford University 30%</li>
<li>Georgetown University 28%</li>
<li>Columbia University 28%</li>
<li>Yale University 23%</li>
<li>University of Chicago 21%</li>
<li>University of California-Berkeley 12%</li>
<li>Dartmouth College 11%</li>
<li>George Washington University 10%</li>
<li>American University 10%</li>
<li>University of Michigan 9%</li>
<li>Tufts University 8%</li>
<li>Swarthmore College 8%</li>
<li>University of California-San Diego 8%</li>
<li>Cornell University 6%</li>
<li>Brown University 6%</li>
<li>Williams College 5%</li>
<li>Duke University 5%</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University 5%</li>
</ol>
<p>(Personally, from talking with students, I think GW is way overrated.)</p>
<p>My d. thought it was her first choice, and visited three times, and we have alums in the family. Each time it seemed worse. Students told us of many adjunct professors, often excellent (from within DC), but who couldn't be found later for recommendations for internships, jobs, or grad school applications. The food plan is an abomination (you get to spend your bucks at a bunch of fast food places - my d. would never have found anything to eat on a regular basis.) The housing was physically excellent, but 1,200 first-years in one zooey apartment building, with no sources of advice on courses, professors, etc. (forget the social environment). Articulation between, say, the business school and international studies seemed indifferent, and students told us of difficulties getting real help from their advisors. From what we can tell, internships were catch as catch can - now, this is DC and there are plenty of them - but, again, advising seemed indifferent. We found none of these issues at American. Now I think GW is a fine school, but other than location, it certainly seemed no better - in any area - than our local state university (which is pretty good!) For the price, I think students should expect - and demand - more.</p>
<p>I do know several happy students at GW - many of these complaints came from the happy ones.</p>