I already have some reaches including Duke and Georgetown, and I will also be applying to the University of Miami, UNC Chapel Hill, GWU, and BU.
I am looking for a strong International relations/security studies/regional studies and language programs. I would prefer to be in a city or large town.
I have a 31 ACT, and I graduated from a top New England boarding school with around a 3.6 UW GPA, with a strong upward trend.
A few of my extracurriculars:
-Highly selective State Department scholarship to study Persian in Tajikistan (NSLI-Y)
Went abroad to Colombia sophomore year
Currently working as a paid teaching assistant at a school in Colombia
-Elected board member of the Spanish Language and Culture Club
-Studied Arabic in Lebanon over the summer
-Wrote for a website helping to close the education gap among bilingual students in CT
-Volunteered on the school farm
-Wrote for the school newspaper for 4 years
-Helped supervise students during study hall
-Played JV Hockey for 4 years
-Will be working in a Lebanese refugee camp in the Spring
Please help me find another match and a safety! Thanks!
Forgot to mention, currently taking a gap year and have already committed to a school outside the US (yes, they are OK with me sending in a few more apps!)
Macaelster (sp?) in St. Paul would be good for international relations and languages. Smaller school but urban location.
American also comes to mind since you’re already applying to GW and Georgetown and their focus on international relations is well-known and respected. DC would be fantastic for internships.
William & Mary but it’s prolly a reach too for OOS.
Large public universities are your best bet if you want to continue with Persian – UMD College Park, U Arizona, Indiana U, U Washington, etc.
The University of Maryland is particularly worth a look, since it’s the only college that offers both an Arabic flagship program and Persian flagship program.
Apparently, American really does not like to be used as a “safety” between Georgetown and GWU, and considers “level of applicant’s interest” to be “very important”. An applicant who is “overqualified” and is (or appears to be) applying to Georgetown and/or GWU may be a waitlist candidate.
Thanks for your response. As I am currently taking a gap year in a foreign country and already applied to colleges last year, I have received little advice this year. I also have no financial restrictions.
Agree with @ucbalumnus , although on OP’s stats s/he’s more a match for GW and reach for Georgetown (as mentioned in OP) and well within the American range for offers, I think. Lack of demonstrated interest would probably count against for American, but they do have webinars which is one way to show it. On D’s naviance, the rejections/waitlists at the upper end for American tend to start at around 4 unweighted, which is also close to the Georgetown admit average - I rather suspect that’s linked.
TL;DR: I think GW is a highly likely admit for this profile and American a match to add.
James Madison University - Virginia. JMU kids compete with grads from more prestigious schools in the workforce - my daughter graduated with a degree in International Relations and has a job in govt. consulting. Alum network is awesome. In addition to IR degree, there is a niche program in Intelligence Analysis https://www.jmu.edu/ia/index.shtml. One option for study abroad is Jordan. There is a major and minor in Arabic as well - http://www.jmu.edu/arabiyya/
St. Louis University would be a safety for you. They have a campus in Madrid, and offer programs where you can spend two full years on the Madrid campus before completing your degree in St. Louis. Both the International Relations major and the Middle East Studies major are available through this program, plus quite a few others. https://www.slu.edu/madrid/academics/degrees-and-programs/madrid-st-louis-majors.php