Hello Everyone,
I am looking at good political science safety schools in California. I have all A’s with a weighted GPA above 4.5, a 1950 on the SAT, and a 30+ on the ACT. Any good political science schools that I could almost definitely get into? Also, merit scholarships would be nice. What are the best CSU’s for political science? And could I consider Occidental a safety? I have some pretty strong ECs. Thanks!
There really aren’t rankings or evaluations for individual undergraduate departments - most rankings of departments focus on the doctoral programs, so if a university doesn’t have a doctoral program in a field they won’t necessarily be ranked. And with good reason - undergraduates don’t go to college for a “program”; they go to college for an overall degree. Most of your classes won’t be in political science - they’ll be in gen eds and divisional requirements. And a good deal of your experience will be about atmosphere and your classmates. I’m not saying you shouldn’t care at all about the departmental strength in your area; just that it shouldn’t be one of the primary concerns, IMO, especially in an ubiquitous social science field.
Any of the good Cal States with a political science department would work. Cal Poly SLO has a political science major, as does Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Long Beach, SFSU and SJSU. (I’m actually pretty sure all of the Cal States have that major, but I know these are some of the strongest Cal States in general.) If you are interested in poli sci, Cal State also has the Cal State DC Scholars program (http://hss.fullerton.edu/cal_state_dc/index.aspx).
What is a 30+ on the ACT? Do you have a 30, or do you have over a 30? Occidental isn’t a safety for you - it’s a match. Your SAT and ACT scores fall squarely in the middle of it’s accepted student range, and 43% of incoming students have a GPA over 3.75.
Are you applying to UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara?
An obvious Cal State for poly sci is Sacramento State, but I would strongly look into San Diego State and San Francisco State to get Cal State safety schools.
Have you considered Chapman or Santa Clara University?
If you’re willing to go up one state, look into Willamette University. You will be admitted and the school is literally across the street from the Oregon state capitol as well as an hour by train to Portland.
I am applying to Davis, but one of the main reasons for looking at CSUs is cost: I could probably get merit scholarships.
CSU’s do not give very many merit scholarships and few are automatic so you would have to apply based on each school’s scholarship website info. Most FA is need based at the UC’s and Cal states, so I would not count on merit at these schools. The UC’s do offer Regents for the top 1% of applicants but again check each schools website for scholarship information. If costs are an issue, then CSU’s have low tuition if you are within commuting distance. If you want merit scholarships, look at some California privates instead but your ACT would need to be in the 32+ range.