Political Science/International Relations schools?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am a high school junior (soon to be senior) who is looking for colleges with good political science and/or international relations programs. My stats are posted below, and my main internal conflict is whether or not to go to a nice school that I may have to pay a lot for, or go to a state school where I risk a slightly less impressive academic curriculum. I plan to go to law school afterward if that helps. I am really looking for some top or close to top tier schools that are notorious for giving out merit based financial aid (my parents income is >$150,000), or good state schools.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 Unweighted
Classes: AP US History, AP Government, AP Microeconomics, Honors English all four years, Math up to and including Pre-Calc, Newspaper, three years of science, three years of Japanese
SAT: 2100 (750 CR, 710 Math, 640 Writing)
ACT: 34 Composite
Awards: Top Japanese Student for three years, Top Physics Student, Top Social Studies Student, Academic Honor Roll all four years
ECs: Cross Country/Track for four years, National Honors Society, Volunteer work here and there, summer jobs, senior internship program, Indiana Boys State (it's like a student government program), National Merit Scholarship competitor</p>

<p>Schools I am looking at (I don't plan on applying to all of them):
UVA
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Chicago
Indiana University (I am an Indiana resident)
Vanderbilt
Tufts
Brown
Georgetown
Boston University
Boston College
Amherst College</p>

<p>I would really appreciate it if anyone could tell me if these are good fits academically, and whether or not my list of schools right now seems adequate or not. Again, I really appreciate who even took the time to read all of this, let alone respond to it.</p>

2

<p>Tufts and Georgetown are both extremely good schools known for IR/political science. DC especially is undoubtedly the best place to be for politics. I don't know anything specific about merit-based scholarship policies, but many of these top schools do not offer this. Still, there are plenty of outside scholarships available to offset the cost.</p>

<p>Your stats are good, but there are no guarantees. Perhaps you might want to get involved in more extracurriculars, especially relating to law/politics. What kind of jobs have you had/will have? Colleges like to see leadership and commitment. Take challenging classes: your list of APs is exactly what they will look for. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I think you're being very logical and reasonable about your approach, choices, and options.</p>

<p>I have a few suggestions for you:</p>

<p>(1) Try to figure out what kind of environment you prefer. I do not simply mean temperature; give consideration to the size of the school, its geographic location, and the school's culture.</p>

<p>(2) I mention the above because your list seems to jump from one extreme to another (ie: Wisconsin-Madison vis-a-vis Amherst College). Continuing along that vain, I would suggest that if you're looking into law school, spending money on an institution such as Boston University may not be worthwhile when you can find as good if not better Political Science/International Relations programs elsewhere for similar or significantly lower tuition rates.</p>

<p>(3) Some other schools to consider: Duke; UNC; Cornell; UMich; Columbia; NYU; GWU; UMD; Johns Hopkins.</p>

<p>The above schools do not all have specific and/or separate International Relations programs; however, they do feature well-respected and rigorous Political Science majors. Furthermore, many Political Science programs offer "international" concentrations.</p>

<p>Some of the schools I've listed are likely safeties for you; others are obviously not safeties for anyone. Several of the aforementioned institutions may also be in locations not to your liking.</p>

<p>Your task is to take your admirable qualifications and an expansive list of terrific schools and narrow it down based on reaches, matches, and safeties while bearing in mind your own personal preferences and inclinations.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>UMD=University of Maryland, right?</p>

<p>thank you guys very much, anyone else have any suggestions?</p>

5

<p>I can't quite get a handle on any unifying theme in your list, so I don't know whether it's the right school for you. But, Foreign Policy magazine includes Swarthmore as one of only three liberal arts colleges on their list of top graduate/undergraduat international relations programs.</p>

<p>In addition, Swarthmore is the #1 producer of Poli Sci/Govt. PhDs per graduate among all colleges and universities in the country. It's a powerhouse in political science and social sciences in general.</p>

<p>Again, it may or may not be the kind of school you are looking for, but it would certainly be worth looking at. It seems that half the graduates end up in Washington, D.C.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the help, the only things that I am searching for in colleges at this point is academic excellence and cost. I am trying to keep in the east, south, and midwest if possible. I figure if I can eliminate them as I go, but I am just trying to get colleges to check out at this point.</p>

7

<p>Why aren't you looking into Michigan?</p>

8

<p>Ohio State has a very highly ranked political science program, and I think you'd be able to obtain a nice scholarship here. The University has been spending a lot of money on attracting top students, but the award amounts have been going down each year as it gets more competitive... I'd at least try to take advantage of the trend while it lasts.</p>

9

<p>Hey I just finished applying to polsci/IR schools and here's my opinion in retrospect.
First of all you list at the moment is a little all over the place. Which is fine right now. You have a lot of time to understand what exactly you want. I think the best thing to do right now, which doesn't require a visit , is to look into the acedemic program of each school. Polysci/IR programs vary a lot. Unlike a bio major which has a relativly universal set of study, IR programs have their own methodolgy on study. Some are better suited toward acedemia and some are more pre-professional. The second thing you need to look into is the camous personaility. This is where you list seems the most disjointed :). Third factor I think is location. Where do you want to live for the next four years.
Here are my random comments on the programs you listed. These are very much my own personal opinions, and what I wanted out of school makes me baised. But it's a start. O I also was geared more on the IR side so that porbably makes a difference too.
UVA- Great prelaw school. Big public school enivroment. Lots of school spirit, but difficult to get into out of state. I looked into smaller schools, so I haven't done a ton of research into UVA. </p>

<p>University of Wisconsin-Madison- I didn't look into Wisconsin, but if you are looking towards safeties (if I am assuming wrong, sorry!) I would suggest American and George Washington in DC both have great gov programs. Both give out a lot of merit aid. GW will still be on the expensive side, but they are a great way to round off a list. This is especially true becuae you aren't a wisconsin resident.</p>

<p>University of Chicago- very intellectual, acedmia based way of looking at gov. It is a very quirky school. If you love it you love kind of place. The have a great law school, so you may want to hold off going there till graduate school. Usally it is harder to get into a school if you did your undergrad there.
On the other Chicago is a great city (one of my requirements was a big city, but that is different for everyone)</p>

<p>Indiana University (I am an Indiana resident)- Everyone should apply to their state school. There are benefits and draw backs. I couldn't handle the size of mine, but you could thrive there. The cost will porbably be the biggest draw. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt- I have a very good friend at vanderbilt that loves it there. It is porbably a match for you admissions wise. It is a southern school with a very southern scene. I know their program is excellent, but think about how you fit in socially here.</p>

<p>Tufts- Tufts was my number two. I really liked how they did things. Globalism is huge on campus and they offer a great depth in programs, Boston is a great city for politcs and college in general. </p>

<p>Brown- I really loved Brown. I think the open circculum is fnatastic if you are structured. Their deparment is also strong, but I wasn't a huge fan of providence for internships which make a big difference in this field. It's ivyness make it a crap shot for all.</p>

<p>Georgetown- Hoya Saxa :) Next year i'll be at Georgetown so this should be the most biased of them all. I actually only ended up applying to Georgetown and my state school becuase I applied EA and got in and knew that Georgetown is where I wanted to be. I pulled my application from the state school and havn't looked back. I am in SFS (School of Forgien Service) and I think it is one of the best places to study IR becuase of its depth, location, and history. At most schools I would just an IR major at Gtown there are 6 specialized majore within the school you can chose from and a list of certifacts (like minors). They have a very strong lanuage demaprment as well, school spirit like no other, medium size student body, and the advantage of being at the center of politics. I could go on but I should try to remain some what balanced. </p>

<p>Boston University- sorry know very little about
Boston College- BC was great but a little too Catholic for me. Georgetown is also Jesuit, but a little more relaxed. I think it stronger in other subjects, but I could be wrong.
Amherst College- the only LAC on your lisit which makes it very different. It is a school far removed from the city which makes internships harder. I think if you love Amherst you might want to reconsider the rest of your list.</p>

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<p>I personally don't see the benefit in applying to state schools such as Wisconsin/UVA, that one isn't a resident of. Your costs will be the same to attend an equally good or better private school, and chances are those private schools may offer merit aid, while state schools are not entitled to give you any aid because you're not a resident of their state.</p>

<p>But that's my opinion. Why not Claremont McKenna College?</p>

11

<p>ncard, if you are sure you are applying to law school, know that law schools are very numbers driven. The better you do on your LSAT's, the better you will fare in law school admissions. It will not matter what your undergrad major is. A high GPA will also be a necessity. If you are interested in minimizing cost since law school will be quite expensive, a number of the schools you have listed here do not meet your desire for a merit scholarship. I also want to echo what interesteddad said. Swarthmore is outstanding in the Political Science/IR field. My S graduated from Swarthmore and that was his focus. He did not go on to law school, but is currently in a Top 5 Ph.D. Political Science (IR sub-specialty) program. He was well prepared.</p>

12

<p>thank you all very much, this has been a great help to me so far
Alexandre-thanks for bringing up U of M, I completely forgot about it
kelseyg-what you brought up sounds interesting, I will have to check it out
hec2008-thanks for taking the time to write all of that, it was a very insightful posts, if you don't mind me asking though, how much money did you get from georgetown?
liek0806-UW is only about $20,000 a year, and Virginia is a little more, i believe, and I will definitely check out claremont
momof3sons-that is a good point that I have been debating with my parents about (cost), it will definitely be a factor in choosing the college that I go to</p>

<p>again, thanks to everybody that answered, and keep the replies coming</p>

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<p>PS yeah Claremont is one of THE Schools for kids who want to end up at law school, and want to study political science/international relations. It's definitely a feeder schools to top law/grad schools.</p>

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<p>Quantifying cost parameters should be one your most fundamental early considerations, along with location, size, and campus culture.</p>

<p>If your family can afford to pay full sticker price, but prefers not to, then you need to focus on schools that heavily discount tuition based on "merit" (high SAT scores, etc.) This will usually require stepping down a notch or two from the most selective schools you could get into because you need to be top of the applicant pool at a college to get the big merit price discounts.</p>

<p>If, on the other hand, your family qualifies for signficant need-based aid, then you want to focus on schools that do little or no merit price disounting and, instead, offer their best pricing based on financial need.</p>

<p>These require two very different strategies in building your college list.</p>

<p>The other things you need to focus on is size (large, medium, or small) and location (urban, suburban, rural).</p>

<p>And finally, campus culture. Big party scene with lots of frats? More serious academic school? Mostly white? Or lots of diversity? Those are all very basic questions that will help narrow your search.</p>

15

<p>I think that I want to be in a city in some capacity, definitely not in a rural area, but I want at least some sort of campus setting to it. I don't think that I want a huge greek scene, either, I will have to look at which colleges that limits.</p>

<p>Any other general suggestions?</p>

16

<p>You may also want to look at George Washington (very good programs in both), but it is a very! expensive school.</p>

17

<p>You should ask your parents how much they will contribute to your education. You might be able to fill in the gap with loans.</p>

18

<p>I was actually very impressed by Cornell's IR department. I don't know the rankings, but I was surprised by how good it was. Michigan, USC, and Bowdoin (a LAC) all have good programs.</p>

<p>CMC is one of the best schools for politics..in fact it is known for it's IR/economics focus. I also know that there are definitely some merit-based scholarships available. Also, it's an amazing school...and how can you beat the weather? :)</p>

<p>What size school are you looking for? That makes all the difference.</p>

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<p>I actually did not qualify for fiancial aid, but my case was unqiue. Last year my grandfather suddenly passed away leaving me a very large farm worth a significant amount of money. Beacuse these things are inculded in the fasfa no one would have offered me aid. I relied instead on outside merit scholarships. That said gtown's merit scolarships are few and far between as most top tier schools don't offer them. However, they are generous with need based aid and I would encourage you to apply for that regardless of what your efc.
As far as a greek scene, Georgeotwn as a jesuit school has no scoial frats just community and professional ones. I'm not as familiar with the other schools.</p>

20

<p>Alright, again thanks a ton and still open to any more suggestions...
electricalstorm:I would have to say that ideally, I am looking for a college with somewhere between 3,000 and 20,000 students</p>