PSAT score: 1200 (this is after taking it one time without studying so I think I could probably get somewhere in the 1300s on the actual SAT)
ECs/Volunteering: Softball (varsity captain sophomore year, varsity pitcher freshman and sophomore year, have not played junior or senior year yet), cheerleading (varsity all years), National Honor Society, Golf (Junior year), Volleyball (freshman and sophomore year), basketball (freshman year), Art Club (sophomore year), Big Brothers Big Sisters (all years), Scholastic Bowl (sophomore year-JV, junior year-Varsity), Yearbook (sophomore and junior year), Youth Group, I also played travel softball and club volleyball outside of school, page for an Illinois state senator
GPA: UW- 3.9, my school does not offer APs or weight GPAs
Dual Credit Classes: statistics, calculus, advanced biology, CEO
Class Rank: my school does not rank because of its small size (I have 30 kids in my entire class)
Location: Central Illinois
I toured Northwestern University but I am worried that I would not be able to get in with my lower test scores and lack of AP classes
I am interested in the Naval Academy but again I am worried that I would not be able to get in with my lower test scores and lack of AP classes
Any suggestions are appreciated location does not matter too much but I would prefer not schools on the west coast just because that would be too far away
APs are always considered in context: if your school doesn’t offer APs you don’t get dinged for not having them. Your dual credit coursework will tick that box anyway, and assuming your GC checks the ‘most rigorous’ box you are fine on that front.
You have a lot of ECs, but except for having a lot of sports, I don’t see anything that stands out as being particularly deep. Also, given the size of your class a lot of them are possibly not as, well, selective as they would be in a larger school.
Also, have you talked to your parents about college finances directly and explicitly? they may have ‘quite a bit’ saved away, but Northwestern Cost of Attendance (CoA) is `$73,000 / year- so nearly $300,000 over 4 years. Are they ok with that? Do they expect you to pay from some/all of that (through jobs or merit scholarships)? Do they plan to take out loans / do they expect you to take out loans? Parents on CC always push this part first, b/c so many students and families come to grief at this part. Make certain that you know what they can and will provide before you get you heart set on anything.
Really need to understand what you can spend. If you are looking for a big school, Wisconsin and Ohio State have excellent political science programs. Plus they have benefit of being in a state capital for internships.
UIUC has a very respected Political Science department. Also, I may be mistaken, but if I recall, Illinois residents have some sort of reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin, so the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has a stellar Political Science department, could also be an affordable option. Both of those schools would be targets, and at half the cost of Northwestern, should be given serious consideration.
WI and MN have reciprocity, but not Illinois, unfortunately. Agreed, UW has superb poli sci, and is located in the capital which is great for internships during the year and summers (my kid had political internships year round . . . . ). OSU also has excellent poli sci dept, and is also located in the capital, so a great option.
Political science majors are offered at the majority of schools, and most good solid schools will also have good solid political science departments. So you don’t have to overindex on this too much. It’s more important for you to find a college/university that you like overall, and is a good fit for you in a variety of ways.
If you’re an Illinois resident with the indicated stats but no clear personal preferences (for size, location, sports & frat scene, public/private, etc.), then probably one of the first schools you ought to consider is UIUC (and other, less selective in-state public universities). If you’re curious about small private colleges, you might want to go visit Lawrence University (WI), Macalester (Twin Cities), or Earlham (IN). For a good private university that is a bit less selective than Northwestern, check out Case Western in Cleveland. Public universities charge out of state students higher prices and usually don’t offer them very generous need-based aid.
That said, Illinois residents are eligible for the [Midwest Student Exchange Program](http://msep.mhec.org/). Participating universities charge Illinois residents no more than 150% of in-state tuition, so some offer tuition as cheap or even cheaper than UIUC (e.g. U Kansas, Truman State, U Nebraska).
I’d suggest Holy Cross. It is very strong in your area of interest and at least claims to meet full financial need. You can run the NPC to see how it looks for you. Dickinson in PA is a terrific school and also has a fantastic reputation for political science/government. Maybe also Denison in Ohio. It’s near Columbus, which is a bonus, and it offers pretty generous merit aid. If the PNW appeals, another idea might be Willamette University, which is right by the Oregon capitol building. I don’t know anything about financial aid there. Good luck!