Hello! I am an aspiring political science major, pre-law (but that doesn’t really matter). I am looking for a good political science school with good opportunities.
My GPA is a 3.7 UW and a 4.99 Weighted. SAT is a 1460.
2 internships, Nationals for Model UN, President of an Activism club, and 5 more ECS. also 100+ volunteer hours.
I think my essay is pretty solid.
1 AP - 10th grade 3 AP’s- 11th grade and 5 AP’s-12th grade
Let me know! Any location is okay with me but I have a single mother so tuition may be an issue.
You need to nail down the probable cost of your target colleges. Many need-based financial aid grants can bring the sticker price of a top private down to the level of your in-state flagship. But, there can be confounding factors. Like, is there a divorced parent out there somewhere?
Knowing your in-state financial and academic safety would be helpful to the board in giving you advice.
Agreed - you gave no info other than grades. Where are you from? What type of school do you want - small, medium, large. City, suburban, rural. Mountains, flat. Region.
Budget, etc.
You can get a good poli sci education at pretty much any school - let’s say below #50 with your stats.
But - how is your weighting / grading system. Most use a 4.0 so that’s the most you can get unweighted and you get a .5 Honors and +1 AP - but your weighted GPA doesn’t correlate to that - you wouldn’t have a 4.99 with a 3.7.
So explain that. For example, do you get a 4.33 for an A+ but a 3.67 for an A-?
Again - I do not care about location is not an answer - because you do. Do you want to be close to home. Do you like warm weather. Cold weather. Small town, big city.
What does budget ok mean? You want to go to the highest ranked school? Can your parents afford $320K before law school?
That’s the first discussion you need to have with them - about $$.
OK - so unweighted is out of 4.33 - so they give extra for A+.
A 3.7 and a 1460 - likely again, any school let’s say top 40 or below. But what rankings? US News? They have national colleges. regional universities. Liberal Arts.
Again, you’ve provided near zero info.
When you come back with what you want, then I can come back with recommendations.
It’s poli sci - it’s fine most everywhere and if you’re going to law school, where you go matters to a lesser extent than your GPA and LSAT. Also, what you study matters to a lesser extent.
Poli Sci is most common but you can study anything.
To answer your question, Rutgers likelyyes. The College of New Jersey Yes. Montclair State Yes. Princeton - no.
You need to think about this a lot more than just where can i get in.
Most Universities will recalculate your GPA or use unweighted and have their own formula to take in account Rigor
You need to recalculate your GPA A=4, B=3. C=2 add .5 for Honors and 1 for AP
Do not add anything for pluses
Only use Core classes. English, Math, Science, SS, and Foreign Language
This will give you the most accurate GPA to compare to Universities websites 25%-75% percentiles.
You need to run the NPC on the college websites for schools you are applying at to make sure your expected contributions are realistic
Once you have your expected contributions look for schools that meet 100% need.
Are you looking for a large public Uni like Rutgers? Mid size Private Seton Hall or LAC Colgate ( meets 100% need no loans)
Merit
OOS Publics are usually very restrictive with merit except for top students they want to attract.
Privates can award merit to bring cost close to instate public.
A Jersey school option to consider for Merit, Seton Hall
School of Diplomacy and International Relations
If your parents are divorced, note that some colleges want both parents’ financial information for financial aid. Take that into account when using net price calculators on college web sites.
See the link below, except that the definition of custodial parent is scheduled to change soon.