I have a good idea of where I want to apply, but I’m unsure if they’re a good match. I won’t get to tour most of them because of where I live, so it’s kind of just guesses of good fits based on research I’ve done.
I attend a public residential school for STEM, where I specialize in biology and history. My GPA is a 3.98, and all my courses have college equivalents, such as College Calc I/II, College Intro Spanish, etc. I have a heavy course-load, averaging 22-28 classes a year.
My test scores aren’t the worst but not the best. Right now, I only have a 31 for ACT and a 1450 SAT. My ACT has great humanities scores, with a 35 on both English and Reading. My SAT has a relatively high math score, with a 730.
As for EC, I’m a head of several clubs, including Key Club and Yearbook. I’m also currently serving as an ambassador to my city, and I frequently meet with visitors and politicians to welcome them and talk about my city’s history.
Although I love science, I really love international relations and policy. I’ve been studying Arabic and I’ve tutored international students from Saudi Arabia in English. I’ll also be studying Arabic overseas this summer on a scholarship. I’m also working on developing an app for children, but I’m having to teach myself all the code so it probably won’t be finished until my Sophomore year of college.
I don’t anticipate my scores going up much because I just don’t have the time to study for them, especially with my coursework and activities. I’m seriously considering Georgetown and MIT, which I feel are major jumps but I figured an application doesn’t hurt. Are there any other universities anyone would recommend?
Middlebury, Hamilton, Pomona/Pitzer/CMC, Mt. Holyoke. These schools would be excellent for IR and public policy. Though generally highly competitive, you would nonetheless find an admission match or two in this group. You might also consider GW.
As far as Georgetown goes, they require 3 SAT subject tests (sat ii). If you don´t have time to study for/take these over the Summer like you say, then unfortunately Georgetown would have to be ruled out.
For International Relations, Public Policy, and Arabic, I would recommend looking at the DC schools. As you’ve mentioned, Georgetown is great for that. American University and George Washington are also excellent schools, especially for IR. Besides, you would get all the amazing opportunities DC has to offer.
I’m also majoring in IR and hoping to minor in Arabic. Personally, from the three schools in DC, I liked American’s programs and campus the best. GW is very nice as well, but they don’t actually have a campus. Georgetown is beautiful but just too expensive - was not worth it for me.
Wellesley and Northeastern are also great for IR but located in Massachusetts. Boston offers some great opportunities too.
George Washington in D.C. is very strong in International Relations, with great internship opportunities. Dickinson, a smaller school in central PA, has strong international focus, and a minor in Arabic. Some of the public flagships would also be excellent – Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin have top departments in Poli Sci and broad foreign language offerings. Ohio State and Wisconsin would likely be a match for an out of state applicant, Michigan a reach.
Have the “money” conversation with your family so that you understand whether you qualify for financial aid or whether you need to target schools which offer substantial merit-based aid because you can’t afford what schools say you should pay. For students who need merit aid, the strategy is typically to target schools which would be considered more “safeties” or “likelies” and which give merit aid.
If money is no object, I have a friend who plans to attend NYU with nearly an identical major/minor combo, and it would be a match for your test scores. Schools in the DC and New York areas in general are going to have good access to IR opportunities, but they’ll probably be expensive. I would favor the SAT when you apply, your current score is roughly equivalent to a 33 on the ACT.
Macalester in St. Paul is an LAC with a strong international flavor that would also be a match but they don’t have an Arabic minor (the Arabic classes are in the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Studies department and that would be your minor, you could probably choose electives that focus more on the Arabic speaking world).
FWIW NYU also has a satellite campus in Abu Dhabi, which might make it even more of a draw for you if it’s financially manageable: https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/
A few LACs can be great for both domestic policy studies and IR because of their special programs. Hamilton, in particular, should be noted for its term-length programs, with integrated internships, in D.C and New York City:
Regarding reply #2, for Georgetown it is “strongly recommended that all candidates, whether they have taken the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT, submit three SAT Subject Tests scores.” In a literal sense at least, this would not constitute a requirement.