<p>I am a junior at a very competitive Jesuit high school in Philadelphia. I'm looking for a school that not too big (ie. 2,000 to 8,000) and is not in the middle of nowhere and al least has some access to a city. I'm looking to major in International Relations (or something similar) preferably with a strong Middle Eastern concerntation with the opportunity to take courses leading to the advanced level in Arabic. I'm hoping to have a career in US intelligence analysis. I'm looking for a school where students are interested in international affairs, languages, study abroad etc. Here are some stats to help out:
3.6 uw GPA (we dont weight), no rank, PSAT: Verbal-540, Math-520, Writing-620. I'm really just not good at SAT's but am hoping to raise them to at least a 1250 when I take them in a few weeks. Also by graduation I will have taken 6 AP courses, already have a 5 on US History. </p>
<p>I am also interested in schools that are very generous with grants or merit aid and if anyone could tell me more about Denison University(specifically the Lugar Program), Dickinson College, or any other members of the "International Fifty" that fit what I've outlined above. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>American sounds good when it comes to anything political, it is in DC. They send me stuff like every week. And if it would come down to decide between it and another school not in DC...you cannot beat the oppurtunities provided by a school in washington itself</p>
<p>dickinson has a very good international relations program, although it's in the middle of nowhere and you said you wanted access to a city. it has a nice campus, and with your stats i think it'd be a high match for you.</p>
<p>phillyguy:
Well, I have son at Denison now (freshman) who came out of a great Jesuit HS here in Upstate NY. Beyond that, I don't know if I can help you. I don't know much about the Lugar program or the Arabic offerings. </p>
<p>Denison gives excelent merit scholarships. My son loves it there. Have you visited? It has a BEAUTIFUL campus, and is in a small town, Granville. Granville has a quaint and charming main street with the usual ice cream, coffee shop, pizza stuff. But - college kids don't find it too terribly exciting. There are not a lot of bars or anything. There is a huge, wonderful mall (not a normal mall - more like a little town that is actually a mall; it's a new thing) that the kids go to on weekends. It's about 20 miles away, maybe. Denison has a bus that goes there free on Friday nights. (And maybe other times as well, I don't know.) There is a huge movie theater there.</p>
<p>There is an ugly town called Newark that is close that has all the usual Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut stuff. The kids go there for essentials and to go to Chipotles. There are some chain hotels there too, although we always stay in one of the wonderful B&Bs or Inns in Granville.</p>
<p>Columbus is about 30 miles away. If you have a car you could easily go there for stuff. The Columbus airport is good, and Denison has a great free shuttle bus that goes there free MANY times (like every 2 hours) before and after school breaks.</p>
<p>They schedule weekend excursions various places. My son hasn't gone on any because he is too busy. He plays Ultimate Frisbee and so they often have tournaments on weekends at other schools.</p>
<p>I would say though, that overall you are looking at a school that is in a pretty rural place. There is a lot to do on campus, but it will not feel urban.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>You might also want to give the ACT a shot. Some people do better on the ACT than the SATs. If you don't do better, it's no harm for trying as you don't have to submit the scores any where.</p>
<p>Additionally, you might want to plan to take several SAT II subject tests this spring. Sometimes, good scores on those can off set weaker SAT I scores. And, some of the SAT optional schools (not Dickinson) will still want to see SAT II's.</p>
<p>All of these things can give you more options. I will list a few schools for you to check out in a second post, but I just wanted to give you some advice on possible routes to pursue with your test scores.</p>
<p>There are some others on the list that are good possibilities too. Also look into:</p>
<p>George Mason (VA) - right outside of DC, has excellent government and international relations as well as an islamic studies program with advanced arabic. Close ties to the FBI. Center for World Religions and Diplomacy brings many middle eastern speakers to campus.</p>
<p>If you want to focus strictly on international relations, perhaps without the middle eastern component in some cases:</p>
<p>Denison (weenie already mentioned above)
Beloit in Wisc. (the original founding member of the Int'l 50. Has excellent summer language institute offering arabic courses)
Earlham in Indiana (peace and global studies, through that they have an initiative which is bringing professors from Palestine and Israel to campus.)
Goucher in Maryland (excellent international studies, study abroad mandatory)
Kalamazoo (MI - lots of opportunities for internships)
DePaul (IL)
Eckerd (FL)
Indiana U
U of Miami (bit of a reach)</p>
<p>George Washington (bit of a reach)
Lewis & Clark
University of San Diego (excellent peace and justice center, oppty. for internships with navy)
U of Redlands
U of Richmond
U of Scranton
Southwestern U (TX)
Wheaton College (MA)
U of Wisconsin
Tulane (reach)
Bucknell (reach)
Connecticut College (reach)
Dickinson
Macalester (reach)
American
Georgetown (high reach)
U of Michigan (reach)</p>
<p>I'm sure others will have some more suggestions as well. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a personal message as I am very familiar with many of the schools on the above list.</p>