Suggestions for Driven (duh, I'm on CC) Jr Interested In IR

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I will be applying to schools in the fall, but I will be applying from Spain, where I will be studying abroad.</p>

<p>I have a list of schools that I'm interested in, but very few safeties/reaches other than a state u that I'm less than enthused about. Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Background info:
Asian-American from "competitive" (not imo) public suburban high school. Unstereotypical in that I hate math and science though I've done OK in those classes.
One possible problem - I won't have taken AP Calc by the time I graduate :/
Humanities - English, foreign languages (Latin & Spanish), history, theatre etc are my strongpoints.
Very very very passionate about politics/international relations/human rights etc - my EC's, awards, etc show this</p>

<p>I'm having trouble finding a school that fits my criterion AND that I have a reasonable-very good shot at getting into. Criterion:
-City school (Providence, RI definitely does not count.)
-Major(s) in international relations, international studies, politics, human rights or related fields. Journalism a plus, but as long as they have a good school newspaper, no big deal.
-Diversity is sooo important.
-MUST offer Mandarin (simplified. Um, Columbia offers traditional! What?!)
-Merit aid would be a nice temptation.</p>

<p>Schools that I'm considering
Yale is # 1, but HUGE reach.
Georgetown is a very close # 2
Duke & Emory (these two haven't visited, will go soon)
Penn - kinda iffy. I did like it a lot, but not nearly as much as Yale, Gtown, or Duke (though I haven't visited the last one)
Columbia - can't see myself going there, not a "fit" but excellent for IR, so not sure
Rutgers U - Honors Program. But gah I don't want to be a Rutgers student
University of Pittsburgh - again, honors program with a lot of merit aid hopefully</p>

<p>Right now the closet thing to a safety that I love is American University in Cairo, but I have reservations about it as I've had no exposure to Arabic, and I think I'm interested in Middle East, but moving there could be very very different.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help :)</p>

2

<p>Just FYI, UPitt has an AWESOME Honors program. Two people in one of my classes are going there.</p>

3

<p>If you are interested in IR then also look into Tufts, Johns Hopkins, and GW as a safety. You might also want to look into Claremont Mckenna in California. </p>

<p>Btw...I have lived in the Middle East, and if you would like I can give you some more information from a different perspective. Just pm me. I can tell you this though, don't apply unless you are sure that you can handle the culture shock. Once the romanticism wears off, you could be stuck in what may be a very terrible situation. I loved my experience, but I was VERY familiar with middle eastern culture before I went. I also spent quite a bit of time in Dubai, which is like a little Los Angeles in ways, so I got a break from the "real" life of an Arab. Modern Arabia is different than what you will find in Cairo. Its a different way of life, and you will need to be very careful if you are an American.</p>

4

<p>JHU is not the best place for undergrad IR in my opinion, i'm looking at IR too (and it too hate math and science), their IR school only offers graduate degrees </p>

<p>they do have a degree in international studies under Arts and Sciences, but you (i mean we) can do better than that</p>

5

<p>gonzo: yeah, agreed. jhu seems sooo competitive, and i'm not really sure that that leve of cutthroatness is for me.</p>

<p>Lady - is claremont mckenna good for IR? Is it in a city? I didn't know that at all...I'll check it out :) I also considered GW as a safety, but it's soooo expensive.</p>

6

<p>Claremont is coming up there in the rankings, and it is about an hour away from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the "city" of Claremont is not exactly a mecca of entertainment, but they still manage to do a ton on campus. It is one of the Claremont Colleges, which includes Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Scripps. It is said to be a very good school for politcal science and International Relations, however, for IR you just can't beat Georgetown due to its location.</p>

7

<p>a lot of good reaches/matches have been suggested. two safety schools worth looking at: American and Northeastern, maybe U Miami?</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the suggestions..I've basically considered/looked at all the obvious choices - reaches, matches, and safeties, but I'm wondering if there are any other choices that are less than obvious. I'll def check out Claremont, Northeastern, and U Miami... any other schools?</p>

9

<p>the top universities for IR/IS are definitely Georgetown, Tufts, and Columbia. All 3 of them are extremely difficult to get in to, but your stats so far look very good.</p>