<p>I've narrowed down my college list to 3 options: Swarthmore, American, and UMD. Swarthmore is the best school and the one that I love the most, but American has a 3 year BA program and UMD is giving me a full ride, and the two latter schools are in DC, which I'd prefer since I'm going into politics. Right now my tentative order is UMD, then American, then Swarthmore because of the financial factor; however, I'm still really conflicted and I'd love advice. So here's a basic list of what I'm thinking about for each school, and I'd love to hear thoughts on which school might be the best option.</p>
<p>What I'm looking for: ** [ul]
[<em>]Cost is a huge factor; I'm tempted to go with the cheapest option possible because I want to have flexibility when I choose a grad school.
[</em>]I want a school with a good program in IR and Middle Eastern Studies and that offers a good Arabic program.
[<em>]I would prefer a smaller school with a quirky community and political activism, preferably with political diversity.
[</em>]I want to have flexibility in my classes so I'd prefer a smaller core curriculum so I could take more electives.
[li]I want to make sure my classes are challenging enough so I don't get bored. This is one of my main concerns with UMD and American. [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>1. UMD: $0 ** [ul]
[<em>]The full ride is the biggest draw; I'd graduate with a savings for grad school. It would also give me flexibility to do fun things with my summers instead of working.
[</em>]It doesn't technically offer either of my majors (IR/Middle Eastern Studies) but offers majors I can work with (Government/Politics and Arabic Studies). There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for electives though.
[<em>]Its Arabic program seems pretty good; I don't know much about its reputation, but it offers dialects, which is really cool.
[</em>]It's super flexible with study abroad; they seem open to letting me study in Palestine, which is important to me.
[<em>]The location is perfect; I don't know how good they are with internships compared to American, though.
[</em>]Even though I'm in the honors program, I'm concerned about the size and if I'll find a quirky, nerdy community there.
[li]I would only be taking up to 2 honors classes a semester so I'm worried that it won't be challenging enough. [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>2. American: $33k [ul]
[<em>]The price is ok; I'd graduate with no debt and in 3 years, though I wouldn't have much of a savings for grad school.
[</em>]The Global Scholars program seems really cool; it's geared towards IR and I'd get my BA in 3 years, maybe an MA in 4. However, this means I'd have no freedom with my summers; I'd get few breaks from school.
[<em>]The IR program seems good; I don't know how good their Arabic program is.
[</em>]They have decent study abroad options but aren't as flexible as the others.
[<em>]They're in the perfect location and are great with internships.
[</em>]They seem really into activism but I don't know how much of that is pseudo-activism so I'm hoping I can find people who actually care...
[li]I'm a bit concerned about being challenged here. [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>3. Swarthmore: $40k [ul]
[<em>]We can make this work money-wise, and I would come out with minimal debt. But this means no money for grad school and working instead of learning or traveling over the summers.
[</em>]It has awesome programs in Politics and Islamic Studies, but its location isn't as good as DC. I also don't know how good their Arabic program is compared to UMD and American.
[<em>]They seem really great with study abroad; like UMD, they're ok with studying abroad in Palestine.
[</em>]The community there would be amazing <3
[<em>]There would be tons of room for electives.
[</em>]The classes would definitely be challenging enough. [/ul]</p>
<p>Thanks so much for sharing any advice you have!! :)</p>
<p>In my opinion I would choose UMD especially since you will receive a full ride. UMD seems to fulfill the majority of your requirements expect for a small school but the honors program will probably help shrink the size a bit. Also I dont think you need to worry about finding classes that are challenging, just take upper level courses and I am positive you will not find them to be too easy. You already know that IR is not one of the hardest majors around so you wont find classes to be as hard as engineers and hard science majors but upper level poli sci classes are intensive with tons of reading and writing. As for academics UMD is normally perceived as being a better school overall than American, which has a good IR program but tha is because it is in the middle of DC. UMD is around a 15 minute metro ride to the city so you will have plenty of oppurunities for internships and employment. While Swarthmore is a great school, there is no need to have debt in your undergrad if you wish to attend grad school in the future. Washington is the prime location for politics while Swarthmore is in a more suburban area of Penn, although it is a train ride to philly.</p>
<p>Thanks invader71, that’s basically what I’m thinking right now too. I like the other schools better than UMD in some ways but nothing really seems to make the price difference worth it to me. I’m just worried that I’m going to regret my decision…</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that you can stay at UMD for a year and as long as your grades are good transfer elsewhere if you are unhappy. Have you visited all the schools yet?</p>
<p>As you know, Maryland has a very strong and well-known Arabic program. A friend of mine works in the military as an Arabic linguist and commented once that he keeps running into Maryland and Michigan graduates. Check out the opportunities through the Language Flagship program.</p>
<p>A full ride, strong Arabic program, and proximity to DC make Maryland difficult to pass up, in my opinion. I think you could find the intellectual, quirky people at Maryland that you would at Swarthmore; flagship publics tend to draw all sorts of students, including many who got into top schools but couldn’t afford them. You’ll just have to work a bit harder to find them.</p>
<p>That said, Maryland and Swat really are very different places…if you feel Swat is where you need to be, and your family can swing it financially, it might be worth it. There’s enough funding for graduate studies that you could get by, though saving money during undergrad is usually a good strategy.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! And invader27 that’s exactly what I was thinking; UMD’s the safest bet because I have reservations about all these schools, so it makes the most sense to go to the free one so if I have to transfer I’ve at least saved a year or two of tuition. I think I’ve decided on UMD but still have to come to terms with it; I keep going back and forth and just worrying that it’s not going to be the place for me, but I guess in the worst case scenario I can transfer so it really is a good option and the one that makes the most sense for a lot of reasons.</p>
<p>Maryland is a great school with a great Arabic program, opportunities because of its location close to DC (you could do a State Department internship during the fall or spring when the competition is MUCH smaller than it is over the summer), and it’s free. While I understand the draw to a small liberal arts college at Swarthmore - I went to one - I don’t think it’s worth the price difference, especially if your parents are willing to take that $40,000 (is that $40K total, or $40K each year?) and put it towards graduate school.</p>
<p>I do think that Swarthmore would be worth it IF you disliked Maryland and really, really wanted the small selective LAC experience (and if that is $40K total, not $40K per year). BUT it seems like you are really torn and that Maryland offers opportunities for you.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure what warblersrule means by there being “enough funding” for graduate studies that you can get by. Unless you get one of the very few prestigious scholarships like a Pickering or Truman, graduate school financing for a professional master’s degree in like IR or IA is going to be done almost completely through loans.</p>
<p>Is Swarthmore going to cost you $40K in total for four years or $40 a year? </p>
<p>If the former, I’d take the plunge as it seems that Swarthmore offers the environment and ambience that you’re looking for. If $40 a year, no way!</p>
<p>I doubt that Swarthmore’s Arabic offerings are as wide and deep as the others, but they would compensate in other areas. Also, I wouldn’t expect much “political diversity.”</p>
I’m not familiar with IR, but most of the people doing master’s degrees in Middle Eastern studies here at UCLA are supported by FLAS funding. If that’s atypical, I stand corrected.</p>
<p>EDIT: I agree with the others about the $40K – I assumed that was for four years. $160K would be A LOT of money and nearly impossible to justify.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for everyone’s feedback; it’s making me a lot more comfortable with my decision. And to clarify, Swarthmore would be $40k a year, which I agree doesn’t make sense when I have the option of being in DC for free.</p>