<p>I'm really interested in IR, Polisci and Middle Eastern Studies. Here's my list so far:
-Columbia
-Yale
-Georgetown
-Princeton
-University of Pennsylvania
-Wesleyan
-Macalester
-Smith
-Barnard
-UVA (legacy)
-William and Mary
-University of Richmond</p>
<p>Any ideas on what schools to remove/add? Chances would be helpful too.</p>
<p>SATs: 700V, 750 M, 700W
SAT II: 700 World History, 750 US History, 770 Math II, 720 French w/listening, 780 Literature
GPA: 4.0UW, 4.38W
AP/IB: full-IB, plus 3 APs</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-School Newspaper (9-12): Editor-in-Chief (11-12), Lifestyles Editor (10), Assistant News Editor (9); won multiple awards individually and as a paper from CSPA, NSPA and VHSL; articles published in local newspaper
-Cappies Reviewer (10-12): reviews of local school plays published in the Washington Post
-Debate Team (10-12): President (12), VP (11), Regional Qualifier (11), District Qualifier (10-11)
-Young Democrats (10-12): President (12), VP (11)
-MUN (10-12): Committee Chair (11-12), Regional Qualifier (11), District Qualifier (10-11)
-NHS (10-12): VP (12), Secretary (11)
-SSHS (11-12): President (12)
-SCA (9-12): President (12), VP (11), 2nd VP (10), 3rd VP (9)
-UVA Summer Enrichment Program
-Columbia Summer Journalism Workshop
-Princeton Summer Journalism Conference
-United States Senate Page
-Au pair in Quebec
-Volunteer for Democratic Party of Virginia (10-12)
-Scorekeeper of Freshman, JV and Varsity Girls Basketball Teams (9-12)
-Youth Basketball Coach (10-12)
-Metropolitan Area Grant Committee (11-12)</p>
<p>I know this is counterproductive, but if you're interested in IR, you should strongly consider Tufts University. It has one of the best undergrad IR programs in the nation. I would definitely keep Georgetown, Columbia, and Princeton on there. I would also suggest visiting to figure out better fit. If you're instate for UVA, that could be a great safe match.</p>
<p>I agree with Xeneise. If you're interested in IR, add Tufts and Johns Hopkins for reaches. And add places like American and GWU for more match type schools with excellent IR/IS programs.</p>
<p>P.S. I just realized that your title was "Cut down the list" and I asked you to add schools. I guess, then, that it would be helpful to tell you which schools you should cut out so you can add the ones I suggested. I'd take out Smith and Wesleyan, and pick between Columbia and Barnard—I'm friends with an adcom person at Barnard, who highly recommends you apply to one or the other. There are very few people who apply to both who get in.</p>
<p>I actually think, since you're applying to a lot of selective schools, that that's a very good list, in terms of makeup and size. If you're ok with applying to that many schools, I'd say do it!</p>
<p>You and I are very similar! :) I've been going through the same process...
You've picked a lot of wonderful schools. However, they're very different. To wit: What do Smith and Penn have in common? Maybe there is a common denominator, but make sure you understand what it is and know why you want that feature. Figure out what your priorities (or lack thereof) are for schools (location, size, academic program, prestige, degree of preprofessionalism, student body, etc) and your list should shrink by consequence. Perhaps more importantly, is IR going to be your chief academic focus, or a field you'd eventually like to enter?<br>
This is not to say that your list should be entirely homogenous, but make sure that every single school you apply to has been carefully thought out.
If it helps, I'm looking at Brown, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, Yale, Middlebury, Princeton, Wellesley, Barnard, Vassar, Stanford, and Williams.</p>
<p>Lots of Ivies. Don't get me wrong, those are all more than excellent schools. However, their environments are all completely different. You aren't just applying to a school for academics; you're applying to your home for the next four years.</p>
<p>Basically, I agree with nyleve.</p>
<p>Definitely look at Georgetown. For International Relations and political science, it's hard to beat the GU School of Foreign Service. Arab/Middle Eastern studies are a strong point, with guys like John Voll and John Esposito on the faculty and several specialized institutes (Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies).</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all of your advice!
Xeneise: Is Tufts in Boston or in the subarbs? I'm more of a city girl so I'm wary about applying to subarbian schools. Though being near Boston would definitely be a plus.
lolabelle: I'll go ahead and take Smith and Wesleyan off my list since they're not great for location. As for JHU, American and GW, they're too close to home. I live in Northern VA and I don't want to be that close to my parents. Only reason Georgetown's on the list is because it's awesome and has a foreign servicee school.
nyleve76 and snoopyiscool: I know all of my schools are so different! That's why it's so hard to narrow it down! I liked them all for different reasons!</p>
<p>Current List:
-Columbia
-Yale
-Georgetown
-Princeton
-University of Pennsylvania
-Macalester
-Tufts
-Barnard
-UVA (legacy)
-William and Mary
-University of Richmond</p>
<p>Any other opinions? UVA, William and Mary and Richmond are basically my safties. Do you think I need all of them though?</p>
<p>You haven't mentioned anything re: the need for aid. Richmond is a very good merit based aid safety, if that's an issue.</p>
<p>Yeah financial aid is definitely a must. My parents can contribute ~10K a year and my savings are about 25K. But the Ivies have big endowments right? Are there any other good IR schools that have merit aid? I'm kinda leaning away from Richmond, actually. Very country club feel.</p>
<p>Tufts is located in Medford/Somerville, which is 5 minutes from Cambridge (where Harvard and MIT are) and 10 minutes by subway from downtown Boston. It's a suburban school EXTREMELY close to a major city (though it's geographically further from downtown Boston than Boston College, it's more accessible to it because it has better subway and bus lines, so in fact it's faster to get to downtown Boston from Tufts than from BC - true story!). So you get the pros of a campus feel (Harvard doesn't really have one, in my opinion, unless you think Urban Outfitters counts as campus-like) with the pros of living near a major city.</p>
<p>If you don't like the location of Wesleyan and Smith, my advice to apply to Macalester should be re-examined... would you mind being in Minnesota? It's a great school and I'd still apply, but don't apply if you'd never go there.</p>
<p>And if you aren't going to apply to Richmond, what school is your safety? Make it a safety you'd love to go to, just in case! That's why I don't think you should be too quick to cut out American and GWU. Their iR programs are good, even if they're less-selective.</p>
<p>Barnard and Columbia? IF you want to cut down the list, I say pick one of those 2.</p>
<p>It's not that I don't like Massachusetts, it's that Wesleyan and Smith are suburban. I'd rather be in the city. Macalester is in St. Paul, MN and has really good IR from what I hear. But it is really far away, so I'll consider cutting it out. As for Barnard and Columbia, they are two very different schools besides sharing classes. I can't decide whether I like the Core or not, but I love the location, so I'm thinking I'll apply to both and see what happens. Maybe I'll get rejected from one and will have my decision made for me... Either way, I'll have another eight months to mull over my choices.</p>
<p>You want to cut the list, right? So here are my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Barnard and Columbia are not extensions of each other. Barnard is the women's only LAC, and Columbia is the high-powered research university. Applying to both is really waste of time and energy. Sure, they both have a great location, but they are very different in terms of how you are educated.</p>
<p>Why do you like Penn? It seems a bit... removed from your list. And Macalester doesn't seem to have the location you like. Yale and Princeton: Why those 2?</p>
<p>Georgetown is a must for IR, as is Tufts.</p>
<p>"But the Ivies have big endowments right?"</p>
<p>Sure, but that's irrelevant. Aid is based on need. i.e Parents income (or lack of) etc.</p>
<p>You really need to figure out the financial consequences. Your colleges (out-of-state) will cost 50K yr. by the time you matriculate. Are you assuming they'll offer you 35k/yr to cover your need?</p>
<p>"Barnard is the women's only LAC, and Columbia is the high-powered research university. Applying to both is really waste of time and energy. Sure, they both have a great location, but they are very different in terms of how you are educated."</p>
<p>No they aren't. Barnard women take many of their classes at Columbia.</p>
<p>Ok, so if my list were:
-Columbia
-Yale
-Georgetown
-Princeton
-Tufts
-Barnard
-UVA (legacy)
-William and Mary
-University of Richmond</p>
<p>I've visited all but Tufts. I did residential summer programs at Columbia, Princeton and UVA and loved my experiences there. I totally understand that Columbia and Barnard are totally different, but I love them both for different things. Yale is amazing (thinking of applying EA) and "Georgetown is a must for IR" (also thinking of applying EA). As for UVA, W&M, and Richmond, they're my safeties. People on those threads also say I'd qualify for merit aid, which is one down-side of the Ivies. So there it is. My (almost) final list.</p>
<p>Chances anyone?</p>
<p>Yale is single-choice EA, so you can't apply to Gtown EA as well if you do Yale. </p>
<p>I wonder if you saw my note back on the other page about how my friend who works in adcom at Barnard says that girls who apply to Columbia as well are rarely admitted to either program... I don't know what "rarely" means as she didn't qualify, but you should really pick one or the other. You obviously have a better shot at Barnard...</p>
<p>Your list looks good. You have a wide variety of schools in terms of selectivity, but you also have schools that have good programs in what you want to study, I think... I don't know about the programs at Richmond though -- that's why I think you should add an IR-strong school like American or GWU.</p>