<p>I was lucky enough to be accepted into these great schools, but I am stuck. </p>
<p>Penn is great for everything, and it has alot of placement/opportunities in all fields; however, I am really keen on studying international relations, and I'm not sure if it would help me as much as Tufts/Georgetown SFS. I really love Penn, and would love to just go there, but I don't want to be making a rash decision. </p>
<p>Tufts and Georgetown SFS are consistently ranked top ten for IR. Penn is not on such rankings, not that the lists really matter, but I just want to know whether it would be hurting me (or not helping me as much) if I choose Penn CAS (College of Arts and Sciences) and study IR there over Tufts/Gtown IR. Which should I choose? I know I would be happier at Penn, but which would be better for me for IR/academically?</p>
<p>THANK YOU for any/all advice. It is greatly appreciated, esp. with such a huge decision.</p>
<p>I mean ahh i do like it alot (not just the appeal of its label), but i think the strength of the major is a big part of it. i dont want to make the wrong decision…academically</p>
<p>Honestly, you can’t really go wrong with any of these schools academically. Being a student here, I’m biased towards Tufts; however, I must say that if you are completely certain that you will be happiest at Penn, then the choice is fairly obvious.</p>
<p>I would say go to Penn. Penn is by no-means weak in its academics and while it may not appear of the list of top IR programs (you said it yourself that this doesn’t matter to you) it’s still one hell of a school. Plus, you said you would be happy there, so why not? Also, if you decide to switch major (definitely a possibility), Penn may offer more options. (eg. business related, etc.) That’s not to say that Tufts and GTown is inferior in anyway of course</p>
<p>^^ Sadly Penn doesn’t let you just to switch into Wharton. The undergrad application process is completely separate.</p>
<p>But yea people put way too much emphasis on the “quality” and rankings of specific undergrad programs. The reality is that you actually learn very little in your undergrad years. It’s more of a preparation you to learn and succeed in the real world.</p>
<p>What if you discover something else you would like to study? There’s always a chance you will stumble across another major and want to switch. Since you said you’d be happy at Penn, go to Penn.</p>
<p>depends what you want to do. if you want to work for the foreign service or state department (or any other government related entity), georgetown sfs is literally unmatched in the field. honestly, penn is a good school and very well rounded. however, it does not even come close to georgetown or tufts in ir. rankings by foreign policy magazine have georgetowns undergrad for ir ranked #5 behind harvard, princeton, yale, and stanford. tufts is #10. for masters, georgetown is #1, followed by jhu, harvard, and tufts. </p>
<p>also take into consideration location. tufts is in Massachusetts. if you want to be in the heart of political power and have access to internships and opportunities in dc, georgetowns the way to go.</p>