Tufts v. Cornell v. GW v. Michigan v. NYU for IR

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I recently got all of my decisions back and am trying to pick a college to attend next year. I know I want to study international relations and economics anywhere I go, save Cornell where I was accepted to the school of Industrial & Labor Relations. After college I intend to work either for the government or in the private sector consulting for a few years if possible then go back to grad school.

When I got my Tufts decision, I was ecstatic and set on going there - I wanted to be near a city and be somewhere with vibrant on campus life that wasn’t totally focused on frats. However, I started doing some research and I’m starting to get the feeling that Tufts isn’t quite as highly regarded as the other schools I’ve been accepted to, and I’m looking for some insight on how the IR programs and work and internship opportunities stack up against each other.

TL;DR Got accepted to Tufts, Cornell, GW, Michigan, and NYU. Tufts seems like the best fit but I’m concerned I’d be sacrificing future opportunities by choosing it over another school. Do any of these schools prepare you much better for government or private sector work after graduation or are the differences marginal?

2

I think you have assessed this correctly. Cornell and Michigan probably have a bit more cachet than Tufts. However Tufts is an outstanding school, and I suspect that the differences are marginal. If Tufts is the best fit for you, then I would recommend that you go to Tufts.

3

There is no better place to be for a future job involving government than Washington, DC. The government-related internships you can get there throughout your college years – including during the academic year, not just summer – are simply unmatched anywhere else. That would indicate GW is your best bet. You will have countless opportunities to make connections with current and future government and related employees on and off campus. There are think tanks and nonprofits and government agencies and politicians, etc. focused on every type of international and economic issue you can think of. NYU is also well-situated for someone interested in international relations. Both DC and NYC have high concentrations of internationals living there, and tons of international organizations, consulting companies, nonprofits, government agencies, etc. It is likely you will wind up working in one of these cities eventually considering your career interests, so why not get started already with your choice of university?

4

Why do you feel like Tufts is the best fit and have you visited or are you planning to visit the other school’s admitted students days?

5

For IR, Tufts is second to none. Go for it!

6

Agree with Alexandre. Tufts for IR is great. Overall the only better school you got into was Cornell and if you like Tufts more than Cornell it makes sense to go.

7

Hey! I stayed overnight at Cornell with a friend and the frat presence was just too much for me, also I’d rather be near a city. i visited the other schools too but I’m only going to accepted students day for tufts.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

8

@mathmom maybe you can help?

9

D1 went to Tufts intending to major in IR; GW was her second choice. Notice I say “intending to major”; she ended up majoring in Computer Science. However, IR was very much part of the “feel” of Tufts; she took a grad class at Fletcher (open to undergrads), did the year-long EPIIC seminar, and got grants that allowed her to travel internationally for internships and research. I’m sure she would’ve been happy at either school, but GW seems to me to be strong in IR but not necessarily in other subjects (GW supporters are welcome to give counterexamples).

The schools feel different–GW being more urban and part of the city, Tufts being a self-contained campus. You may prefer one over the other.

That said, I’d suggest checking with both schools to see how their recent grads have fared in finding jobs after graduation. It may take some time to find a job in IR, so do ask where grads have ended up and if they are being paid or are doing unpaid internships.

10

My son graduated from Tufts in IR in 2014. He had mixed feelings about Tufts and felt that the IR department (actually committee) rested on the laurels of the Fletcher School. He felt the fact that IR actually was a committee of competing interests was a bit of a disadvantage. I’d have him PM you but unfortunately he’s at doing Officer Training at the moment and has limited email access.

This is more or less what he’d probably say.

The Global Institute’s EPIC course is fabulous and one of the best things Tuft has to offer. But IR refuses to give credit for it. I’d say it’s the course that had the most influence on who he is and what he’s done since.

The requirement to take four years of a foreign language or achieve fluency is a good thing, but by taking Arabic (challenging anywhere, but especially challenging at Tufts which teaches Arabic on steroids) he ended up pretty stressed out.

Tufts IR department is not very amenable to courses taken outside of Tufts for credit. So if one of the four Tufts programs for study abroad fits you, great. But if you are interested in the Middle East every course you take except Arabic language will only be for gen ed credit. That was a surprise he had not counted on.

It turned out he really didn’t like political science courses and he had to take them as part of IR.

As far as jobs are concerned he thought students who did economics related IR were better served by the Career Office than he was - he was interested in security studies and the Middle East.

He got two internships including one with the Clinton Foundation. The second NGO offered him a job and he worked for them long enough to finish the project he’d worked on as an intern. He ended up doing a large part of organzing a trip for donors to Russia and the Ukraine at the second internship. Both internships gave him a bit of a bad taste about NGOs and their ability to make changes in the world.

We are not sure how the military is a better option, but it does sort of make sense for him. There’s actually someone else from Tufts there too. Also an IR major I think.

As for you, I think you’ve got four excellent choices academically. For your specific major I’m less sure. My son hated GW because it had no campus so he applied to American and Georgetown only. I liked the way American built term time internships into their schedule. I don’t know if GW did the same thing - but for IR obviously NY and DC are big centers. Michigan less so I suspect.

Anyway, if you like Tufts best and all the schools are equally affordable. I think you’d do fine there.

Oh the other thing that my son didn’t like about Tufts? They weren’t the right kind of nerdy! He wanted more kids playing computer and video games and less talking about politics. He also ended up getting more conservative than he started out as he got tired of social justice politics. My kid is a complainer. He actually liked Tufts a lot.