I was recently accepted into these three schools with an intended major in Political Science. I have yet to visit any of the campuses, but they all look beautiful and seem to offer good programs within the Poli Sci major. I am very conflicted, though and have no idea where I would go from these three.
I would be in the honors college at Alabama with a full ride, got a $27,000 scholarship from Tulane (tuition would only be about $22,000), and no scholarship or honors at Wisconsin, which would be about $32,000, since I’m OOS.
Pros and Cons of each school? Which one is best for Poli Sci? If I want to go to grad or law school after, which one would “look best”? Any other things to keep in mind for the schools?
Saving 36-45k a year for grad school would be an amazing option (the amount you’d save attending Alabama over others). Do you have a budget on either how much you can spend on your undergrad or law school?
Side note: how did you receive a “full ride” scholarship to Alabama? Alabama also has a top 30 law school, so if you finish your undergrad before your scholarship is up, you could use the remaining semesters of scholarship toward your law degree.
@Jpgranier I scored a 32 on the ACT and have above a 3.5 GPA, so I was selected as a Presidential Scholar! I also don’t have a budget really, just trying to get the best deal I suppose, while also taking into account that I’ll likely pursue education beyond an undergrad degree
@ead8795 --you don’t have a budget? So your parents have said they can easily pay for any of these schools without loans?
You got a full-tuition scholarship to Alabama. A full-ride would be an offer that includes room and board. You will still have to pay for room and board which most people estimate to be from 14-18K (depending on your dorm selection, etc.).
@carachel2 sorry that’s what I meant! my bad! and by no budget I mean that the price isn’t a super huge factor for these schools, and I wanted to focus more on the academics and student life of each of the schools
Have you visited the schools? Can’t speak for Wisconsin-Madison but Tulane and Bama are quite different schools. Large sports oriented state university compared to much smaller private. NOLA vs Tuscaloosa just as stark of a difference.
Biased, since I have a kid at UW, but – one advantage to consider with UW is the opportunity to intern in government during the school year since Madison is the state capital. While law school admissions looks first and primarily at gpa and LSAT scores, extra curriculars are relevant.
At the same time, someone serious about law school is likely looking at substantial law school loans, so minimizing undergrad debt is a priority. Full tuition at Alabama is nothing to sneeze at. As a parent, I’d have a very hard time paying almost $100,000 more for undergrad, especially if that money could be put towards law school tuition instead.
@ead8795 - your scholarship at UA is a full tuition scholarship, NOT a full ride. You will still have room/board/additional fees to pay.
Easy mathematical calculation. Take the full cost of attendance for each school, subtract the scholarship you were offered, and that will be the net price your family will have to pay. If you’re looking for the “best deal” that’s an easy way to calculate it
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would be in the honors college at Alabama with a full ride, got a $27,000 scholarship from Tulane (tuition would only be about $22,000), and no scholarship or honors at Wisconsin, which would be about $32,000, since I'm OOS. <<<
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You aren’t mentioning the room, board, fees, books, etc costs at any of these schools.
Alabama would cost you about $15k per year,…about $60k total
Tulane would cost you about $37k per year…about $155k total
Wisconsin would cost you about $47k per year…about $200k total
And then about $200k-250k for law school??
Unless your family is very affluent, choosing an extra $150-200k is kind of crazy, because law school will be another $200-275k
Alabama has a very fine Poly Sci program and an excellent law school.
It sounds like the OP can afford any of the options. When is it about more than the cost? These three schools are vastly different from each other. The student has to live at school for four years. I’m not sure the same person could be equally happy at Tulane, Alabama, and Wisconsin. If visiting all three is an option, I would do so. Try to sit in on the Poli Sci classes while you’re there.
I think (will have to double check this) that the automatic merit scholarships at Tulane are fixed (eg you got $27k/yr) so even if tuition goes up, your merit award will stay the same over the 4 years. Maybe you’ll get a departmental scholarship to offset it, but keep this in mind, as it differs from schools (including Tulane) that offer full tuition scholarships that typically then increase with any increase in tuition.
So, t a BIG school (with a smaller honors program within it) or a medium sized school? Did you get into the honors program at Tulane?
U Wisconsin is a great school, but the climate is quite different and have heard they have had some funding issues that could affect faculty, class size, etc.
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The student has to live at school for four years. I’m not sure the same person could be equally happy at Tulane, Alabama, and Wisconsin. If visiting all three is an option, I would do so. Try to sit in on the Poli Sci classes while you’re there.
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Could be true that a student wouldn’t be equally happy at any 3 different schools, even if they were on the same street. Lol
Yes, try to visit each school to get a feel and do sit in on some classes.
For Bama, contact the honors college and ask for them to set up your visit to classes and your campus tour/visit and see the dorms. Susan.dendy@ua.edu jordanmhall@ua.edu. Send your email to both HC people…and give the dates you’ll be on campus, your major, your interest in sitting in PolySci classes your stats, and anything else you’d like to visit, including the law school if desired.
Most kids think they have no budget…until the parents actually see the bill.
I have two kids that would have been equally happy at Tulane, Alabama, or Wisconsin. Unless you have mentally pigeonholed yourself into a specific type, most kids will enjoy a variety of campuses. A common theme from my experience is that students at Alabama and Tulane absolutely love being there. I can’t speak to Wisconsin, but based on some friends of mine, I suspect it’s the same.
Is your final cost at Tulane 22k Orbison that tuition only?
Can you speak 'budget’with your parents asap?
^^^^^^
That is his “tuition only” net cost.
None of his estimates included R&B and books,fees, etc.
My son and I are trying to decide together between Alabama, Tulane, and Georgia, and he essentially has the same scholarships as you (Tulane gave him $32,000 instead of $27,000).
First, did you apply for the Paul Tulane or Dean’s Honor Scholarships? These are going to be announced in the next week or two. My guess is you need an ACT of 34 or higher to have a good chance on these, but they give full-tuition at Tulane. Another factor to consider is how much dual enrollment and/or AP credit you have. The Alabama scholarship is for eight semesters, both graduate and undergraduate. The Tulane is for undergraduate only. So if you are starting college with a lot of college credits, this could be important.
I would scratch Wisconsin from your list. I just don’t see it being worth the extra cost when compared to Tulane or Alabama.
The biggest pro for Alabama is that it is tuition free and the scholarship rolls over. They will also allow you to use the full amount of your scholarship for study abroad. So you can spend a summer or semester abroad and have $13,500 to spend towards expenses. Tulane also applies your scholarship to study abroad, but they charge full tuition and then they pay for the program. So you don’t get a “cheap” semester by studying abroad.
Alabama has a mission to educate the average folks from in state, so their 25-75 ACT scores are 23-31 (SAT R490-610, M490-620); in other words one-fourth of the student body is brilliant, the next quartile reasonably smart, and the bottom half just bumbles along (Ole Miss has a similar distribution, probably with fewer smart students). Princeton Review ranks it #3 as having the Least Accessible Professors. It’s a very big school, and I think it could be easy to get lost in the crowd. The dorms are extremely nice, and I think the food is supposed to be pretty good. In any given year you have a reasonable chance of playing for or being the national champion in football, if that’s something you like.
Tulane has a 25-75 ACT score range of 29-33 (SAT, R620-710, M630-710), so you’re dealing with a campus where everybody is pretty smart to brilliant. This can be good and bad when grubbing for grades. Princeton Review ranks Tulane #1 in the nation for community involvement; also #1 for hard liquor, #6 for best quality of life; #9 for party schools. Make of these what you will. As a practical matter, your chance of getting a minor in possession in New Orleans is virtually nil. It’s illegal for 18-year-olds to buy alcohol, but if they are in a house with a bunch of alcohol it’s perfectly legal for them to drink it. (So it’s against the law to sell or give it to them, but they have the right to possess it!). On the down side, New Orleans can be a dangerous city. The Tulane campus is safe, but it’s not necessarily wise to walk alone late at night, save perhaps to the streetcar stop. The dorms at Tulane are reportedly not as nice as those at Alabama, and I don’t think Tulane has student recreation and weight facilities that are as nice as those at Alabama. Alabama has a stronger Greek system than Tulane; Tulane has lots of Greeks, but their Greek affiliation is less important than at Alabama.
I’ve taken a lot of verbage to say all this, but if money is absolutely no object, I think I’d be inclined to think Tulane would be the better choice for a political science major. With that said, you really need to visit both of these campuses. They are very different places and you shouldn’t decide without visiting. My son still doesn’t know what he wants to do and will be visiting both for a second time in the next few weeks, plus making a trip to Georgia…
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So you can spend a summer or semester abroad and have $13,500 to spend towards expenses.
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this is huge…a wonderful deal.
I don’t think that there are any/many summer/semester abroad programs where that much money wouldn’t cover airfare, tuition, housing, and spending money while abroad. The only one I can think of that would cost more is Semester at Sea, but that’s an unusual one.
If you hurry (deadline is very soon) you can apply to the Altman program at Tulane, A FABULOUS program for students interested in business and international relations… I believe there are 2 study abroad components, it offers fabulous opportunities and $$$$. Look into it. Its pretty selective, but you sound like a potentially good candidate (criteria ares strict though --you need to be fluent in 2 languages, have taken around 12 APs, etc). Also, if you are a poli sci major, you can apply to take a class with James Carville. And his wife Mary Matalin has been reported to pop in. BTW Tulane has cracked down on campus drinking.
And some of what EVD has said is not quite correct about Tulane. The late FC’s daughter had the DHS scholarship (as did my son). FC’s daughter stayed an extra semester in part , IIRC, because she double majored and had the semester abroad and may have stayed on in Asia-- cant quite recall. Regardless, Tulane extended her DHS to cover tuition for the extra semester. She graduated in December (rather than May) and her tuition was covered all the way through.