So as the title says, the University of Chicago, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and University of California Berkeley are my top three choices right now (gotta make my decision in less than a month, AAAAHHH). I’m looking to major in poli sci or public policy, possibly go onto law school after undergrad.
I wouldn’t be considering UCBerkeley (no offense, just kind of want to go somewhere else seeing as I’ve been living 15 minutes away from Berkeley for most of my life) except that they’re giving me the Regents’ and Chancellors’ Scholarship and it would be in-state tuition, so much cheaper (my parents would prefer if I go to UCB).
In terms of school life/culture, I think I could fit in at either Georgetown or Chicago, but I am at least a bit concerned about the stereotypes about both places: that there are a lot of obnoxious preppy Georgetown kids and that there are a lot of weird maybe too nerdy Chicago kids. At this point in my life I would probably say I am more similar to a Chicago kid in that I enjoy intellectual discussion and am not terribly interested in sports, but I am definitely extroverted and am a social guy.
So far the indication I’ve gotten is that Georgetown, especially SFS, is a kind of pre-professional education, and getting internships and job offers is very important there. At Chicago, it seems like its very focussed on learning for the sake of learning, and that you are shunted more towards grad school or academia than a career.
I guess based on the limited info I’ve provided, does anyone have any opinions on which choice I should make? Leaning more towards Chicago and Georgetown over UCB at this point. My main concerns would be placement at law school, ability to get a job after graduating, having an enjoyable or at least bearable time (I’ve heard that some people actually hate Chicago, while I haven’t heard that about Georgetown). Thanks!