Hello everyone! My daughter is thrilled to be accepted to UChicago, Georgetown SFS and the Dual BA program between Columbia-Science Po. She loves all 3 schools. She is having a very difficult time deciding between the 3 schools. They each are speical and will provide a unique education. If anyone has any thoughts between the three schools it would be greatly appreciated.
Assuing her intent is clearly Political science, I would go Columbia/Science PO (very unique and thrilling program. Second would be UChicago due to pedigree and overall global brand and broad eminence in History. economics, languages etc.
If she is truly interested in political science and IR, the SFS is second to none as it is in DC and has countless opportunities- you often have professors who are currently working in washington for the president, state department, etc. However, all three schools are fantastic
Thank you @Chrchill and @yonceonhismouth! Since she loves them all, she is looking at what her perceived cons are for each school and wondering if her perceptions are real concerns…
She is wondering if she will truly be able to become fluent in a language at GU SFS and UChicago? even with summer or semester abroad programs.
For the Dual BA, during a past summer program she recalls being advised that because of required extensive background screenings, living overseas for an extended amount of time can make it difficult to be hired by the US State Dept…so would living in France for 2 years impede her ability to be hired for US State dept. jobs… The advice was… “be friendly, but don’t make friends”…
She also wonders if the “content” of the material while at Science Po for 2 years will be as in-depth and complete as UChicago or SFS?
And, would Science Po/Columbia and UChicago give her the skills to successfully pass the FSO exam?
Also, are all 3 locations of Science Po (LeHarve, Reims, and Menton) equally respected? She must understandably go to the campus of her area of interest.
Thank you so much for your insight!
To become fluent in a language you have to live there. I prefer UChicago because of its overall general strength in so many salient key areas. But if she is really that certain about state department (how can you be so certain at this age?), then SFS is the state dept prep school. Not that if she is not fluent in French now, she may have a hard time keeping up and doing well at Science PO. in general, the Columbia/Science PO option is most attractive if she wants to live in Europe. . I think UChicago offers the most opportunities generally. SFS is a professional targeted school the Columbia/Science PO is in between. There is no question that Columbia and UChicago each have substantially more pedigree weight than Georgetown. You never know when that will become an issue. .
I hope to be able to help, I’m a french-speaking Belgian and my mom graduated from a french uni in Paris (which also offers double degrees with Science-Po), so I may have some perspective 
Science Po in France/french speaking country is considered as a prep-school for top civil servants, it’s not a school where you learn practical skills - since most of the students also do a master degree in business if they want to work in private sector - and the other students will pass french civil servant exams. It’s more like a Liberal Arts college than … let’s say CS at MIT. It would be interesting for her to network with the french future civil servants there though, if she’s interested in Politic Science.
Also Science-Po have a reputation of being politically on the far left with students who are supposed to be less serious or business oriented than at other top schools (think french Engineering Grandes Ecoles or Business Schools like HEC) because the entrance exam at Science-Po is less competitive: it doesn’t need 2 years of “Classes Preparatoires”(2 years of intense prep school - people work 100+ hours and prepare the exams for top business & engineering school) so it doesn’t have the same prestige than the other Grandes Ecoles (with entrance exams after the Classes Preparatoires).
Science-Po is a network of schools but it’s not exactly the same school, french people will tell you only Science-Po Paris’ branding would be considered as prestigious so you may want to check that all those centers are linked to Science-Po Paris & not another Science-Po (like Nice or Lyon). Reims is a lovely city. Menton as well - Le Havre not that much.
With all the being said the double degree seems to be something specific - I’m not sure if all of those apply, and Columbia is a top school, so it’s just to give you an idea of how “local” people view Science-Po.
@Churchill: that’s true, in Europe people usually only know Harvard/Yale/MIT/Stanford & some of them know Upenn/Caltech/Uchicago/Columbia/Berkeley or Brown, but that’s all, no-one know Georgetown. As for learning french, unfortunately international students tend to stay together - it maybe be easier to network with french people in a smaller class environment - the OP may want to check the size of the classes at Science-Po. But again Menton and Reims are really lovely and smaller city, I think it’s better than Paris to “feel” and “fit” in the French culture.
@eloywin thank you for your insight, it is very helpful from the perspective of someone who is familiar with the French schools. The way the Dual BA program works is that about 30-50 students are selected for each of the 3 areas of study: Trans-Atlantic; Asian and Middle East at the Reims, Le Havre and Menton campus’ respectively. 1/3 of the students at each campus are from France, another 1/3 from the area of study and another 1/3 from the US and other places not particular to the area of study or France. The curriculum requires you to learn French and a langauge specific to the region of study. It is not necessary to be fluent in French at the onset and the courses are taught in English. After 2 years, each group moves to Columbia for the final 2 years of study and completes the core curriculum of Columbia. At the end you are awarded two bachelors degrees one from Science Po and another from Columbia. Like other Science Po graduates you are guaranteed admission to Science Po graduate program after completion of the bachelor program from Science Po.
I can speak to your concern about learning a language. SFS students must pass proficiency in a language other than English by graduation, so she will be able to be fluent in at least one other language.
I know a recent (2 years ago) grad of the Columbia-Sciences Po program, and one of my collegekids was accepted to it in it’s inaugural year (she turned it down).
It is a great credential, and the other things that go with it (like guaranteed masters, include a dual-degree one with LSE, which is the one the student I know just finished) leaves you with an amazing paper resume.
However, one thing to be aware of is that the educational experience in France may feel disappointing. The student that I know was unimpressed with the actual classes, schooling experience, the style of teaching, the investment (or lack thereof) of the teachers in the students and some of the organizational elements. Her report is consistent with the rather formal/hands off approach to teaching reports I have heard from other students.
There are parts of the FSO exam that none of the programs- even SFS- will help with. Be aware that it is increasingly rare to go straight in from undergrad, and some work experience is increasingly expected.
What are goals?
I would add that what @collegemom3717 said seems to be the norm when it comes to the experience of American kids at Sciences Po. It seems as if in every review by an American kid, they find the educational experience at Sciences Po to be far below what they are use to at American colleges.
@PurpleTitan is right. What’s the end goal?
My 3 cents:
If the goal is to work in a diplomacy-related field in France or a French-speaking country, then I’d pick Columbia/Sciences-Po. You really do have to live in a country to achieve fluency and 2 years in France would be a great experience in that respect (even if the academic experience may be below expectations, the experience abroad and dual degree could make up for that).
If the goal is to work in the US foreign service but not necessarily in France/Europe/French-speaking country, then Georgetown SFS.
If the goal is uncertain, then I’d pick Chicago - quality education, global pedigree, could go in many directions after that.
@SaltH20 Just by curious, what’s the price for the program? French universities are very low cost ( around 5000 $/year) I’m curious if your daughter will have to pay the full Columbia price or you could save some money with this option?
@collegemom3717 That’s true for the college experience - but the colleges are much cheaper in France - it costs 10000$/years MAX (and it’s for the very few expensive ones - usually it’s around 2000-5000$) and Science-Po is state funded - like most colleges - the colleges don’t have their own funds/endowment. So it’s not possible to expect the same experience than at Columbia - which has much more money.
@eloywin With the Dual BA, the first 2 years you pay Science Po…and yes it is MUCH cheaper for those 2 years. The last 2 years you pay Columbia… But, with your acceptance they give you a financial package. There is a scholarship that I believe all Dual BA students receive that reduces the cost while at Columbia which is included in the financial package you receive upon acceptance. Concerning costs, I am trying not to let that factor into the decision but because of a particular scholarship cost at UChicago would be extremely low. I believe the overall costs would be the highest at Georgetown.
@SaltH20 I would say Columbia-Science Po first, and then Georgetown SFS/Chicago second. Columbia-Science Po combines any things. The best political science departments out of the three, ivy league prestige, international exposure, degrees from two amazing universities.
As for GeorgetownSFS VS Chicago there is a trade off. Georgetown is better for work in US foreign service and government. Chicago is an overall stronger school that is more well-known and well-regarded.
For Georgetown’s SFS, more graduates end up on Wall Street than in US governement. It is more of a feeder school for Wall Street these days.
@SalyH20 sounds fair! I’m happy it’s the case
As for Columbia vs UChicago - it depends on if your daughter wants to have the “french” university experience I guess Does she want to go to France - is it something that’s alluring personally to her? As said the cities are small cities and are safer/nicer I think than Paris, especially for a girl.
Do they have french class (french learning class) at Science-Po? French is not that difficult from English, she will never loose the american accent but she should be able to speak/write/read with a good level after 2 years.
@Penn95 Science-Po is not as prestigious as Columbia for french people. But it’s a very good school - we (I’m from Belgium but I’m french speaking and everything :-)) see it more like Georgetown/John Hopkins/Northwestern, so less well ranked than top Ivies like Columbia. I think Columbia’ brand is definitively the more interesting of the two
But at the end of the day - her daughter will come back to the Us and won’t stay in France so it doesn’t matter that much!
As for Georgetown I agree with the other people for the prestige/ranking thing - and mainly because it’s more expensive as well.
UChicago and Georgetown would have study-abroad as well. Keep that in mind.
Honestly, prestige gets overrated by people when you’re talking about schools at this level. I’ve worked in prestige industries (financial), and you/what you can do matters more than whether you went to UChicago, Georgetown, or Columbia.
Thank you @PurpleTitan. The prestige/ranking element has always been perplexing to me. In this instance, yes, Columbia and UChicago are overall ranked well above GU but for IR, GU SFS ranks above both Columbia and UChicago (by just a little). And, since the Dual BA is situated within Columbia GS because of it’s requirement to live aborad for 2 years, I don’t know if the Columbia ranking translates to the traditional prestige/ranking or if it even matters. And, I do think there is a subtle shift in higher education. I think now “experience” can be a great asset…whether that is by internship, work, experience with another culture or proficiency at a language…which makes me nervous about UChicago because between the 3 schools it appears to offer the least straightforward and assured ability to gain language proficiency, cultural experience and internships. However, I believe that is probably because we just don’t know what options are available at UChicago.
@eloywin Yes, the students in the Dual BA are required to take French language classes and improve from whatever level they are at. I believe if you are able to test out if you are fluent in French. In addition to the required French language classes you are required to study the language of the region you are focusing on. So, for instance at Menton you study French and Arabic. And, the Asia program studies Chinese, etc. I believe the Dual BA of course is a good program if you want to work in France. However,because you pick a region of study, ie. Asia, Middle East, etc. I also believe that the Dual BA benefits are not limited only to careers within France. I think there is a unique benefit for studying a region such as the Middle East or Asia while attending a school outside of the US. It allows you to understand the dynamics of Asia or the Middle East through another country’s lens.
I think she needs to go to the admitted student days and re-group. I know she would be happy at all of the schools and they each would give her an excellent education.