<p>My S asked me to put this in the forum to see what feedback he gets regarding his decision between UNC and GW. He currently wants to major in Political Science or Public Policy and is interested in various aspects of each school and how others compare these schools. We are IS for UNC and finances are not too much of an issue since GW has come through with a very nice FA package.</p>
<p>Decisions, decisions. Perhaps some of you may have the same decision. Help him out here is you have any input.</p>
<p>I'll also post this on the GW forum.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Originially my son's first choice was GW - until he visited the school. He found that he really wanted a campus. Some people love that GW is right in the city without a campus, some don't. Being in DC is great for internships. </p>
<p>My son ended up not applying to GW. He loves UNC, but he is leaving behind the wonderful oppportunities that DC offers a student interested in Political Science and Public Policy. I see that you live in NC, so perhaps your son would want a change in scenery. </p>
<p>Sorry I can't compare the political science departments. Perhaps someone on this board can give you more insight.</p>
<p>I chose between GW and UNC!!</p>
<p>For me, it came down to full tuition at UNC and a pretty good package at GW. I adored GW's campus (or I guess lack thereof, I still loved it), the vibe, everything, but I felt like it wasn't strong enough in the liberal arts for me - and I got the vibe a little bit that GW lives in the shadow of Georgetown, as much as I hate to say it. I guess some people would say that about UNC, but I think its reputation overall is better than GW's.</p>
<p>I think both are great choices if you're interested in political science. As I've said before, if you live eat sleep and breathe international relations and poli sci then GW is fantastic, but you can also find a place at UNC. I'd recommend visiting both and figuring out what your son is really looking for for college. Neither are bad decisions.</p>
<p>Well, you are talking about a difference between two schools where one is significantly better known for it's reputation in aforementioned academic disciplines and the other school located in an area best noted for proliferation of those disciplines (D.C.) but nothing more.</p>
<p>I'm going to talk some rank IOT make my point. This is my take on this. Think about the fact that UNC (located in south - Chapel Hill, NC) ranks around top 10 in Poli-Sci, Public Policy and history /top 3 in sociology. Then, GWU, a university located in the political mecca - D.C., doesn't even come close to it. Heck, in terms of liberal arts, even Georgetown isn't on par w/ UNC when measured up against (except IR- GTown rules in IR). University as a whole, G-town is ranked around 20-23ish in USN&R and UNC is ranked 24-27 (hardly a difference in terms of overall quality) and UNC scores higher in reputation. UNC is not in shadow of Dook as GWU is in shadow of GTown. There are significant number of departments in UNC that are ranked similarly or higher than Dook, therefore, UNC, in my opion, is publc inst. equal of dook (as in UC-Berkely and Stanford, Michigan and Chicago). Absolutely no brainer. Save yourself some money and goto UNC. Go for that degree that's very well respected in academia. You can take I-95 to drive up to visit D.C. if you feel you need to, during a break (cuz that's the only thing u'll be missing by not choosing GW and choosing UNC).</p>
<p>scottlh, u made me feel so good about getting into UNC-CH i swear to god..</p>