<p>I was accepted into AU at the School of International Service with a 20K scholarship and also into Maryland with an intended major in Government and Politics.</p>
<p>I’m wondering what to decide between these schools. American’s International program seems to be ranked well, but Maryland overall is ranked quite a bit higher for overall undergraduate. The location of AU seems to be better for internships.</p>
<p>I plan to pursue in graduate school a master’s in public policy, so I’m wondering which school would look better to the admission’s committees. AU’s low ranking seems like it might hurt. </p>
<p>General stats </p>
<p>SAT: 2130
GPA: 4.01
8 AP classes in high school, all other ones honors.</p>
<p>Go where you want to go. Don’t worry about rankings. You’ve done well in high school so I’m sure you’ll do well wherever you go. From what I’ve gathered, your GPA, GRE scores, and the other parts of your application are far more important than where you’ve gone to school. You’re correct, UM is ranked quite a bit higher than AU but both schools are still in the top 100. It’s not as if you’re comparing UM to Podunk U in the middle of nowhere. I’d think the difference in rankings would be negligible to grad schools.</p>
<p>The AU SIS is very highly regarded. My son’s roomie was considering Washington U at SL versus AU and chose AU because “at WSL they do political theory, at AU they do politics”. He liked the idea of being at the center of things.</p>
<p>If you are going to study IR for your undergraduate major, go to AU. Though a school can be ranked lower overall, specific programs can be considered highly regarded.</p>
<p>Since its AU’s IR you’re looking at, both schools are pretty equal. Maryland would rank a tiny bit higher, though almost negligible.</p>
<p>I would advice you to see what you really want from the college. These two schools are very different. I go to AU and my cousin to College Park MD.</p>
<p>AU - Small and more focus
MD - Big and less focus</p>
<p>AU - Okay Campus Life
MD - Good Campus Life</p>
<p>AU - More attention to student
MD - Less " "</p>
<p>AU - Challenging Academics
MD - More challenging academics</p>
<p>And so many others to consider. See what school would best fit you. I personally, would chose AU over MD, because I love individual attention and value accessibility.</p>