<p>Daughter accepted at both. Could see her in Batten School for Public Policy at UVa, or majoring in International Relations at JHU. Money is not a deciding factor. We have visited the campuses, and could see her attending them both.</p>
<p>Those two schools are so very different I am surprised your daughter does not feel strongly about one or the other.</p>
<p>I am currently a second year here at UVa. Your daughter has 2 great choices for her undergraduate career. Congrats to her! In my opinion she cannot go wrong. As a student in the new Batten undergraduate major in Public Policy and Leadership, I can try to provide any information that you or your daughter might need. The program is very new, but from what I have experienced, I am confident that the program will be of a very high caliber. Just PM me with any questions!</p>
<p>One thing that I would make sure to consider is Echols Scholar status- not having area requirements is something that’s really nice, and something that I don’t think I considered nearly enough when I was making a similar decision.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, some of the other schools don’t recognize Echols status for the purposes removing area requirements (I know this is the case for Curry, but I’m not sure about Batten), although it’s still applicable if your daughter winds up doing something else at UVA.</p>
<p>Batten will consider the Echols designation</p>
<p>I was accepted to both and will be attending UVA. Most of my reasons aren’t relevant to your daughter, as I have different major and career plans. However, I will note that a certain level of conceit at the JHU campus was pretty evident, which was a real turn off. Even the admissions counselors were short and rude to me when I have asked questions. JHU offers great academic programs though, but so does UVA. I think the educational quality at both schools will be similar. If you are looking for more prestige, I’d say JHU is the way to go, although UVA has a strong ranking as well. I am definitely willing to give up a little prestige for a more open student body and social atmosphere.</p>
<p>If your daughter wants to work in international relations she should be thinking about graduate school for the degree and SAIS at JHU is well regarding in government. Also, Fletcher school at Tufts, and Georgetown. </p>
<p>For undergrad I think UVA is a great choice for public policy or any liberal arts degree.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Both the options are excellent, though in terms of ‘prestige’ factor’ International Relations at JHU, may give your daughter a ‘feel good factor’, if she is very concerned about it. In my opinion, based on the experiences of the children in our family, the ‘college experience’ at UVa is superior to that of JHU.</p>
<p>Rintu writes In my opinion, based on the experiences of the children in our family, the ‘college experience’ at UVa is superior to that of JHU.</p>
<p>Ditto. I honestly wouldn’t consider JHU over UVA for anything until grad school. Disclaimer - I’m in-state and went to UVA for grad school.</p>
<p>Travelmoma,</p>
<p>I would suggest UVA with the Echols, which with that accolade on a resume probably is more prestigious than JHU. Plus UVA is in a nicer setting and will provide a better overall college experience. Unless we are talking Princeton or Yale, the key for IR is grad school and, if your daughter does well at UVA, she will do fine in getting into top grad programs in this field.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the great advice. Daughter decided today to take the plunge and pick UVA! She has worked so hard, and making the choice between several great colleges has been a challenge. She was alternate for Jefferson Scholarship, and it disappointed her not be chosen for that; I think it soured her a bit toward UVA. Ultimately, she remembered that UVA has always been her first choice. Her birthday is next week, so I have just ordered her a UVA t-shirt.</p>
<p>Congratulations,travelmama,to you and your daughter on making a decision and making such a great choice! All the best for a great four years in Charlottesville!</p>
<p>I was also rejected by the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. OH YEAH!!!</p>
<p>Great decision! My daughter loved the place:)</p>