UW-Madison (Poli Sci) vs. George Washington (IR)

Hi, my daughter is down to her last two choices, Poli Sci at UW-Madison or IR at GWU. Her ultimate goal is to “work internationally”, with all the choices that implies (international organizations, think tanks, consulting firms, etc.).

Cost: UW-Madison is out of state for us, so while it will be cheaper than GWU, it won’t be so by much (she has gotten the presidential scholarship at GWU for five years).

Below are the questions we have:

  1. For someone who wants to work in an IR-related field, does it make more sense to do something more general (like Poli Sci with a minor in public policy) for an undergrad degree and then specialize in IR during your graduate work? If so, is UW-Madison a better school for it than GWU? Depending on how she does with the course load, she may decide to get a second major in a language wherever she goes.
  2. Is the GWU internship advantage real? We’ve read that being in DC makes it a lot easier to get internships, and that you have the advantage of getting them during the school year.
  3. We have heard/read that GWU ends up being more expensive than it appears on paper, that there are a lot of hidden costs. In that vein, we have heard that the daily food budget of $20 can be insufficient.
  4. We have heard a lot about how great a school UW-Madison is - any specifics about the College of Letters and Sciences, and what makes it good would be very useful.

We’ve visited both places, and liked both of them. The lack of a formal campus at GWU doesn’t seem to bother her as much as we thought it might, though she loved the UW campus as well. I think the idea of living in DC might be winning out.

In summary, we can see the advantages of going to GWU, but also hear that she will get a better/more complete liberal arts education at UW-Madison compared to GWU. We are also concerned about actual or hidden incremental costs at GWU.

Any feedback would be sincerely appreciated!

  1. I think that being able to take low paying job that have high potential and having the drive to find them is more important than minor details in education. Having the freedom to take those jobs normally requires no undergraduate debt.

  2. The certainty sell internships GWU. The low transportation time requirement make in term internships realistic for someone that manages their schedule. Dice your housing and food are sunk cost, your are able to to volunteer internships.

  3. I have no real experience. Never could understand food at GWU.

  4. Madison is a great overall experience.

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For a polisci or IR major its hard to beat GWU especially since it’d be an equivalent cost to Wisconsin.

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As parent of UW Poli Sci major who worked in politics and then went to law school, I would say UW Poli Sci is a top ranked dept and there is a separate International Relations major as well. UW has an extraordinary range of languages, if that would be part of this student’s interests (https://languages.wisc.edu/languages/). As Madison is the state capitol, there are academic year internships, but those would primarily be in state politics. UW does have a competitive admission summer internship program in DC. My kid’s academic experience at UW was incredible – he had close relationships with a number of faculty and reveled in the range of courses and faculty expertise in his areas of interest, including international human rights, genocide, terrorism, nuclear deterrence etc.

At the same time, the ability to intern in DC during the school year, and build some experience that way before entering the hugely competitive pool for summer internships in DC, would be valuable. My kid interned in DC and was competing against kids whose resumes were really impressive. For anyone interested in these areas, the ability to take unpaid internships will be important stepping stone to career goals, so figuring out finances is key.

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Hi, this is exactly my choice as well! I’d love to know what your daughter is thinking now, or eventually chose!