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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!