<p>I recently got off the W&M wait list and was considering withdrawing from American to attend W&M. Im planning on doing a double major in international relations and economics. Which school would be better?</p>
<p>Depends on the degree to which you would desire internships during the school year. (and on relative cost, of course).</p>
<p>W&M is a fine school, but if you are serious about IR, you should know that American has the better reputation. My D had a similar choice and has decided on American. It's difficult to find information ranking IR departments. It's not something US News looks at. After searching the net, I was able to find a report by a group of professors from W&M in Foreign Policy magazine. They surveyed US academia on the "best colleges or universities for an undergraduate student who wants to study international relations." American was ranked #11 and W&M finished at #22. (You would have to think that since it was W&M professors asking the questions there would be a bias toward W&M.) Five of the 10 schools that finished above American were Ivies: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale & Dartmouth. Four were near Ivies: Stanford, Georgetown, Chicago, and UC - Berkeley. Number 10 was GW, another excellent DC school (although my D didnt care for the campus.)</p>
<p>Of course the big advantage for American is the internships. They even arrange their class schedule so that you will have an entire weekday free. I think it's hard to overestimate the impact working on the hill or with an NGO will have on your resume. W&M understands this and tries to make do with their "W&M in Washington" program. Unfortunately the number of students who can be in the program is limited, and even with that their housing is outside of the city. The program also only offers a couple of classes each semester, so you could probably only participate in the program for one semester as an upperclassman. Why limit yourself to one semester when you can choose 4 years?</p>
<p>I've heard that a lot of people start out with plans of attending American for 4 years, but end up living and working in DC for their entire careers.</p>
<p>Best of luck in making your decision.</p>
<p>I would also think a little about the major I was more interested in, and also the job avenues that open up after each major. I haven't looked at W&M's course offerings in Economics but those at AU seem a bit limited. However there appears to be an emphasis here on Development Econ (and they also have a Masters in this) which is attractive to many students. Maybe someone more informed can shed light on this. Also, I think that a majority of students do summer internships, so if you can't be in DC because of a better fit somewhere else, you can still come back to it after putting in your applications for your preferred internships from where ever you are. I'm not 100% sure but AU opens its hostels for summer interns for reasonable charges. Anyhow, the best of luck to you! And see where you fit in better, where you'll be happier!</p>
<p>I don't know what you mean with "near ivies." I don't think Stanford, which is in California, is anywhere near the Northeastern United States.</p>
<p>i think he/she meant 'near as good as the ivies'</p>
<p>stanford, u of chicago, berkeley, they're all crazy competitive schools with reputations nearly as good as that of the ivy league schools</p>