Hello fellow humans,
I am a high school senior from Ohio who is deciding on a university to study political science, economics, and Spanish. After some thought, I have narrowed down my choices to Wash U and TCD. I have identified pros and cons for each of these schools; however, I am hoping that the CC community can help me out a bit.
Wash U:
ACADEMICS: At Wash U, I would major in political science while minoring in economics and Spanish. The school is consistently ranked in the top ten for undergrad polisci in the nation which is a huge pull for me. The idea of having to take three separate sets of courses frightens me a little, but, if I want to study these topics in-depth, this is the best way to go about it.
CAMPUS: When I visited the school, I wasn’t a big fan of the campus. Before visiting, I thought that Wash U was located much closer to the city of St. Louis.
INTERNSHIPS/EMPLOYMENT: Considering that I want to pursue employment opportunities in the US, the internships and job prospects seem to be better than TCD. Also, Wash U’s polisci program has one of the highest starting salaries in the country. The employability rankings online made me second guess this observation though. TCD is much higher in many employability indexes than Wash U.
COST: Wash U’s price is pretty steep. After factoring in airfare, tuition, room and board, supplies, and a number of other costs, I would have to pay close to $15,000 more per year than TCD.
TCD:
ACADEMICS: At TCD, I would major in a program called PPES and take free modules to study Spanish. PPES stands for philosophy, political science, economics, and sociology. It seems to be one of the more recognized degrees at Trinity, and the college’s polisci program has received recognition in numerous world rankings. I would be able to narrow down this degree to concentrations in political science and economics during my third year. This system seems to be much cleaner than having a major and two minors at Wash U.
CAMPUS: I loved the layout and location of TCD. Out of all of the schools I applied to, it was my favorite campus.
INTERNSHIPS/EMPLOYMENT: This is a mystery to me. Employability indexes show that TCD has a greater appeal to employers than Wash U, and statistics on PPES’s starting salaries are impossible to find. Would employers in the US respect a degree in PPES? Also, how hard would it be for me to get an internship in the States during the summer? Finally, people on CC have mentioned that Trinity has a great reputation with well-respected US law schools. Is this claim true?
COST: As I mentioned previously, TCD’s price is much lower than Wash U’s. This is due to a scholarship I received from TCD and the extremely low price of Irish universities.