Wow! Thank you for this!! I have heard great things about Andrew Martin, and am definitely interested in political economy so I will be sure to check out Andy Sobel. Very helpful to hear such detailed insight about the political science department!
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Thanks everyone! I think I’m going to go with my heart and commit to WashU. I’ve fallen in love with the school & ultimately, I think I’d be happier there than at Georgetown. However, I will definitely consider Georgetown for law school like some of you recommended!
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Happy to offer firsthand experience. If you’re going to spend 4 years someplace and I was in your shoes re: major/interests 25 (gulp) years earlier, the least I can do is give you 15 minutes of what is in that department. A lot has changed since my time. Most of it for the better. If you can get a class with Bill Lowry (environmental policy, now emeritus), do it. I don’t know if anyone has continued with the Riots, Revolutions and Rebellions course. That was Roger Petersen, who left quite awhile back for a fancy chair at MIT. Courses like that are a really nice change of pace. The latter gets into his social trust, cognitive psychology and institutions all mix.
Petersen and Lowry were two of my advisors.
I don’t think you could have made a wrong decision here with the two schools in front of you. Congratulations.
Georgetown is T14 for Law, so just study your butt off (and have fun! – do not forget that!) at WashU, and if law school is still in the cards, get it done.
A lot, probably 50% or more, change their major/focus during their undergrad. No worries there – WashU is strong in a great many areas. Study hard, have fun, figure out what you want, and (Nike) just do it.
Congratulations! I am a Wash U alum from way back (humanities major) and I loved every minute of my time there. We first visited Wash U when I was a junior in HS and I knew nothing about it at the time, but as soon as I stepped onto campus it just felt like home! I chose Wash U over Duke and Northwestern at the time.
My husband also is an alum, and he was a poli sci major who worked on Capitol Hill for a few years after college then went to a T14 law school. He doesn’t practice law now, but works in public policy/public interest advocacy. He also had a great experience at Wash U.
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Don’t confuse poli sci with international relations. Georgetown has mediocre rankings in both poli sci and economics. Strength in poli sci program has nothing to do with the proximity to the Capitol Hill. Can you imagine anyone in the Congress teaching poli sci? As for job connections, a lot of fed jobs in DC are about whom your family know.
For USNews 2022, Georgetown law dropped to 15th and, WashU law is now tied for 16th. But yes, in DC, Georgetown law is a much bigger name (and I know this thread is about undergrad anyway).
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The OP would have had to decide months ago. Closing