I’m obviously bias, but AU hits everything on your list.
-In DC (with an unlimited metro pass), helps with internships obviously. You can do one during the school year along with classes instead of taking a semester off just to do an internship.
-Rated 2nd in the country by BestDelegate last year
-Most classes are small, with the only large lectures being a few intro classes depending on the major
-Collaboration between students is highly encouraged
-Most professors are super caring and well respected, with the occasional bad apple
-Undergrad population of about 8k
-Political Science is the 3rd most popular major after International Studies and Business
-AU’s sports are good but nobody really pays attention unless there’s a huge win
-AU has multiple political institutes: Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, Women & Politics Institute, Lincoln Scholars Program (for undergrads only)
-More of a club culture rather than parties. Most students looking for parties travel to GW or Gtown
-Not sure of the amount of students in Greek Life but there’s no on-campus housing for frats or sororities
-AU is technically affiliated with the Methodist church but there’s no evidence of that on campus other than the nearby church
-Ranked #3 by Niche for most liberal college in America. That being said, if you’re in any class that’s remotely political, it’s definitely not an echo chamber.
This isn’t on your list, but AU was ranked by the Princeton Review as the “most politically active” college in American in 2018.
Some cons to consider:
-It’s not in the heart of the city. It’s located in the suburbs in Northwest DC.
-Not many dorm or food options since its a medium school. There’s 2 available room types for freshmen (suite or traditional, no single rooms) in 3 residence halls. Also, only one dining hall with some restaurants on campus. Most vendors in Tenleytown (the nearby shopping center about a 10 minute walk away) take AU’s dining plan.
-Merit aid isn’t great. If you’re one of those middle class families that might not get financial aid but still needs something, the most you can get is around $20k per year without applying to extra scholarships.
-There aren’t that many Living Learning Communities for freshmen if that’s something you’re interested in. There’s the honors program, a volunteering one, one for 3 year degree programs, and University College. UC is basically where you live in the same hall as students in one of your core classes.
-Class registration sucks if you’re not a senior. But I think that’s a common complaint at many colleges.
Let me know if you want some more info or if I can help with anything!
Also, I do think your list is reach-heavy. The only schools that aren’t reaches are AU and GW. What state are you in? Look at your state flagship or other publics as possible safeties.
For a safety that meets all your criteria, consider Willamette U. in Oregon. It’s in Salem, literally across the street from the capital building, with many opportunities to participate in state government. Poli sci is a very popular major as a result. It isn’t huge, fratty, or religious (Methodist-affiliated but doesn’t impose any kind of religious life on students, similarly to other historically Methodist schools like Wesleyan, Duke, Emory, etc.) has small classes taught by professors, is not a big party or sports school, not southern, not conservative, and is very collaborative and supportive of students. Its thoughtful planning and communications in response to Covid-19 are some of the best I’ve seen. Its debate team is BP: https://willamette.edu/news/library/2017/04/debate-tournament.html You’d likely get merit aid.
Denison could be a worthy low-match. It’s half an hour outside of the state capital of Columbus and also has a particularly strong DC internship program. In addition to straight poli sci, it has an Oxford-style PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics) program and also a poli sci track of data analytics.
If Virginia isn’t too southern for you, U of Richmond also has both poli sci and PPE(L), is in a state-capital location, and meets many of your other criteria. William & Mary could be worth a look too. These are matches for your stats but still very competitive.
Most of your list is very reachy. You’re a qualified applicant for all of these schools, but at schools like Stanford, Brown, Pomona and so on, the vast majority of unhooked applicants with your stats are rejected. GW and American are good alternatives if you want to be in DC. (Although as you say, being in/near a state capital and doing a semester in DC can work well too and offer more state/local politics perspective.) The reach schools are worth a shot, but do try to get excited about your matches and safeties as well.
What’s your budget? Will you qualify for financial aid (in which case comparing out-of-pocket costs based on each school’s Net Price Calculator is important) or will you have to pay “sticker price” minus merit (in which case a school that will offer merit aid can be well worth considering)? Home state?
–Have you determined that the schools on your list are all affordable?
–I think your list is too reach-heavy. I’d seek out a few more match/safety schools.
As someone mentioned W&M and Richmond check lots of boxes for you. Both pride themselves in small classes led by profs (not TAs) and excel at student / prof engagement. W&M particularly is known for a strong PoliSci track and has a ton of alum in the DC area (internships in government related entities - congress, thinktanks, NGOs, etc.)
Although a Catholic University, you might want to look at Georgetown because of DC location and focus in your area of interests. See https://www.georgetown.edu/academics/ and poke around. A nephew just graduated from there and appreciated the faculty/student interaction.
I am from the Boston area and would also second a close look at Tufts. PS is and has been a big focus at this small university for a long time.
Add Union College just outside Albany, NY to your list. Checks all your boxes. Gettysburg College, not far from Reading is also a great fit with internships in DC as well as being close to Reading, PA. Another good school to consider is Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. It’s another good fit for most of your criteria.
Trinity College is in Hartford, CT would be worth a look, but a better fit in CT would probably be Wesleyan which is not far from Hartford. Bates College is close enough to get to Augusta, ME. Reed College is in Portland, OR, about an hour from Salem.
@izrk02 I would love to talk about AU with u as I am very interested in it but haven’t been able to do a campus visit and don’t know very much about it. How could I get in contact with u?
@Publisher I looked into CMC a bit and really like it. I was wondering how much of a sports focus it has though as 1/3 of students are in varsity sports and that is somewhat concerning to me. I enjoy sports but don’t really want to go to a school where sports dominates campus culture.
Thank you so much for all your help. I definitely need to add more safety and target schools to the list. I am a nationally ranked debater, am interning for my mayor, started an advocacy group, and I am in the process of passing a proposal for a new mental health program in my school district (the county youth services department has already approved it, private donors are willing to fund it, and I’m about to send it to the school board), but you never know how admissions person is going to look at qualitative stuff.
If you like CMC enough to apply Early Decision, then it’s probably a match school. If you wait for the RD cycle then it’s a reach. They accept a majority of their class ED, with about a 30% acceptance rate, but if you look at the RD cycle by itself, the acceptance rate is about 6%.
There are a lot of athletes (and granted, one reason ED is so heavily favored is that most recruited athletes apply ED; but there are still significantly more ED admits than athletes) but it isn’t a sports-dominated school in the spectator-sports sense. (They do have the best athletic facilities in the consortium, for sure.) People are just into what they’re into, and for some, varsity teams are their big commitment. But people have a wide range of interests. Even if you feel like you’re not dead-center of the social demographics at CMC, there’s so much mixing of the five consortium schools, in classes, extracurriculars, and social life, that your “tribe” is sure to be represented.
That said, each school does have its own personality, and at first my daughter (who attends Scripps) found the frequent belaboring of school stereotypes wearisome. But I think she found that this was sort of a phase that first-years go through as they’re getting their bearings. She has friends from all of the schools and has taken courses on every campus as well.
Are you already aware of the CMC summer program, now online, for advanced high school debaters? I don’t know how much of a sense of the college it would give you, given the format, but it might be worth considering. ($300 for a 4-day session, July 7-10) www.claremontsummer.online
Thank you for the suggestion to apply for the summer program. I agree, Idk how much it will give me a sense of the school, but I think it will definitely show interest.
If you like Swarthmore, then check Haverford, Earlham, Guilford and the rest of the list at https://quakerfahe.com/quaker-colleges-universities-and-study-centers/ Some are more overtly Quaker than others, but none of the colleges should be so religious as to cause problems for a non-religious person.
CMC does have lower median stats than most schools with similar admit rates. I guess the relatively high percentage of athletes could be part of that, if they’re not as picky about test scores with their recruits. But overall, it’s hard to analyze unless we were privy to the stat distributions of the whole applicant pool at these various schools, and nobody discloses that info.