Which non-HYP would be best for me?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Which non-HYP Ivy would be best for me?
I am not going to include GPA, SAT, etc because the non HYPs are very similar in admissions percentages, so I dont think they are relevant here. I just want to know which one you guys would think would be BEST for me.</p>

<p>Info:
I am looking toward International Relations, International Business/Economics, or Public Policy. I am looking for universities that offer majors/minors in the above, along with a strong Spanish program (I will continue it, perhaps as a minor) and I am fluent in Russian. But International Relations or International Economics are probably going to be at the top of my list. I am looking for good programs in those fields.
I am also looking for medium sized universities 5,000-20,000 ish people. I am looking for a pretty solid city/town nearby, but the campus itself I want to have real campus life. Climate isnt a must, but i'd prefer not totally freezing. But I dont really care about cold. I dont want there to be a huge party scene, but I do enjoy going out once a week or so with friends. I'm a big fan of sports, so I'd like to be able to play something like intramural volleyball, basketball, or flag football. I'd like a pretty solid recreational scene, I guess.
Also I'm not really into conservative scenes. I dont want a 100% Liberal school (i think it's unhealthy to the inquisitive mind) but I dont want to go to a school considered one of the most conservative Ivies.</p>

<p>Which non-HYP would be best, taking in consideration the strength of my potential major, and the campus live that I want?</p>

2

<p>It sounds like Brown all the way. You might also like Georgetown.</p>

3

<p>SFS is definitely on the list.
But as for Ivies, does brown have a good IR program? Which non-HYP Ivy has the best IR program?</p>

4

<p>I have to be honest with you, the term, “best” is SO relative. They’re all incredible schools with great programs. Other than that, i can’t really tell you which one has the “best” IR program because I can’t properly judge that, sorry man</p>

5

<p>Could you at least give me idea of which schools have better programs than others?
Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown. Which 2 or 3 are best? Do they satisfy my other wishes in terms of campus life?</p>

6

<p>I would probably say Columbia and Brown. Some other schools that are excellent in IR, but are not ivies are: Georgetown and Tufts</p>

7

<p>brown has one of the best IR programs in the country -
[The</a> Watson Institute for International Studies](<a href=“http://www.watsoninstitute.org%5DThe”>http://www.watsoninstitute.org)</p>

8

<p>I know about non-Ivies like JHU, Tufts, Gtown, etc
But IR at Ivies doesnt seem to be a particularly prestigious field.</p>

<p>I’ve heard good things about the Watson institute. I heard Khruschev’s son is on the faculty!
And what is the Columbia IR program like? Is it focused on the grad school or does it have a good undergrad track like Tufts and SFS?</p>

9

<p>If you’re applying RD, the admissions percentage at most of the Ivy League schools (including Harvard, Yale and Princeton) are very similar, i.e., 5-8%. Are you crossing HYP off your list because you think admission to one of those schools is too difficult? I hope not. You really should base your choices on where you want to spend your daily life for four years. All of these schools will meet your academic needs and goals.</p>

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<p>No, but I consider them in a different league from an admissions standpoint. I will probably apply to Yale and 2 non HYPs. Judging by your advice, I will visit Brown and Columbia. If I like them, surely I will apply tgo both.</p>

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<p>They really aren’t in a different league. You’d likely be surprised at the number of students at Yale, Harvard and Princeton who were rejected or waitlisted by Brown, Columbia or Dartmouth.</p>

12

<p>But I would expect more people to be admitted to non-HYP ivies and be denied at HYP. It’s a pretty solid consensus that admissions aren’t significantly easier at non-HYP, but the difference is notable enough to reflect in the common data set.</p>

13

<p>I guess I don’t think 10 or 20 points on an SAT 25th or 75th percentile is notable, given the significance of other factors, but whatever. You should still seek schools where you think you would be happy on a daily basis. As you note, visiting is the key. Good luck to you!</p>

14

<p>You really think the break is between HYP and non-HYP when it comes to admission percentages?</p>

<p>Hahvahd: 6.9%
Yale: 7.5%
Princeton: 8.2%
Columbia 9.1%
Brown: 9.3%
Dartmouth: 11.5%
Penn: 14.9%
Cornell: 18.4%</p>

15

<p>I think so, yes. I think HYP is harder to get into than non-HYP.</p>

<p>But we are getting ahead of ourselves/
This being the Columbia board, what do you guys know about Columbia’s IR program?</p>

16

<p>columbia nor brown have an IR program.</p>

<p>i have ranted about IR programs and students not knowing what they are before.</p>

<p>if you could explain to me what you want to study that is internationally related, i could tell you how to do it. i should also clarify that international studies is not IR in principle. IR is merely a theory studied within political science about the connection of states when there is no referee.</p>

<p>i hope that when you visit columbia you feel something more than just a desire to attend an ivy. if not, you probably shouldn’t apply to columbia.</p>

<p>and regular decision to columbia college - the admission rate is somewhere around 5%. as some columbia college kids like to note - it is harder to be admitted to columbia college for regular decision than harvard, and probably only rivaled by stanford and yale rd.</p>

17

<p>I know what an IR program is, please don’t condescend me. You dont need an IR major to have a good IR program. Simply offering a good IR track (good pol-sci, international studies, economics, etc) would suffice.
BTW at Brown IR concentration is one of the top 10 most popular concentrations (majors). </p>

<p>I want to learn the skills to work alongside national governments, NGOs, to solve global problems. In specific my dream would be to be an FSO, but only like 5% of applicants are accepted, so I’d say private sector consulting with corporations and NGOs would be more realistic. </p>

<p>As for why I want to attend an ivy league school, the education level at Ivy leagues is beyond what most regular privates have. Networking is easier and prospects coming out of college are better. But anyways, I know the traditional IR greats for sure. Ivies, on the other hand, dont have a big reputation for IR. So…?</p>

<p>And idk how admissions are. But HYP is widely seen as more selective. Harvard’s median SAT is 2220. Yale is 2230. Princeton is 2220. Columbia is 2160.
Ehh. I’m not going to argue with a bunch of Columbia lovers about which ones are more selective. But any rational person in the regular forums will admit that HYP is more selective.That’s why its HYP and not HYPC.</p>

18

<p>well your post clearly shows you don’t know what IR is. if you did you’d know that Ken Waltz and Robert Jervis are at columbia and are two of the biggest names in the field.</p>

<p>it sounds like what you’re interested in would be a program like at Georgetown, Tufts or GW, as they are the most geared toward future FSOs. also the FSO process is not as rigorous as you make it out to be, if you’re smart enough to get into an ivy, you’re already in the top quintile of applicants, so you’d do fine. i think the benefit of attending a rigorous liberal arts program is great, if even not directly practical to what you want to do. i think as i mention in the link below that having a strong methodology than a cool sounding major is very important for a future in international agencies.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1032637-international-relations-columbia.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1032637-international-relations-columbia.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Consider this argument i’ve made before about international relations, how it is perceived and how you can do it at columbia.</p>

<p>Also consider the importance if you like NGO or IGO work of being in NYC where there is just tons of places you can intern between there and DC it is a true advantage to have access to such groups, to intern, network, you clearly know this. It is why if you are really interested in this career path a place like Columbia puts you at an advantage over other ivies.</p>

<p>Brown is the other school that has strong networks with NGO/IGO world, as both schools have their crunchy liberal internationalists, so that would be another place where if you desire to work in that world it is a bit easier because of connections and internship opportunities.</p>

<hr>

<p>i think you are conflating prestige with selectivity, the college of the ozarks admits like 9% a year, would you consider it more prestigious than duke? </p>

<p>you should note that columbia has the smallest 25-75% range. why? it has the smallest class, so it actually often does not admit kids that harvard looks at. there are tons of kids that get into the harvard class that by virtue of it being a larger class would not be considered at columbia. admissions is more complicated than it seems.</p>

19

<p>Actually HYP all have smaller undergraduate classes than Columbia.
So you’re telling me that I don’t understand what IR is because I didn’t know that 2 experts in the IR field are members of the Columbia faculty? I don’t understand how your mind works. How is knowing which university 2 experts teach at reflect my knowledge on what IR is? </p>

<p>Anyways, apart from your rude and condescending attitude, I thank you for finally giving me an answer.
IN my original post, I stated that i wanted an active campus life. But in a thread on this forum, I heard complaints that campus life isnt very active. Instead, life is focused on the city. How would you reply?</p>

<p>Also can you verify that 5% acceptance rate?</p>

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<p>adgeek, you’re wasting your time replying to an pretentious Ivy whore who doesn’t understand what they actually want to study. With his attitude, it’s very doubtful the OP will be admitted to an Ivy League school and since he doesn’t seem to consider anything that you post, why bother?</p>