<p>I’m a freshman at University of Vermont majoring in political science and minoring in history. I got a 3.73 (A-) first semster with two upper level classes in history of US foreign relations and literary theory (neither class has ever allowed a freshman in it) I took the new SAT and got Writing 780, Reading 740, Math 620. I’m co-president of UVM college Democrats, and am starting a program with UVM college Repubs to target high school and student voters to register in time for the fall 06 elections. I am one of four people heading the Students Taking Action Now: Darfur project to get the University to divest from companies that invest in Sudan. I am Senator Leahy’s intern next semseter (they only take one a semster, and they’ve never had one younger than a junior before) My Russian government professor told me that I belonged at Harvard a month into the semester, and really, really likes me. I’ve written a lot for his class, and he has a good grasp of my stregthes, and has offered to write me (in his words) an “extrordinary” recommendation. My foreign relations professor likes me a lot as well, (I ask interesting questions in class and actually do the reading…) and since he teaches an upper level class, I think I will get the other rec from him. This summer I interned at the ACLU with a bunch of Wash U law students (I’m from STL) and helped a professor at Wash U do historical research, while hostessing at night to make money. I spent 35+ hours a week campaigning for Kerry summer/fall 04. My freshman-junior GPA was around a 3.0, but campaigning so much and becoming so invested in politics and really finding a purpose and a cause that I believed in so wholeheartedly in first Kerry/Edwards and now the Democaratic party in general really made me pull my whole life together, and I’m going to write an essay about this in explination of my early high school grades (first semester senior year 3.6, 2nd semester 4.0) I am fairly certain that I want to be a campaign manager. I can write good essays for all the schools I’m applying to because I do have specific, concete reasons for wanting to go to each school, especially Harvard, with it’s Institute of Politics, where Mary Beth Cahill (Kerry’s campaign manager) is a fellow, and things like the Vanishing Voter Project and studies about what bars many students from being able to vote, etc.
I would love a candid assessment of my chances at these schools…</p>
<p>Harvard
Georgetown
Barnard
NYU
Boston College
Wash U (mother works there)</p>
<p>French 1 A-
Intro. to International Relations (poli sci) A-
history of Russian Government A
US Foreign Relations to 1914 (upper level, everyone else in the class is a junior) A
Critical Approaches to Lit (upper level as well) B+</p>
<p>I just read my previous post, it’s pretty poorly written, sorry about that…</p>
<p>thanks, guys! Barnard is part of Columbia, but it’s easier to get in to. I would look at UChicago but I want to be on the East Coast. Hands on politics with Democratic Senators is important to me, which is a big pull to both Georgetown and Harvard. I like Barack Obama, but I want to be involved in the 08 campaign with the actual candidate (which will most likely be HRC or Kerry again, so Boston, NYC and DC are the only cities I’ll be able to do that in) Does anyone know if it will help me or hurt me at Georgetown and Harvard that I’m applying to such a common major as political science?</p>
<p>nspeds, off topic, but what is the political climate at Georgetown like? I’m drowning in apathy here, so literally anything will be an improvement, but would you say the conservative/liberal split is 50 50 or more like 40 60 either way. I’ve heard mixed reviews.</p>
<p>I live on a floor in which the preponderance of students are overwhelmingly liberal, so I may have a distorted perspective. The political climate appears to be left-leaning, but not by far.</p>
<p>sorry to bump this, but I really don’t want to be stuck at UVM another semester. Does anyone have any suggestions for other schools? I want to go to a school in New England, NYC or DC where people care about politics and can go out to bars or clubs or real parties at night instead of sitting around a cinder block, cell-esque dorm room drinking vodka out of a dirty water bottle…</p>
<p>Michigan might not be the best choice for you in terms of location, but the political science program is top notch – in the top three in the country each year. Ann Arbor is a progressive city filled with college charm. There’s also a LOT of internship opportunities available in the political science department. My profs frequently mention summer internships during the beginning of class, ranging from jobs with the state department to jobs helping with elections in developing countries in latin america. Michigan also offers the top research program in the country for undergrads, so you’ll be able to do independent work on those political topics you deem important.</p>
<p>there’s always amherst…but i don’t know about the party scene up there…naturally i’m going to pull through for Virginia…great politics department…i was going to be a government major, but I decided in favor of chem/psych…i have a rather broad range of interests…:p…however, I might try for a government minor…professors are great…although, I must say my Comparative Politics class was alot harder than it should’ve been…the frat scene is descent up here as well…there are alot of bars, but not really any clubs…aside from the sketchy towny clubs…but overall, it’s fun and still a great school with a descent number of students…</p>
<p>I’ll also pull through for UC-Berkeley though…GREAT politics department and a decent college party scene…weather’s nice too…really diverse student population…</p>
<p>This is completely unrelated, but For Shanganov, I wanted to tell you that I saw “Wet Hot American Summer,” and sadly, it wasn’t really filmed in Waterville. The town is supposed to be Waterville, but as I was watching it I was convinced it really wasn’t (the town, as sketchy as it was in the movie, doesn’t nearly reach the sketch level of the real thing), so I checked their website, and it was actually filmed it Pennsylvania. How sad. Good luck with transferring.</p>