hi! i’ve been lucky to be admitted to carleton (30k), macalester (35k), and au (50k) to study polisci and math and need help deciding between the three. obv the money is a pretty significant difference with au and i’m planning on trying to negotiate to get more financial aid
i’ve visited all three and liked all of them when i visited. carleton stood out for community, macalester stood out for seeming most aligned with my vibe/type of people, and au stood out for having by far the strongest polisci program of the three
some of my biggest preferences are that i want a job out of college rather than grad school, i want a strong program in polisci and math with good professors, i want a school where i feel like i fit in, and i want at least a little bit of nightlife/things to do for fun
any insights/opinions will be greatly appreciated:)
Unless you get SIGNIFICANTLY more aid from AU, I’d choose your favorite among Macalester and Carelton.
I do think that fit is very important, especially in a LAC, so your post would have me leaning towards Macalester – but both LACs are excellent options.
Personally I love LACs and would choose Carelton or Macalester over AU even at the same price. I would, however, check the course offerings of the LACs before making a decision.
I’m an LAC person but for nightlife and polisci, American is a cut above and don’t for a moment think they didn’t take that into consideration when they awarded you its aid package.
Being located in the state capital, I like Macalester’s location the best. They take advantage of their location by making an internship in the Minnesota state legislature available as part of their Legislative Politics course. The cost is comparable to Carleton. You like Macalester the best. The St. Paul location offers a lot to do off campus. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be your first choice. I don’t see anything about American which would make it worth an extra $60,000 over 4 years.
I would choose either Carleton or Mac over AU, simply because they both have amazing resources. I don’t know as much about the math programs, but my S26 is currently looking into these schools, and poli sci is one of his strong interests. Mac has a few different poli sci-adjacent programs and benefits from its close partnerships with the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The poli sci major either requires or encourages students to do field work in the community for credit, which can open up opportunities. Carleton offers its poli sci students the chance to do a term in DC (so you’d get your DC experience even if you’re not at AU), which combines an internship or field experience with a seminar. These seem like incredible opportunities for poli sci students, especially combined with the personal attention you’d get at both schools.
while american is great, the value of a liberal arts education, especially in this current climate, cannot be understated. i would do more research, though. do macalester/carleton offer a sufficient polisci program? i go to colby, and we do not have a political science major. the similar one is called “government.” would you be okay with something like that? do you want a bigger university in a big city or more remote, smaller colleges in small towns? if you haven’t already, visit as many as you can. see where you feel the most right. i agree with bill, minnesota is a bit of an underrated spot for politics. my cousin goes to the u of minnesota and was able to land a job with the chamber of commerce. ultimately, this decision is fully yours and down to where you feel the most comfortable, but in this scenario i think macalester is the best choice. good luck!
I know less about macalaster and carleton (though know amazing alums of both) but I was VERY impressed by professors at AU being both practitioners, and scholars and how deeply tied to DC community they are ongoing. They seem to have deep continued relationships to recent alums as well. e.g. during Admitted students day we got to have lunch with a number of professors and they were also all working/engaged with incredible orgs ongoing, etc and day to day. It seemed liked nothing made them happier to refer a student for an internship or email someone for a project for a student. Truthfully, had never seen anything like it.
I am not saying that is worth the extra money, but I think being in DC is worth something IF that is the sort of role you want ongoing..
So these could all be reasonable choices, but I feel personally like what you described is putting Macalester in the sweet spot. Not too expensive, in the middle of a very vibrant city (two actually), very active in political and policy areas, strong academically in general.
Of course if American was competitive on cost, you could very reasonably choose it because of it being in DC. And Carleton would have a strong argument if it were just about Math. But again taking all you said together, and assuming no big movement on cost at American, I would think Macalester is pretty hard to beat.
All of these are great options for your program. The value of “soft skills” is skyrocketing as we become more reliant on technology as a species, so I tend to lean towards LACs when considering college options. They will help you develop those skills which will in turn make you a more desirable intern/employee. Sounds like Macalester is your favorite, so that is what I’d suggest you go with!
I’d choose Mac - and I don’t think AU has the better program.
My kid chose a regional southern public over AU (who didn’t give good merit) - and she did a DC semester at a think tank - and had 7 offers for internships during that semester.
AU has location - but that’s it. I know several AU kids - history, poli sci, and SIS - and none have jobs - none.
Jobs in government exist all over - and not just in DC - and in four years, may not be in DC at all - at least governmentally - but there’s lots of think tanks, NGOs and other organizations.
Mac is in Minneapolis - and you’ll have ample opportunity there too as a government center -
And Mac has a DC semester program - through - guess who - AU. You’ll take classes and intern (like so many other DC semesters - some colleges run their own and others like Mac utilize AU).
To combine these interests, political science would make a suitable applied domain for a data science major. I believe Macalester would offer you such an approach.
Another vote for Macalester from me based on the poli sci major. Although American is in DC and has tons of opportunities, Macalester seemed really plugged into the state government with tons of connections there. When we visited Mac, one of the moms on the panel mentioned her freshman daughter was doing a project with a state senator, and she completely credited Mac for making that opportunity happen. I would guess that DC has a lot more schools and competition for similar openings. And then there’s the cost - not only tuition but St. Paul is likely a lower cost of living.
I actually thought Mac for this reason, not the major - which is solid most everywhere and the student actually believes AU has the strongest per their initial post.
At AU, poli sci majors are a dime a dozen. At Mac, you’ll have more access to leadership and distinction in poli sci. And you can leverage their connections to state government. Mac is awesome!
These are all great options.