Chance a Cali Resident for PoliSci [4.0, 1570]

Congratulations on building such a strong profile in high school! You will be a strong candidate at many schools.

I agree with others about how to rearrange your list with respect to reaches (i.e. most of your matches are reaches and you have a LOT of reaches). Would you be happy to enroll at every single institution on your list and remain there for four years? If any college on the list doesn’t have a “yes” as an answer, then you should remove the school. Too often students put “safeties” on their list but think of them as schools of last resort, and end up quite unhappy when those are the only options available to them. Don’t let that be you.

In looking at your list it appears that you prefer medium to large schools, preferably with some cachet. If you are looking for schools that are likelier than your reaches but not a UC, then these are some other schools you may want to consider. The schools with the asterisks are those in their state capitals, as it is often beneficial for students with a poli sci major to be located in a capital for the internship opportunities.

  • Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads. Not in the state capital, but a 22m drive from it.
  • College of the Holy Cross (MA): About 3100 undergrads
  • Fordham (NY): About 10k undergrads
  • Lehigh (PA ): About 5600 undergrads
  • Loyola Marymount (CA): About 7300 undergrads
  • Providence* (RI): About 4k undergrads
  • San Diego State (CA): About 32k undergrads
  • Santa Clara (CA): About 6100 undergrads
  • U. of Maryland: About 30k undergrads…make sure to apply EA as more than 90% of slots are filled EA.
  • U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities*: About 36k undergrads
  • U. of Richmond* (VA): About 3100 undergrads
  • U. of Rochester (NY): About 6800 undergrads
  • U. of San Diego (CA): About 5700 undergrads
  • U. of Wisconsin - Madison* : About 36k undergrads
  • Villanova (PA ): About 7k undergrads
  • Wake Forest (NC): About 5500 undergrads
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