I would cut UMDCP, UMass, and either UVT or UCDavis.
I would submit since lot submitting would have a suspicion of sub 1400 (considering her school). The AP scores will also be reassuring.
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Thank you⊠I do expect to cut UVT and UC Davis. Likely keep UMD and UMass, because they are among the few state schools that really have public policy, and her cousin is just starting UMass. Plus, we want to have a few EA, so she hopefully has some admits in her back pocket before the Spring.
I would let her cut - but I would figure out what she wants.
Are you going to pay for UC Davis when she can go to Bing?
You have tiny and rural and large and urban.
I would figure out what she wants - and I would go from there - but seems to me the largest of the large would be good for the chopping block based on most of the listâŠbut itâs most important she chooses the right environment. btw - some of these schools might not be hard appsâŠbut others like the UCs will be - so I suppose if you are excited about LA or Berkeley, well then Davis is a toss in but the UC app is a separate app - will you choose LA or Berkeley over Bing at a fraction of the cost, given the major?? From a financial POV, in my mind, makes no sense - so I might cut the UCs as an example. But I think (I may be wrong), adding a UC when youâve done the app is no extra work.
Iâd think more along the lines, if sheâs dying to go large, then I might cut Midd, etc. So she needs to play a part. Same in the other directionâŠif wants small or mid size, then large should come off. Or urban. Or rural. BU is not like Cornell - in other words - so if she loves Cornell, will she love BU?
btw - if you want an early admit, Pitt has a minor in PP that can be combined with other interests, would answer right away (weeks) - and itâs FANTASTIC in the governmental type sciences.
Cornell:
I would submit the SAT for this one word - recommended. Even if I had 1000 Iâd submit it - because this says to me, youâre not getting in if you donât. That said, a 1460 is not at the 25 percentile but at least itâs very close.
Cornell colleges and schools that are test-recommended for students applying to enroll for fall 2025:
- College of Arts & Sciences
- College of Engineering
- College of Human Ecology
- Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
- School of Industrial and Labor Relations
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Yes, this was her list. I was surprised she added such large schools. Apparently, size â big or small, isnât an issue for her. Vassar and BU are 2 of her favorites. Itâs more program and âvibeâ specific. UCLA has a well regarded Pubic Affairs program. At SUNY Bing, they have nothing similar, just Poly Sci. (If it was up to her, she might cut out SUNY Bing, but itâs about the only school Iâm insisting she apply to).
Thank you for the advice on SAT score. I know her 1460 would have been around the median in 2019-2020, before test optional existed. They are going back to test mandatory next year, wish it was test mandatory this year.
It is mandatory.
Recommended = mandatory
btw - most EVERY SCHOOL will have some version of policy, regardless of what they call it.
My daughterâs school has Poli Sci - sheâs majoring in it - but then there are three concentrations within poli sci (which is still the major) - one of them, policy.
I took Policy classes at Syracuse in the 80sâŠI donât recall we had that as a major - just poli sci.
So you need to look deeper into each school vs. assume they donât have. Most every will.
Public Policy | Philosophy Politics and Law | Binghamton University
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Thank you. Yes, she has done that for most of the schools on her list. She really disliked the Bing program. She read up on the course offering, major requirements, etc. At Bing, itâs a subset of Philosophy, Politics and Law â requiring 4 philosophy classes, she does not want to take any philosophy classes.
Iâm still insisting she applies but it would be surprising if she ended up there.
Agree with TSBNA. There is nothing magical about a specific program in public affairs.
Students will need to take poli sci, econ, statistics, and then perhaps take a content-type course in an area of interest. If itâs Defense policy- then double down on history (particularly WW 1 and beyond). If itâs healthcare policy- then something public health or epidemiology related. Nutrition policy- again, something food/ag oriented. Regardless of the content area- students need to be numerate (able to understand statistical charts, graphs, opinion polls, census data) and strong communicators (writing particularly).
Nothing magical here.
I donât think you need four safeties.
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If sheâs applying to UC Berkeley and UCLA, itâs no big deal to add Davis - but I donât think she should count it as a safety. I think itâs a likely - and she has other safeties, so I donât see any issue, but Davis has gotten to be a tougher admit in the past few years.
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The other thing to look at - would she be interested in a 5 year MPA? Many offer that.
She might look at schools where you can âcreate a majorâ but it doesnât mean something with the course work sheâd love would be approved. Or I know you have Rochester on the list - and they also have PPE or Poli Sci but maybe the open curriculum would be helpful.
Good luck as you cull.
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There is pretty wide divergence, in many schools (including Brooks), Public Policy is very distinct from PolSci. For example, at Brooks â Just need to take 1 intro government class. Yes, have to do mathematics classes, economics classes, etc. But overall, there is very little overlap with PoliSci/Govt specific classes. (require 4 credits in Government and 50 credits in Public Policy).
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Good point and that might suit her well.
Read the syllabus of those âpublic policyâ courses and see what the reading lists look like. Iâve hired lobbyists and policy experts and speechwriters and legislative analysts⊠from a wide variety of schools and programs. I would push back on the argument that Public Policy is âvery distinctâ from Poli Sci. If you are comparing a masterâs degree from Kennedy School to a BA in Poli Sci from rando college- yes. But youâd find that comparing ANY masterâs program to a bachelorâs. You canât specialize in Medicare reform without the core building blocks of how government works, how laws are written and passed, how states interact with and benefit from federal largesse, the role citizens play in the legislative and administrative functions of government-- i.e. Poli Sci.
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Makes sense 
- if the apps arenât too onerous and she can finish them early August it should be okay. Check that she applies to all Honors/Scholars applications she could qualify for.
Perhaps replace SUNYGeneseo with Suny Albany honors, or apply to all 3 SUNYs during the special week when itâs free to apply?
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My daughter had very similar interests and test scores. She got into Brandeis, GW, and Binghamton, rejected from Tufts. (Tufts is not need blind, so her full-pay friends with similar scores got in). She is at Brandeis as an American Studies major and LOVES it. Itâs also very easy to double and triple major at Brandeis so your daughter can choose multiple paths at once.
As an aside, we seriously considered GW, but had a very weird admitted students day. Among other problems, it was very frustrating that they ship half the freshman class off to live in another part of town with a long shuttle commute - and they try to sweep this under the rug - as if nobody will notice if they just avoid the topic.
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My son is at GW now, and was 1 of those students who lived on the Vern his freshman year. He wouldnât have chosen to live there, but it worked out and he liked it.
My daughter has mixed feelings on Brandeis â she did like how they structure their programs.
Glad it worked out for your daughter â I think your daughter chose well, and I actually liked Brandeis more than Tufts. (Between my son and daughter, Iâve toured both those schools twice).
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Of your âmatchâ schools, Vassar and William & Mary will probably be much harder admits than the other three you listed in that category. Iâd consider them more of an âeasier reachâ in comparison with the other schools on the list, but by no means a toss-up for admission.
If I was looking at the list of colleges and asking, which of these donât belong, Iâd be thinking:
- UC Berkeley
- UCLA
- U. of Southern California
- U. of Maryland
- UC Davis
- U. of Vermont
That said, although the California schools donât seem to belong on this original list, the four of them together do make more sense as a unit. But they ring in as very different from the others on the list.
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I donât know W&M well. But my high school does well as a feeder into Vassar, 50% overall acceptance rate over the last 4 years, and 14/15 acceptances (and 1 wait list) for GPA of 3.9+ and SAT of 1400+. So hard for me to call it a reach where Scoir, with plenty of data, is showing it as a 100% acceptance rate.
I hear what youâre saying about the schools that donât seem to belong compared to the rest but itâs hard to decipher the pattern behind some of my daughterâs preferences. I think UCLA has become 1 of her top choices.
If UCLAâs one of her top choices, then some of the schools that donât seem to belong include:
Amherst
Middlebury
Hamilton
Bates
Vassar
Clark
SUNY Geneseo
Vassar and Amherst are also among her very top choices!
Good luck findings a pattern, I donât have one. But she loves some huge schools, hates others. Loves some small schools, hates some others. Loves some urban schools, hates others. (Her mother teaches at NYU but she refuses to apply). Loves some fairly rural schools, hates others.
Her top 5 that she thinks are realistic are: Cornell, BU, Vassar, UCLA, and Amherst. (She doesnât think she has a real chance as Brown or Georgetown, might end up cutting those).
Bates, Hamilton and Middlebury-- she knows less about. Hasnât visited or toured those three.
With respect to the study of public policy, this site has been updated since an earlier version was posted up-topic:
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