<p>So first of all, I am a Florida citizen with Prepaid and Bright Future Scholarship. My parents and I were discussing whether I should attend an undergradute school for almost free or go to an expensive university that is great at International Studies (My Major). Pros and Cons? Should I save money for Graduate School or spend it now? Can I even get into American or GWU with this?</p>
<p>GPA:3.3 Weighted
Aps Taken: World History (4), Art History (4), Psychology (4), AP Human (2)
This Year: AP Microeconomics, AP Statistics, AP Engish Lit, AP US Gov, Marine Science II Honors,
Upward Curve from Freshman Year
SAT: CR-700+
Math- 570-610
Writing 610-700
Extracurricular- International and Domestic Travel (20 States)
–Canada
-Bahamas
-Mexico
-Belize
-England (3 Trips)
-Ireland
-Germany (2 Trips)
-Austria
-Italy
-Russia
-South Africa (2 Trips)
-Malawi
-Zambia
-Australia
-Japan
-Thailand
-South Korea
-Guam
-Brazil
Future Class trip (Spring Break 2011) planned for Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Hawaii.</p>
<p>1 week in the US Embassy in Malawi Africa, vistiting orphanages, projects, and tobacco markets.</p>
<p>Travel Soccer for 8 Years, Tennis Academy by Former Proffesional, Track and Field 400m and 800m, AP Scholar, PAID Job as a Janitor 5 days/wk, 4 Years as a Florida State Referee, 160 Hours of Community Service (Plus 150 this year required)</p>
<p>In my opinion, you can’t do much with an undergraduate degree in IA/IR - you’re looking at a graduate degee at some point. Whether you’re looking at a State Dept position/CIA/NGO/Congressional Staffer or Academics.</p>
<p>Therefore, I’d recommend FSU undergraduate option for no or minimal cost - major in either PoliSci of IA/IR - get a very good GPA. THEN - apply to GW/AU/GT graduate program in IR/IA.</p>
<p>FYI - my son is at GW’s ESIA undergraduate program ONLY because he got a Presidential Scholarship and outside aid which made the costs palatable. If he would have had a full-ride to a good undergrad college like FSU - we would have strongly insisted “FSU”.</p>
<p>Your stats are a bit weak for GWU or AU (3.3 Weighted GPA and compositive score of SAT 2010+ — your SAT is above average of 1950, but your GPA is going to be a problem). If you are serious about GWU or AU, I suggest you consider ED. But then again, this means you are dead serious, and financial aid is not your driving factor.</p>
<p>The fact that you visited over 20 countries in and of itself is not really an EC - it simply shows that your family had the money to send you on these trips. But then again, if you show that you worked two jobs to earn the money to go on these trips, and you picked the places, worked the whole logistics, planned the “lessons, learnings” you will get, did some meaningful things there and executed the whole thing, perhaps this could be a meaningful EC.</p>
<p>Clauxy, I totally agree with C J Madison. FSU on a scholarship will be hard to beat. Work very hard on your GPA there, and see if you can get an internship in DC over the summer. Save your money for grad school.</p>
<p>GW has been a great school for my family, but we are not going into big debt to go there. If we had been, I would have encouraged a state school that was more affordable.</p>
<p>The travel is irrelevant. That’s not leadership or an extracurricular. You could include stories about it in an essay. (And frankly, that’s not that much travel. I’ve doubled that, and would never list it on a college essay… unless … 1) I created orphanages in each place. or 2) went on some youth delegation.). Just travel, not volunteerism? Forget it.</p>
<p>3.3 GPA Weighted? Low.</p>
<p>Sports, and job? Good.</p>
<p>Attend the state school for free. No school is worth going into an obscene amount of debt for. </p>
<p>Congrats on the free ride for college. Use it to the best of your ability, and enjoy it. Don’t waste the opportunity and sink into student loans.</p>