Grinnell vs Lawrence U for Int'l Relations/Math

collegemom3717
Sat, 18 Mar 2023 11:52:43 +0000

100% go with fit first, especially with Grinnell. It is it’s own (fairly isolated) world and if she isn’t excited to be there now, in a couple of years it is going to claustrophobic (study abroad helps!).

Second, “IR, maybe Law school” to me signals a student who doesn’t have a focus yet- which is just fine! LACs are great for that- but IF IR shows signs of being a serious interest, know that grad school will be necessary, but less likely to be Law school. For example, the various Masters programs at Georgetown’s SFS are generally accepted as the top programs for IR (you’ll find the rest of the heavy hitters in that field here: The Best International Relations Master’s Programs – Foreign Policy).

IRL, however (as with medicine!) most students who start out saying ‘IR’ or ‘Law’ find a different path once they hit college- and it will be interesting to see what way the math takes her. If the math side steps up, she may find herself going completely different directions- and she should look for summer internships that will let her explore those paths (the place I know that IR & math overlap is security; for example, the NSA has summer internships for math majors, and has been known to send students internationally).

That’s the long way around of saying I wouldn’t worry too much about the differences in prestige, connections or endowment between them: she can find ways to get anyplace from either of them. The key is to get to know profs, and to start looking for summer internship opportunities before the winter break.