HELP! I am in a very blessed position where I have to choose between 4 wonderful colleges and I truly do not know what to do. The first deadline for admissions decision is May 14th. So I don’t have a lot of time. I am a 26 year old nontraditional student who is transferring to finish a degree in international relations. All of these schools I’m about to talk about are ranked in the top 40 (though 3 out of 4 are ranked top 15) in IR. Being older now, I know exactly what I want. I want to finish my bachelors, go on to grad school and work in national security. All of the schools that I’m about to mention have offered me full rides so money is not an issue. Here we go…
My first offer was Amherst College. I did not even know about this school at first but my girlfriend made me apply. Boy, am I glad I did. Being less than 2,000 students and having no grad school, the idea of developing close relationships with professors and having one on one experience really excites me. I want to get involved in research right away and have ample opportunities for internships. Which, I feel like could both be really easy here due to the undergrad focus and apparently really strong LOAB career center and alumni network. Now get this, I just happened to email the head of the police sci department (they only have polo sci and offer an IR certificate, this is why they ranked around 40th for IR) and this guy offers to jump on a call with me. We talk for over an hour and he went on and on about all of the opportunities I could have. Even tells me a story to show how strong the alumni network is with a recalling of a student who wanted to be an astronaut and by the end of the day this guy connected him with 3 Amherst alumni who worked in NASA! I also emailed the chair of the French department, as I wanna study French, and she sends me 2 novel emails about the opportunities and what I should be doing to prepare, etc. Like what other Professors would be talking to me like this at any other school? I realize the who alumni network strength might be a little inflated but then again maybe not since it is so small. I don’t mind the rural setting either because I grew up on a farm in the Midwest. Another big thing is they accepted all of my transfer credits. So I would be starting as a second semester sophomore. (Though I’m going to confirm this. Due to me being older and having a career I’ve only been able to take online asynchronous classes, and I’m coming to find out that most schools have a big deal with this for some reason and won’t accept them. I mean I get it I guess, but geez what else are working professionals supposed to do?) Still, they gave me a credit evaluation list with my acceptance and that means a lot. Although, I really wouldn’t care if I did have to start completely over as a freshman because what’s another year if I really love the school and I’m taking advantage of the opportunity. They also put me in contact with other transfers and they rave about the school. Say if they need money its given, if they do an internship that isn’t paid that Amherst will give them a stipend, that they really work to find your opportunities, will fund your research, etc. Plus, my aid would cover semesters abroad too (though this may be normal idk). The only downfalls I can think of is that it’s so small I just don’t want to feel weird being older and being around immature 18 year olds. Like it might be hard to escape vs a bigger school, and I would rather live in a bigger city though this isn’t a deal breaker. I also don’t like that practically no one has heard of it, but that’s stupid I know. I’m just giving up a really cool career and have had a lot of success that I would almost rather say a cool known name for my future college than Amherst if someone asks me, but that’s superficial I know.
Next, is Brown. I was accepted into the Brown RUE program for older nontraditionals and considering they only take about 10 I’m more than honored. All paid for as well. Like Amherst, Brown has an open curriculum that really attracts me. Like no more math? Yes! They also have a pass/no pass policy that you can take with every class, but since I wanna go to grad school I’m guessing I shouldn’t do this. It’s a known name, and I’m sure the alumni network is great. I just worry about being another number and not getting the individualized focus. Though I do hear that Brown is undergrad focused so I might be wrong. Providence looks like an amazing city and I could see myself thriving there. It would also be really cool to say I go to an Ivy. There’s some strong research coming out of there and it certainly could open up some amazing doors. I hear the students are very relaxed, welcoming, and accepting. I also hear that grade inflation is a thing and I like the sound of that. However, I don’t think most or any of my credits would transfer over due to their online nature (and this could still be the case with Amherst too despite my letter I need to double check) but I might have to start from scratch. Yet, again, is this even a problem? Like I get to take in an Ivy League university for 4 years so I should stop complaining? I’m not sure about research or internship placements, but I’ve connected with some RUE students on Reddit and they all seemed to love it. There seems to be something special here and the campus is beautiful.
Then we have Yale. I was accepted into the Eli Whitney Program and that is like a dream. For a small town farm boy to say I got into Yale is literally a dream come true. Someone recently gave me advice about picking a school and said, “if you’re in a bar 7 years from now and someone asks you where you went to college, where are you going to be the most proud of?” Albeit, this may be terrible advice, but I would be forever proud to say Yale. I feel like the name alone would open up so many doors and would also just be so inspiring for other young people in the community I grew up in who face similar economic and family issues as I did. Their undergrads program for IR is top 5 in the world, but again I would probably have to compete with grads for research and since its bigger I worry about getting lost in the mix and possibly becoming another number. I hear grade inflation is definitely a thing here as well and that excites me, and if there is something you’re struggling with there’s apparently a ton of resources to help you get on par. This is all paid for as well. One of the things I don’t like is as an Eli Whitney student you’re a little more separated from the rest of the regular students. Mostly because everyone lives in residential colleges but Elis can’t, so you have to live in off campus housing. I also hear that New Haven is not a good city and can be dangerous, but I lived in Los Angeles for 7 years after high school and I’m pretty sure it can’t get much worse than that haha. I would pretty certainly be starting as a freshman again (haven’t gotten confirmation but after going online to see their policies I can say this with confidence), and again I ask would it even matter if I’m getting a Yale education. Like the Brown RUE program, this is for nontraditionals but it’s still the same exact Yale degree and classes as any other student. While doing the final seminars, the current Elis on the zoom seemed, a little sad? I don’t know it was hard to explain but something I definitely noticed. Just not sure how much individual attention I’d get to set me up for success and wonder if it’s more of a program to try and sound more diverse, but again I truly have no idea. It is Yale and my gosh what a cool thing that would be to say.
Finally, there’s Georgetown. My oh my do I love Georgetown. DC is my favorite city in the U.S. and my sister lives there right now so that would be cool to be by her. I LOVE DC, and when I started my college journey of transferring earlier this year Georgetown was always number one on the list. I mean, I bought hats and shirts from the campus store and began wearing them around DC just so I could start manifesting being a student. This is the only campus I’ve been to out of all 4 and it is so inspiring to me (though others may be even more so!) Ideally, I’ll visit the rest next week before making a decision, but also I’m trying to be fiscally responsible so I don’t know if I’ll get to. In my opinion, as well as many others, Georgetown is the best school in the world to study International Relations. Plus, I would have access to internship opportunities in my specific field of study year round due to all the governmental and private IR organizations in DC. I could network and truly be set up for success. I’m not sure how many credits of mine would transfer, but I’ve talked to current students who said that they are flexible and willing to work with me. I haven’t actually been accepted into Georgetown yet, but I asked for an early decision since I have to decided and they said it was likely, so please keep that in mind in case you start wondering “if you love Georgetown this much why are you making a post?”. Still, I’m not sure how much access I will have to Professors, and it’s very likely it could be another one of those “just another number” kind of things. Research is probably more focused on grad students, but I do hear that beyond intro classes Professors mostly teach the courses and not TAs. I am not wavering that national security is what I want to do and this is the best school and location for it. I just wonder if going to an IVY league is a no brainer if you have the option and its free, and then try to go to Georgetown for grad to capitalize on having an alumni connection with both?
Please help me decide. I’m truly sorry for the novel of a post but I wanted to get it all out there so you can help me make an informed decision. I plead you, spare me the “only YOU can make the decision blah blah,” I know, and you’re right. I just am really overwhelmed and confused by 4 incredible options and yet each are so different in their own respect. Please also treat Georgetown as a concrete yes because they basically said so and then work your list down from there. Based on everything I said and my desires, I would really appreciate if you gave me your thoughts and rankings 1-4 and explained why. I want to take advantage of something that will set me up for high grad school placements, a place that will give me ample opportunities when it comes to summer or winter experiences, a STRONG alumni network, and somewhere that wants to see and will help me succeed. Not just another number… I’m 26 and I don’t have times for the “this is a cool party school yeah let’s go here.” I’m serious about my education and what I want to study. THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!!!