Less expensive International Relations colleges?

collegemom3717
Sun, 10 Jan 2016 01:00:17 +0000

IR is a ‘hot’ major right now- one of the most popular. When you have a ‘hot’ major it makes first jobs in that field harder to get because there are a lot of people with the same qualifications coming on the market every June. Even if you are coming from one of the top ‘name’ programs (the recognized list is [here](http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/)) the really good jobs require a masters- and almost all the masters (and all the good ones) require several years work experience before you can apply. State Department is tough for fresh-out-of-college students anymore.

All of this is not to discourage you, but to help you focus on what to prioritize. First, as @dadof1 says, run the NPCs for all the colleges you consider. You want to be as near to debt-free as possible, to have money for grad school. Second, look at the program and opportunities/support for internships, study abroad, terms in DC, connections with other institutions. Third, seriously commit to being fully bilingual, and look at each colleges IR major for evidence that they expect/support that.

Be judicious in considering ranking: schools tend to be seen by employers in tiers. Small differences in rankings won’t matter as much to potential employers as the other pieces - internships/international + DC experience/languages are how you will differentiate yourself from all the other IR grads.