Agreed. If what OP wants is to work in politics, what they do in poli sci classes will matter less than what they do working for state or national political offices and politicians, and it’s far easier to get a start on the state or city level, than on the national level. Best bet is a college in the state capitol, or in the major city, and immediately get work on a campaign, and then in offices of elected officials.
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I have experience working on (interning for) US House campaigns locally.
I don’t have a specific or clear-cut career goal at the moment. I was planning on going into music performance until what I’d describe as an epiphany a week ago where I realized that that wasn’t sustainable for me.
Law school is definitely an option and probably my first choice. Interested in political work but I have connections with the wrong party for my personal political beliefs (I’m a Dem, connections with Reps). Maybe work at a think tank or something? Law school is probably the path I’ll end up taking, so intended major isn’t as important as GPA and LSAT.
Maybe take a look at University of Denver for possible merit and its poly sci programs. (Run Net Price Calculator.)
https://liberalarts.du.edu/academics-admissions/programs-ug/ba-minor-political-science
Also has combined undergrad BA/BS- JD in six years.
Has list of Peer Institutions
which includes American, George Washington,SMU, College of William and Mary.
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I would highly recommend you talk to current Rice students and recent graduates. It’s not a problem if you don’t know any. Last year two students in my class were interested in Rice. They filled out the form on Rice admission website and were put in contact with current Rice students. They both decided not to apply due to financial reasons; however, they received good information from those current students.
Rice has an orchestra of non-Shepherd students. If you apply with music supplement it should help.
Not sure about the impact of legacy. My daughter graduated from Rice last year. She neve mentioned any friend with legacy. Maybe it just never came up.
Good luck.
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Some other schools to consider:
W&L - Amazing school, a very strong politics program, and alumni network. They can often dole out large amounts of financial aid, and your stats may lead to you becoming a Johnson Finalist (the full-ride scholarship). Plus they’re building a new building to house the Politics department among others, which will open later on. Politics Department : Washington and Lee University (wlu.edu)
Occidental College - Oxy is a decent school for political science, and they do offer some decent financial aid. What sets them apart is their Campaign Semester program where students are encouraged to go out and campaign for a candidate in a region that is not their home state.
ETA: These schools are both Private institutions, best to run the NPC on these first before coming to a conclusion.
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This is good to hear. I wouldn’t want to be judged on the same criteria as Shepherd kids… that’s a whole new level.
Anyone know how competitive the Poly Sci major admissions at TAMU are? Should I be worried?
Deleted…because it was explained.
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I agree with others. I think if you go to college in either a state capital or DC, you can start aggressively networking with other Democrats right away. There should be related student organizations, internships, and so on. By the time you graduate you could be ready to go into some sort of entry-level political job. As long as you can afford this (those first jobs tend to pay pretty poorly), I would do that for a bit before deciding on law school.
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Am assuming your SN is not your real name. If so, you might want to change it.
Good list, low reach for Emory ED. I would remove Rice and USC and add Georgetown and Tufts. Good luck.
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Definitely not my real name! Thank you though!
Does low reach imply closer to “almost not reach” or a “super reach”? I could see it meaning either. (Not a big deal either way)
You have around a 30% chance.
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College of Charleston Honors College awards merit scholarships. Gorgeous, historical city.
Northwestern University will be a reach, but will meet need.
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Hey everyone! Thanks for the feedback! I listened to what y’all had to say, and put together a new list with new considerations in mind.
Additionally, I have already been accepted to TAMU’s Bush School for Political Science.
With this in mind, can anyone chance me for the following schools?
SMU (EA)
UT Austin (EA)
U of Minnesota (EA)
Georgetown (EA)
UNC Chapel Hill (EA)
USC (EA)
UVA (EA)
Emory (RD)
Vanderbilt (RD)
Rice (RD)
Carleton College (RD) (Arts Supplement)
WUSTL (RD)
Notre Dame (RD) (Arts Supplement)
Swarthmore (RD) (Arts Supplement)
UPenn (RD)
I understand these are mostly reaches. I’m more at peace with the idea I might end up at TAMU now, and am becoming excited about my college prospects. Thanks already for the advice previously given, and thanks in advance 
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You might look at Section C7 of the Common Data Set to see how much weight Rice gives to “alumni/ae relation”; that would be a starting place.
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What about Trinity University in San Antonio? Here is a link to its scholarships page: https://www.trinity.edu/directory/departments-offices/student-financial-services/financial-aid#merit-aid
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“not considered”
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