For people interested in public policy, I’m partial to schools located in their state capitals.
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Florida State: About 34k undergrads. You may want to learn about what is going on in Florida with respect to public institutions of higher education. If Florida seems like it would be a fit, then this school in the state capital offers tons of school spirit and there might be sufficient merit aid to bring it within budget (COA is $37k at sticker).
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Georgia State: About 29k undergrads. Nowhere near the tradition and spirit levels of some other big state schools, but from what I have heard, it’s becoming more residential and filled with spirit. Perhaps someone with Georgia ties can comment about this Atlanta school? Also, I would reach out to the admissions office to check on the likelihood of the school meeting the budget.
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Louisiana State: About 30k undergrads and lots of spirit at this SEC school in the state capital. If your son received a waiver for out-of-state fees, then this would be within budget.
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U. of Nebraska – Lincoln: About 20k undergrads at this school west of the Mississippi River. But there is tons of school spirit and using its out-of-state scholarship estimator (I used 680V, 680M for the SAT), it appears that your son would be eligible for $15k/year in merit aid (and possibly more), bringing the price well within budget. This school would be an extremely likely admit and affordability, so if your son would be happy to attend, a great safety.
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U. of South Carolina: About 27k undergrads. This school would be a reach to get sufficient scholarships to bring the school within budget with your son’s stats, but I don’t think it would be an impossible reach.
Moving beyond the state capitals, these are some other schools that may interest your son.
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Marquette (WI): About 7700 undergrads. Basketball, rather than football, is the big sport here, but there’s lots of school spirit. Though Milwaukee is not in the capital, Wisconsin’s senators all have local offices in the city. For more info on poli sci at Marquette, click here.
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Seton Hall (NJ): About 6100 undergrads. Its D.C. program has its classes at the UN Foundation and seems more robust for your son’s interests than some other schools’ programs which just use partnered affiliates. If your son is interested in international policy, its Diplomacy and International Relations program seems particularly well-suited to his interests, and the school takes advantage of its proximity to the UN. I’m dating myself, but I know that it used to have lots of basketball school spirit, but I don’t know how the fandom is currently doing at this school.
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U. of Arkansas: About 24k undergrads and lots of school spirit at this school a bit west of the Mississippi River. At the very least, your son would be eligible for a reduction of 80% of the out-of-state fee, so this school is another option that would be an extremely likely admit and within budget, so if he’d be happy to attend, this could be another good safety. Additional scholarships could be awarded, too (source).
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U. of Louisville (KY): About 16k undergrads and good school spirit. Your son would be eligible for at least $15-16k in merit aid, depending on whether you’re in the NYC metro or not (source 1, source 2) which would bring this school within budget. There’s both a BA and BS in political science, and recent poli sci majors have won Fulbright and Truman awards. There are minors in Peace, Justice and Conflict Transformation; Social Change; Urban and Regional Analysis; as well Philosophy, Politics, and Economics among other potential areas of study that might interest him. If your son would be happy to attend this school, this would be another good safety option.
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West Virginia: This school of 20k was already mentioned.
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Xavier (OH): About 5100 undergrads and good school spirit at this Cincinnati school. There are a number of different majors here that might suit your son’s interests, such as Economics, Sustainability, and Society; International Studies; Philosophy, Politics and the Public; as well as traditional Political Science.