Match me: Rising Senior, Poli Sci / Comp Sci, 3.92 UW, 1560 SAT, Male, NJ Resident

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
US domestic
NJ
Large public high school, very highly ranked

Cost Constraints / Budget
No cost constraints

Intended Major(s)
Poli Sci, International Relations, Comp Sci (Ideally, I’d like to do a dual degree program and graduate with a BA and BS)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.92
  • Weighted HS GPA: 5.61 (6.0 Scale)
  • Class Rank: N/A
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1560 (not superscore)
  • 9 AP Exams (7 5s, 2 4s)

List your HS coursework
10 AP Classes
Lang (5), WHAP (5), Calc BC (5), Physics 1 (5), APUSH (5)
Senior Year:
Lit, Gov, Physics C, Spanish, Stats

Awards
NHS, English Honor Society, Music Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society
Eagle Scout
All region Band
National Merit Scholarship Commended (semifinalists haven’t been announced yet)
AP Scholar w Distinction

Extracurriculars

  • Football (3 Year Varsity Starter + Junior Captain)
  • Quiz Bowl (President Jr+Sr. Year, Went to nats all 3 years)
  • Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout, Honor Society Representative)
  • English Honor Society (Vice President Sr. Year)
  • Employment (Youth volleyball coach)
  • Mayoral Internship
  • Band (Member of Audition-Based Wind Ensemble, highly ranked nationally; All-region band)
  • Paid Comp Sci Internship (Helped develop website for $300m international company)
  • English Teacher (taught lessons over zoom to youth in my home country)
  • Volunteer for Political Campaigns (I’ve done this every presidential election since 2016)
  • Paid Comp Sci Internship (Helped develop app for a smaller company)
  • Volleyball (3 Year varsity player)

Essays/LORs/Other
Essays: I’m a good writer, so I’d put my essays at a 7/10
LOR 1: Junior year English Teacher - Extremely Strong
LOR 2: Soph year Chem Teacher - Above average
Counselor Rec: Around average; I had some extenuating family circumstances that my counselor is aware of and will likely include some mention of in the letter.

Schools
Unsure. My dream school is Stanford (so feel free to chance me on that) but I think I need to be a little more realistic, which is why I’m posting here. Like I said, I’d like to graduate with a dual degree in CS and IR/Poli Sci. However, I understand this isn’t feasible for a lot of schools, so I plan on applying to a mix of CS and Liberal Arts colleges.

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Have you actually visited Stanford?

Why is Stanford your dream school besides name and rank ? Btw dream schools don’t exist. All have flaws. Bad roomies, profs, food, dorm, whatever.

What’s the right school for you in regards to environment - urban, suburban. Size, weather, rank. Sports ? Greek life ?

If you want recs on stats alone, the list will be all over the place from every type of school - from small to large, public to private and great merit just because you can get it …to none because you don’t need it.

These majors have strong schools everywhere. And once you step foot on campus, prestige goes away in that you’ll be on campus four years, day after day and you’ll want to like where you are.

So tell us - besides a high ranking name - what you actually want in a school.

Thx

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Are you particularly interested in combining Poli Sci and CS, or do you just want to study both areas of interest, but not in an “overlap” kind of way?

If the former, then I would look at Emory’s QTM Department (both the QSS/Poli Sci major and the Public Policy Analysis major… and there’s also QSS/International Studies), and also at Penn State’s SoDA Major (and Schreyer Honors College). Northeastern’s combined degrees (CS + Poli Sci, Data Science + International Affairs) might also be of interest. Another somewhat more specialized major that might or might not fit your interests is USC’s Intelligence & Cyber Operations Major, which is offered by the Poli Sci & IR department but includes significant CS content.

If the latter, then look for schools that are double-major friendly and where additional GE’s outside of your areas of interest would be minimized. URochester is a good example - their GE’s just involve taking at least a 3-course “cluster” in each of three divisions: Natural Sciences & Engineering (which your CS coursework would cover), Social Sciences (which Poli Sci and/or IR would cover), and Humanities (which you could meet with 3 classes in a foreign language or culture of particular interest, or in music - great opportunities here for non-major musicians). Brown has even more of an open curriculum. USC is known for being cross-disciplinary friendly, even if the more specialized major mentioned above isn’t a fit.

Many excellent LAC’s would also work, as you say. Given your interest in Stanford, Pomona comes to mind as another highly-competitive CA school that’s strong in all of your areas of interest; the offerings are further strengthened by the consortium (i.e. additional CS offerings via Harvey Mudd, additional Gov/IR offerings at Claremont McKenna, etc.). CMC itself could be good as well - very strong in Gov and IR - but they don’t offer their own CS major - they offer a data science major, and students can major in CS through Harvey Mudd, but acceptance to HMC CS isn’t guaranteed. Computer Science at CMC | Claremont McKenna College

Others that come to mind are Tufts, Wesleyan, William & Mary… I’m sure there are many good options, including your own state flagship.

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Thanks for the detailed recommendations, Penn State and Emory are two I wasn’t considering! I’m looking to combine both, but I’d also be open to studying both without the overlap. I’d just like to have some qualification in the CS field as it would allow me to pursue more careers.

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I haven’t visited Stanford but there are a lot of reasons it’s my dream school. Other than the rank and prestige, they have great sports programs (both to watch on a D1 level and participate in on a club level). I’ve always been enamored with the architecture and I’d really like to go to college somewhere out west (too cold in NJ for me). Also I feel like Stanford’s application process, where you don’t apply for a specific school and only list intended majors, works out well for me because I’m not completely sure on what I want to do yet. Thanks for your reply, and in hindsight, I should have put all this on my post.

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My two cents is you probably do not need an actual second major in CS in order to have some marketable CS value. A minor or indeed just elective courses might be enough.

But anyway, I also immediately thought of William & Mary. Great school for IR/Poli Sci, investing a lot in CS and related stuff, relatively flexible about multiple majors. I’d also check out Macalester for similar reasons.

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First - great accomplishments!

Second:

You have a UW GPA of 3.92 with very good rigor. You don’t need to explain anything with extenuating circumstances.

Third: Finances? Basically - if you’re accepted to a colleges which costs $80,000 a year, could your family afford it?

Now, assuming that you can afford any colleges to which you are accepted.

How do your athletics accomplishments stack up, compared to D3 sports at Liberal Arts colleges and compared to D1 sports at Stanford, etc? Are they good enough to be a recruited athlete at either level?

In general, while there are great large universities with both your majors, your mix of serious athletics, even if you’re not at the level of being recruited, and serious academics seems to be more of a fit to Liberal Arts colleges. You have some great recommendations from @aquapt and @NiceUnparticularMan (W&M is a smaller research university, but has a lot of a liberal arts college feel to it).

There are a pretty large number of Liberal Arts Colleges which have both of your majors, so what else are you looking for? Rural/urban/suburban? Other characteristics?

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Athletics wise, I’d be able to walk on at a D3 school, but recruiting wise, I doubt any non-local D3 colleges would be willing to offer me a spot.
As for finances, 80K would be a bit of a stretch (so the UCs are likely out of the question), but I’ve done the NPC on more expensive schools like Stanford and Brown, and we would be able to afford those.
As for characteristics, I’d prefer an urban college. I wouldn’t mind something rural if it is located in a scenic area (e.g. Washington and Lee in the Shenandoah Valley). Ideally a place with strong athletics programs (at the club level for large universities and the d3 level for smaller ones).
Thank you for your response!

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Would a minor be enough for me to pivot to the CS industry if I’m unhappy with a career in the foreign service? The main reason I’m looking to also obtain a CS degree is to have a backup as foreign service careers involve a lot of travelling and don’t pay extremely well (which as of now I’m okay with, but my opinion might change later down the line). This is not to say that I’m not passionate about CS, just that I prefer the humanities. Thanks for your response.

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You can do these majors at so many schools - and foreign service careers want a multitude of majors, not necessarily IR.

I’m not sure you can say that you can simply walk onto a team.

But it sounds like a Macalester might be a good school for you. It has merit and meets need.

This is anecdotal but since you say scenic, when we visited W&L, a professor we spoke to said they are the #2 per capita at placement in DC. #1 he said - Sewanee - that’s your scenic, not urban. They meet need and have merit.

Occidental might be another since you’re out west - also has merit and meets need.

Tufts meets need but is need aware and has no merit. Wake Forest has little merit - of course neither is out West, nor are Sewanee or Mac. But Occidental is.

Here’s a few more out west:

In addition to the Claremonts and Oxy, Whitman College in Washington is well thought of - in a smaller, but scenic area and has a Center for Global Studies. I believe Whitman will tell you your aid level b4 you apply!!!

And back to city living, Reed College in Portland Oregon is very academic. Many on here say it’s a fit school…but that might be another to look at out West.

But there are many schools - both prestigious and not - that could work well for you - and some with serious merit.

For example, not D3 and not up to your level overall, but Charleston has the Charleston Fellows and International Scholars - and both are at your level and come with enrichment and mentoring - my daughter is in both and interned for our state and a prominent DC think tank during a DC semester. Her tuition is covered.

So I gave you some more D3 type schools to look at - but you can really go many ways too.

You need a budget…not just I can’t afford $80K. What can you afford $$ wise - forgetting what Stanford, etc. says? An actual #!!

USC is another great school out west and yes meets need but likely too big for you.

Good luck.

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My nephew has an undergrad in Poli Sci.

Now he has an MBA but he totally self studied and now has a CS job at a company you know well in NYC.

He had to take a multitude of tests in his interview process - and had to pass.

Never took a CS class in his life.

Maybe it’s not the most direct way but I don’t think you’re locked out of CS because you don’t have a degree in it.

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Thank you for the recommendations! Charleston Fellows is one I haven’t heard of but I think I’ll add it to my list. If I had to put a number on my budget, I’d say $70K. When you say USC is too big, do you mean I’m unlikely to get in or that the student body itself is large?

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I didn’t really think about it this way, but honestly it seems like a great alternative to simply majoring in CS in college.

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I would rephrase that as:
“I don’t think you’re locked out of programming jobs because you don’t have a CS degree.”

Most people don’t understand the difference between programming jobs and true CS jobs. I’ll leave it at that so as not to go off track.

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I am going to second (or third) both Emory and William and Mary. Full disclosure I am an Emory alum and currently have a kid at William and Mary. Both schools are strong in IR and have solid comp sci departments. As @NiceUnparticularMan mentioned up thread William & Mary has just announced a new school within the university that will house comp sci, data science, physics and applied science. There is a ton of $$ and resources being allocated.

At both William and Mary and Emory, you do not declare a major until sophomore year. It is very easy to double major at both schools.Given your budget, I would note that William and Mary will be around $65k out of state unless you are lucky enough to get one of a handful of merit scholarships. Emory is more expensive, but you are a strong candidate for Emory scholars.

I will also point out that the architecture on Emory’s quad is in a similar Spanish/Mediterranean style to Stanford and Atlanta has great weather during the school year. Another option I haven’t seen mentioned is Rice University in Houston. Again, similar architecture to Stanford and strong in IR and computer science. I am also wondering why Georgetown isn’t on your list. Seems like SFS is a no brainer for someone interested in IR

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Gtown is on my list, but in previous years, people from my school with far stronger extracurriculars than me have been rejected from SFS. I spoke to people from my school who applied and they suggested applying to a different school and transferring to SFS (someone from my school in the class of 28 applied for political economy and is planning on transferring early).
This post has definitely encouraged me to apply for Emory so I’ll be looking into that as well. Thank you.

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The latter. It’s a great school. If the NPC is right for you…then great. Obviously it’s has a fun side too like many.

Charleston Fellows but for you Intl Scholars too. A 2nd prigram you should look into.

The school isn’t right for you. I don’t think it’s at the level you seek although my daughter has rigor. And international scholars requires two majors which is good for you. It’s just an example - there’s a lot of hidden gems all over in places you may not think of.

Btw my daughter got into W&L - didn’t consider as we got no merit. So it was over budget. For her, Charleston is better - she loves the city. But I can’t imagine that W&L isn’t better for an academic. In her case, she chose the city and campus vibe over academics. She didn’t know early about the two programs I mentioned - but once she found out and was selected it’s been great. She’s in a third one too - based on community service.

You might look at schools - even where your stats are superior. Many schools have ‘special’ programs and many pay for stats that help lift their overall profile.

You can spend $80k but there are flagships where you can spend $20k. That’s up to each individual.

Not suggesting for someone looking at Stanford but Ole Miss and its Croft Institute is an example of an inexpensive hidden gem for intl folks. If Stanford doesn’t happen, U Denver is well known in IR. It’s a small/mid size school. Indiana U also strong with Hamilton Lugar.

Whether or not IR degrees without that back up skill set lead to foreign based roles in the government - I can’t say.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the clarification. I’ll ask my nephew his exact duties. He says his role is CS but I’ll see.

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American U SIS would be the safety to GTOWN. And possible merit. And maybe mlre this upcoming year as the university under enrolled. They’ll have to pay to get butts in seat!!

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So people follow all sorts of non-linear career paths, sometimes going back to school to help change.

But usually this is a good sort of thing to try to figure out your first couple years in college. Like, I agree foreign service can sound way more appealing in theory than it is in actual practice. I think to explore that, you can look for internships, talk to people in foreign service, talk to people who left, and so on.

If you decide it is not for you, maybe you then just major in something else. Maybe CS. Maybe something you have not even thought of yet. People get exposed to a lot of new things in college and that can take them in very unexpected directions.

The good news is many great colleges are set up for just this sort of exploratory model, and we are giving you suggestions along these lines. So, you can keep your options open now, but in a couple years maybe you will have figured out at least what you want to do as a next step after college. And then declare a major in whatever makes sense for that.

As for characteristics, I’d prefer an urban college. . . . Ideally a place with strong athletics programs (at the club level for large universities and the d3 level for smaller ones).

So definitely this is even more reason to check out Macalester. D3, in the reasonably competitive MIAC, and just a fantastic location right in the middle of the Twin Cities.

For a larger university, you might want to look at Pitt. Lots of good departments including Poli Sci, lots of competitive club sports, and again a great location in the middle of Pittsburgh. You should be competitive for merit and also the Honors College.

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