Child is a rising senior, has good numbers (#1 in class, 33 ACT now and retaking, great extras), and wants to major in public policy or similar. We live in SC, and child plans to apply to our state flagships (easy safeties) plus Ivy and Ivy-like places like Duke, Georgetown (all big reaches). No “matches” on child’s list - just safeties and reaches - child seems happy with the safeties if turned down at the reaches. We have good savings and income and could send child anywhere. What “matches” do you think child should look at as a potential good fit?
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Rural, urban, frats, artsy, what type of social vibe?
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Great screen name!
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Child doesn’t want a very small school (e.g. Davidson), and is pretty social but nice and kind of quiet too (like parents!) Willing to go outside of the southeast but more willing to do so for a bigger “name” school. Child is thinking of law school later but undecided. One match option is Wake Forest (one parent’s alma mater) and child likes it okay but we don’t want to push it just to follow parent.
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Fletch is a favorite 
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i would check out the Certificate in Applied Politics at UGA. It’s a really great program that seems like it would suit your kid, who might also be able to get into honors at UGA.
you don’t apply to the program as an incoming freshman but can apply during freshman year or later. my daughter applied during her freshman year and is starting this program as a sophomore. tons of kids who do it end up getting jobs with government agencies and the like.
also at UGA I like that the political science major is within it’s own school (SPIA). it’s a tight knit community of engaged students with a lot of great profs.
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So one obvious suggestion is George Washington, where you can do a BA in Poli Sci with a Public Policy focus:
William & Mary is essentially a DC-adjacent college for these purposes:
Maryland’s School of Public Policy has a robust undergrad major:
Delaware offers the major through the Biden School, and it is in general an interesting university with a great location for getting anywhere from NYC to Washington:
If you are interested in looking at smaller colleges at all, Gettysburg has a really interesting program that is designed as a dual major:
https://www.gettysburg.edu/academic-programs/public-policy/
Outside that sort of DC-centric footprint, Indiana has a cool program run out of the O’Neill School:
Syracuse also has a lot of undergrad options through the Maxwell School:
I note Indiana and Syracuse are major players at the MPP level (along with others we are discussing). Not that this is definitive, but here is one ranking:
Not all the top MPP schools have a robust undergrad program, and I also don’t think you have to restrict yourself to colleges associated with a top MPP program. But it probably does not hurt, and it sort of makes these programs stand out a little more as potentially being worth leaving your state/the DC orbit.
Edit: Sorry, I was composing this post and did not see your kid is not looking small. So scratch Gettysburg.
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For people interested in public policy, I’m fond of capitals (state and national). So, your state flagship is in a terrific location for your son’s interests with the benefit of in-state costs!
In terms of “matches”, you might also want to look at:
- Florida State
- George Washington (D.C.)
Some likely schools that he may want to consider include:
- Providence (RI)
- American (D.C.)
- Louisiana State
Some reachier schools
- Emory (not as reachy as Duke and the Ivys)
- U. of Richmond (again, not as reach as Duke & the Ivys)
- Vanderbilt (definitely a reach)
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Great names above by others. Check U of Denver too.
Don’t short College of Charleston which has the Mroz Institute. The Poli Sci degree has a Public Policy concentration and there might be a suitable concentration in Urban Studies as well.
Your student would have a possibility to be a Charleston Scholar but would be a reach for the program. My daughter is in it and the opportunities, including the DC semester through U of SC have been outstanding.
Ps - Wake is not a match and for law school, I don’t believe where you go undergrad has significant impact. Things like your GPA, LSAT, work experience, diversity etc will matter.
Good luck.
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If you would like to focus on colleges with notably strong programs in public policy, this site may be of interest:
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Yes, you have University of South Carolina, and College of Charleston as safety schools in state.
BUT there are a LOT of colleges (see the links above) where your student has good potential to be accepted.
What a wonderful gift for your child! This opens the door to many colleges because cost isn’t a factor for you.
I am going to second William and Mary as a place to look. The school actually has a presence in DC. Students can do internships and live there, and take classes.
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I agree with @thumper1 that your instate schools should be safeties for you. And you are likely aware of your instate scholarship options as well.
Are you looking also at UNC? What about Va Tech?
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Instate, USC is the best choice for public policy with the state house, lobbying firms, and several state agencies right next to campus. There are unlimited opportunities to be involved. They will also be most generous with merit aid on top of the state merit.
Make sure they show interest in USC honors and the top scholar rounds as there are many additional benefits. The deadlines and email reminders can get lost in the excitement of applying to the reaches at the same time. Then they are moping around that someone with lesser stats is in some special program and they were overlooked…not really, they just missed the reminders and invites.
Out of state, look at what kind of public policy they want to do and find programs with unique connections or collaborations. If money is no issue, then paying for summer housing in DC for internships widen options for spending time in DC, but being in college somewhere else.
High reaches will be high reaches for all with similar stats. So applying to a range of options will ensure options to consider next April.
And if law school is in the consideration, save that money and stay instate.
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