@thibault, that’s actually a really good idea, thanks.
You can play around with different weightings as well - this will force you to clarify your preferences.
Maybe “Prestige” is actually much more important to you than “Size [smaller = better ]”, for example.
Or perhaps the “depth & breadth of IR, Hebrew” etc studies is actually 40% or even as much as 50% of your decision rule - only you can assign the right weighting to each factor.
Understanding what’s MOST important to you will be very helpful in narrowing your list.
Good luck!
Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind
It’s important indeed to determine what matters to you and what the right fit is * for you*.
Keep in mind that the #1 criterion is likely to be… money, so talk to your parents about costs first.
When looking for matches and safeties, prestige should not be a criterion. How do you even compare UDenver and Wooster for prestige, for instance?
In addition, being too specialized isn’t what undergrad is about - it’s good to develop a future research specialty but due to general education courses, the need for high proficiency in one and preferably two languages, and requirements for your major, you won’t be able to take more than 2-3 classes (max!i) in that area.
Strength in your major is a valid criterion (ie., the Croft institute would put Ole Miss on your radar when otherwise you wouldn’t go to Mississippi for anything) as well as “fit”, ie., whether a sufficient number of students (at a large school) or the majority (at a small school) are intellectual, preprofessional, artsy, jockey… keeping in mind these aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Right now work on developing your proficiency in at least one language&culture. You can apply to spend part of your senior year abroad or have a post grad year abroad or apply to NSLI-Y. Fluency in one language being proof that you can learn languages quickly, reaching a high level in whatever language before you apply to NSLI-Y gives you better odds of acceptance. Develop the habit of watching/reading the news for areas of the world linked to that language.
Another possibility: sciences po reims or science po/Columbia. Specializes in transatlantic relations or French/African relations. There are threads about the school and the selection process on this website. While not a safety it’s not as unpredictable as the US process for highly selective colleges since it’s stats for first cut, then an oral exam on your chosen region’s politics and geopolitical issues
When it comes to determining your safety school, your criteria are the only ones that matter at this point. A school or program can be fabulous on some dimension e.g. Franco-African relations but if that dimension is not important to you, ignore it.
You’ll have to make some trade-offs. Only you can decide what you’re willing to trade off for the sake of your priorities.
@zbsarver Hey! I’m currently going into my junior year at Northeastern University in Boston, as a Criminal Justice and Political Science major (and I’ve taken a few International Relations classes). Not sure if Northeastern has been on your radar much, but it might be worth looking into! Our political science department is fantastic, the classes have been interesting and engaging, as well as challenging. Our IA department is also incredible and there are TONS of opportunities to go abroad (I studied abroad in the summer on a school program for 5 weeks in Jordan and Egypt studying Middle East Politics, Culture, and Society). Anyway, if you have any more questions about the school or the Political Science program feel free to reach out! (I’m also a tour guide and work for admissions here so I have a good understanding of admissions at NU)
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@bremcclarey thanks! I’ll make sure to contact you if I come up with any questions in the future. It’s definitely good to have someone to talk to about the political science program at a school.
@MYOS1634 Sceinces po reims and studying in Paris definitely seems cool, although I don’t really think I could go to France for college lol. In regards to studying abroad- I’m actually spending my next semester (first semester of sophomore year) studying abroad in Israel through this program called ALexander Muss High School in Israel. It’s planned to still be happening, and I’ll be able to escape the mess of the US in the next few months. For language, I’m currently taking Chinese, as I have no means of learning Hebrew until I get to college.
Also, for everyone who is a current part of the discussion or is going to add their thoughts, it’s important for me to say that I do think everything has shifted heavily towards IR. It’s kinda funny since polisci is generally more of what I’m interested in studying, and I was just thinking about looking more into IR due to my interest in Israel and the Middle East.
I guess in general it’s important for you guys to know that my main focus is really polisci and that IR is more of a consideration at this point than a goal. I’ve always found most international politics to just be complex and intricate to the point where it almost seems pointless; It kinda all feels like most international efforts, either the UN or just regular foreign policy, rarely amounts to a tangible changes. I’m super interested in Israel and the conflicts in the Middle East, due to my connection with them, but even still my interest is more about trying to get a full understanding of everything that’s going on. Part of why I’m studying abroad in Israel next semester is to try and figure out if Middle Eastern studies might be a real contender for what I want to focus on, rather than just polisci/domestic politics.
Right now, I think it makes the most sense to major in polisci and then take some classes, like hebrew or other classes that examine the middle east, along with it. So, I’d be more looking for a polisci focused school rather than an IR school.
For undergraduate PoliSci generally the rankings are usually on the order of Stanford-Harvard-Princeton in the very top sphere, followed closely by Berkeley, Michigan, Columbia and Yale.
All of them have robust Israel and Middle East studies programs.
Most short lists of the remaining Top 16 or so ranked undergraduate programs would likely include:
- Chicago
- Duke
- UCSD
- Ohio State
- Wisconsin
- NYU
- UCLA
- U. North Carolina
- MIT
For a safety, it appears your best bet is likely to be a PoliSci Honors program inside one of the two midwestern public universities listed above.
While they’re easier to get into than Princeton, honors programs at public flaships are not safeties because
1° cost is unpredictable and are often very high since these universities can command a high premium, which OOS are partly admitted for (no incentive for the university to discount thus no certainty OP would get a scholarship from tOSU, and UWisconsin gives almost no merit scholarships). OP needs to ascertain their parents’ budget first.
2° admission is an academic match, especially if OP is OOS, which they’d be at these two.
Both tOSU and UWisconsin may be academic safeties without Honors but the financial issue remains and needs to be cleared up ASAP.
A safety needs to have a relatively high acceptance rate and be affordable.
OP, if you get the profile you’re hoping for, it means they’ll be applying to several UCs, but they can’t count on getting into UCB/UCLA/UCSD. Hence, I assume, the need for matches (=OP’s stats at or near threshold for top 25% for their admission, acceptance rate is 30-40%, NPC indicates it’s within budget) and safeties (=OP’s stats well into top 25%, acceptance rate 45-60%, NPC indicates it’s within budget).
Regarding the budget, I think I stated this earlier, but cost shouldn’t be much of an issue. Obviously things could change because of COVID-19, but as of right now, cost would be a factor once I get in and decide but not really a very important one in terms of applying.
And regarding the Midwestern Universities, I’ll defenitely do a bunch of research into them closer to my applications, but I’m not too excited about their locations and size lol. Obviously you have to give up some things for safeties, but I’d much prefer to be on one of the coasts, preferably the east coast since I want to get out of California. Though I wouldn’t mind going to Stanford and staying in state.
Hi! I’m a bit late to this thread, but in no way is AU a safety for IR or Polisci. AU admits by major, and IR accounts for the majority of applicants, with Polisci following not far behind. A good majority of IR applicants likely have stats in a similar range as yours.
AU has pretty much everything you’re looking for:
-A strong honors program (as well as smaller programs based on major, Lincoln Scholars for example)
-A medium undergrad population (8k)
-A strong Jewish Studies/Israel Studies program. (AU is one of the only schools you’ve mentioned to have an Israel Studies minor)
AU is also obviously located in DC, which provides you the opportunity to do internships during the school year (rather than taking a semester off like you would at other schools). Around 93% of political science majors participate in an internship.
I highly suggest you look more into AU, and if you want to learn more, feel free to PM me!
@izrk02 PMed haha
Your choice is among small, excellent, safety: pick two of these three.