Best school for studying Political Science/Government/Women's Studies

[Anonymous]

HS junior daughter and I are in the midst of the college search and are feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I know this could change of course, but right now she is very interested in politics, public policy and women's issues, possibly majoring in political science or government with a minor in women's studies. She is looking for a school with a politically engaged students (She is very liberal so a very conservative campus would not be a good fit), with a sizeable Jewish population, and liberal arts focused. There are obviously a lot of schools that fit this description, so we are having a little trouble narrowing it down.

The government program at Georgetown interests her, but she would really rather go away for college (we live in Bethesda). She is a competitive student and will be full pay (college savings so not looking for financial or merit aid), probably will end up staying on the East Coast, but not entirely opposed to other areas of the country. She is also not opposed to women's colleges, although she isn't sure this is the direction she would like to go.

Any suggestions?

Some schools she is currently interested in:
Smith College
Barnard College
Brown University
Sarah Lawrence
Vassar

Any comments on these schools or suggestions for others would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Bryan mawr

[Anonymous]

Bryn Mawr

[Anonymous]

Connecticut College. Excellent political science department.

[Anonymous]

She isn't going to find a "sizable Jewish population" at Georgetown!

University of Chicago could be a great fit for her. So could NYU.

[Anonymous]

Smith has a very active Jewish organization and very LGBT friendly. Vassar is very LGBT friendly as well but more toward the gay males perspective.

Brown University is a GREAT school but very selective and much harder to get into than her other choices.

[Anonymous]

It will be hard to translate these majors into a job after college. I would factor that in to your decision. If she goes to a school that has great internship and mentoring opportunities, she will be able to get her foot in the door and will be more competitive down the line for a coveted government or nonprofit job related to these lines of work.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern University. Great school, very involved student body and a great campus. A short train ride away from everything Chicago has to offer.

[Anonymous]

I hate to mention this school as it was such a hot topic on another thread but...

Scripps College or any of the Claremont Colleges in Southern California. (Gabby Giffords graduated from Scripps.) But all the Claremont Colleges are very selective, very liberal, all share adjoining campuses and facilities, and in a beautiful and very safe little town.

It might be good for your DS to spread her wings a little.

[Anonymous]

U of Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Mount Holyoke
Oberlin. Though less sure about polo sci at Oberlin.

[Anonymous]

From that list I would select Brown, but it is also probably the hardest to get into the list

Honestly, if I were your daughter I would forget about 'going away for school' and do EA to Georgetown - that way she can intern year round in town and really boost her resume - whether she chooses to go NGO, .gov, party politics, or private sector tangentially related to gov or women's issues.

[Anonymous]

Tufts University--strong politics dept. at least a third Jewish

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She isn't going to find a "sizable Jewish population" at Georgetown!

University of Chicago could be a great fit for her. So could NYU.

There are lots of Jewish students at Georgetown