<p>It wasn’t just that I expected merit $…into 2009, GW’s financial aid website had info on returning students getting merit $ if they had above a 3.7 GPA & were not awarded a merit scholarship on admission. S got above a 3.8, but this scholarship was apparently eliminated for students who entered in Fall 2008, a fact I didn’t find out until contacting the financial aid office. I resent GW’s sloppiness in not updating thier website in a more timely manner.
Having had experience with an older child graduating from a different school, GW is much more frustrating to deal with. I also think the GW experience is influenced by which school & dept. you’re in.</p>
<p>schmohawk, it does appear as if you were right on Target re: disgruntled applicants and parents based on financial reasons! I too received a 3.8 GPA and did not receive the merit scholarship as anticipated. Of course, both my parent’s and I were bummed but that is an entirely different issue then my experience with teachers and other students. Sorry if GW has not worked out for some students, but I think they are the in the minority.</p>
<p>I strongly disagree with this post. Yes, there is some bureaucratic red tape, but that case is extreme. If you want someone to hold your hand through college (=through life), go to a small liberal arts college - not a big university; bureaucracy happens in every large institution, whether it is a university, a non-profit, or a government body. Bureacracy is something we are all going to have to deal with at some point in our lives, might as well learn how to deal with it now. </p>
<p>I truly take offense to you saying that GW academics are “so-so.” Alright, so GW isn’t Harvard. Get over it. Our political science, economics, anthropology, archaeology, international affairs, business, history, biomedical engineering programs, not to mention the other great programs, are AWESOME. I took a foreign policy course and it was taught by someone who works at the State Department - how awesome is that? Every school has its duds, but don’t stereotype the entire school based on your inability to use ratemyprofessors.</p>
<p>Sorry for the angry rant, but I really love GW and it annoys me so much when people fail to realize all of the incredible aspects of it. No, it’s not perfect - but no university is.</p>
<p>By the way - this perspective is coming from someone who ranked GW #13 out of 16 schools when applying (they ended up giving me the most generous financial aid).</p>
<p>spwll08, I couldn’t agree more, your post was right on target! IMO, the students who complain most about the quality of the academics are those who set their sights on the so called “highly competitive” schools, did not get accepted and used GW as a backup. Sorry, but gonefishing needs to go somewhere else! I too resent the negativity and over generalizations!</p>
<p>Bingo, MsBC and spwll. I think this is typical behavior of people who thought they’d surely be going to an Ivy or at least Georgetown due to their life experiences of being big fish in small ponds in high school. They are shocked when things don’t turn out they way they planned, end up at their “safety”, GW. And then they don’t even get the merit money they so richly deserve! No wonder they’re bitter.</p>
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<p>Please, if you don’t agree with the OP’s observation, respond to it in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Disparaging them like this does NOT do the school any good. It actually makes the school and the people who chose them look worse.</p>
<p>GWU is my son’s first choice: he is a HS Jr, and will apply next year. Don’t worry, even with all that is posted here, GWU will remain his first choice.</p>
<p>I actually find the OP and other people who more or less agree with OP to be very thoughtful and intelligent in their comments and observation. I did not see any antagonistic and flagrant demonstration of ill will with an intention to trash the school. They do not deserved to be slammed with a blow below the belt like the above quote remark. </p>
<p>It’s one thing to love your school. It’s quite another to slam people who report their dissatisfaction in a thoughtful manner. Their observations are quite as valid and, yes, HELPFUL for others. </p>
<p>Especially, if the same remarks are repeated in similar flavor by multiple people, it really says something, such as incompetent/inefficient administration or focus not in the academic rigor. I find these entirely plausible. </p>
<p>I called a few admission officers to gather data and information for my son next year, and the kind of answers I got were SO WRONG, even contradicting what they put on their web and what’s available on common data set and a myriad of other web sites, I really scratched my head. Furthermore, one person could not even understand a basic math concept. He told me that there is no acceptance rate difference between ED and RD. When I gave him the actual numbers, he said, oh, ED acceptance rate only appears high because the number of applicants is small. what the heck - can’t imagine this man evaluating my son’s application!!!. Of course, I ignored it as a aberration, rather than a general level of competence among the people they hire as school officials, but perhaps not.</p>
<p>Academic rigor is also a plausible issue. They hire a lot of “practitioners” from inside the beltway as faculty, which is different from schools with more rigorous faculty make up comprising of Ph.D. 100%. This could be reason why their “approach” in the classroom may appear not rigorous to some students. On the other hand, this “practical” approach may be a really wonderful thing for others. Good. In that case, just state your side of the observation. No need to trash and demonize others for having a different opinion. Academic rigor is a fair issue to deal with, and for prospective applicants and their parents, something to think about. </p>
<p>So, I encourage the OP and other people who refuse to drink the cook aid to come back and continue to share their experience in a thoughtful manner. You are doing service for others.</p>
<p>GWU will be my S2’s first choice in spite of the issues raised here since he will value the kind of things GWU does VERY WELL and be willing to tolerate its weakness. However, knowing what he is getting into in advance is also helpful. </p>
<p>Please, if you don’t agree with the OP’s observation, respond to it in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Disparaging them like the remark quoted above does NOT do the school any good. It actually makes the school and the people who chose them look worse.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee-I think you have done exactly what you are accusing others of by characterizing those who have described their positive experiences at GW as “drinking the cool aid.” I agree everyone should politely share their experiences. As I have stated my D and our family had highly positive experiences with GW. My D was in CCAS, not Elliot, and her professors were all PHDs. Academics were very strong in her field. GW is a large university where you can find whatever it is you are looking for. There are many colleges within the university to choose from and diverse programs. As to the person you spoke to in admissions, sounds like it was a student volunteer who felt compelled to answer your questions even though they didn’t know the answer. They should have referred you to an actual admissions officer. Always check to make sure of who you are talking to. There is a specific admissions officer assigned to your geographic area and high school. You should always ask to speak with them.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee:</p>
<p>I don’t know how you can comment on here and claim that the OP is more right than another, or vice versa, especially when neither you nor your son have yet to experience GW. And also, by me saying that, it does NOT make me unintelligent. </p>
<p>With that said, obviously there’s going to be people who do not like their school, but let me reiterate that an overwhelming majority of people that attend GW love GW. And then there’s a few, for various reasons, who do not like GW. This happens at every school, and if it didn’t exist then transferring among schools would not exist.</p>
<p>I love GW; it does not fit the negative stereotypes that many people on here say it does. Nonetheless, I respect those who do not like the school. But, in my opinion, dislike of the school is due to a lack of involvement in seeing all GW has to offer. In other words, GW is what u make of it; you have tons of resources, but they do not come to you. So it is up up to the individual student to be active and get involved to find their niche.</p>
<p>I stand by it, because it is true.</p>
<p>the admissions folks I talked to, those who completely underwhelmed me, were school officials, NOT students. In fact, I know their names: their names were listed on their web site as REGIONAL ADMISSION OFFICERS, not students.</p>
<p>But this is a minor point. I did not claim that all GWU school administrators are incompetent. I also did NOT say GWU academics are sub par for sure.</p>
<p>What I was saying though is that the OP and the folks who agree with him do NOT come across as those folks who are disgruntled and made things up because they were still so sorry that they were not admitted to the Ivies. </p>
<p>I was simply stating that based on my own observation and other stories I heard from different sources both directly and indirectly, there is a good possibility that there is some good reason why OP was saying what he was saying.</p>
<p>Of course I also know that other people may have different experience. Everybody has a different opinion and experience, even in the same school. That’s normal. So, I also believe you when you say your own experience is very different and GWU has been wonderful to you. In fact, I would like to believe that since it’s likely that my son will end up in that school.</p>
<p>What I was objecting to is this chorus of rude insult and negative characterization of those who did not have the very best experience with GWU. This, in my mind, paints the GWU community in a more negative light than the OP and those who agree with him to. </p>
<p>When a group does NOT tolerate any honest attempt to be reflective of their own strength, and YES, weakness, that’s a group that is less likely to be successful on a long term basis.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee- Please…Just unbelievable, practice what you are preaching! You are making judgement calls about our posts and commenting that we are not representing the school in a positve manner, not thoughtful, etc… Many of us are very proud of GW and tired of others make NEGATIVE generalizations! We are not “trashing” others as you have noted…just asserting our opinions!! Sorry but IMO your comment, “They hire a lot of “practitioners” from inside the beltway as faculty, which is different from schools with more rigorous faculty make up comprising of Ph.D. 100%.” AND “So, I encourage the OP and other people who refuse to drink the cook??? aid”… is not representing YOU in a positive manner. Let’s move on and agree to disagree!!</p>
<p>“When a group does NOT tolerate any honest attempt to be reflective of their own strength, and YES, weakness, that’s a group that is less likely to be successful on a long term basis.”</p>
<p>^^^Oh please. Your sanctimony is really a bit much.</p>
<p>schmohawk- Just a confirmation of what we were discussing in the earlier posts. Sanctimonious indeed!!</p>
<p>Yep.
For further lessons in sanctimony, check some of hyeonjee’s other posts. Whoa.</p>
<p>do you guys realize this kind of personal attack REALLY make GWU community look bad? The OP and hyeonjlee or others are making reasoned arguments. Those of you who are not happy about them can also make a reasoned argument.</p>
<p>Instead, you are all behaving like children throwing tantrum with personal attacks and what not. </p>
<p>I get that you love GWU. Show it in a mature way. Mature people show their disagreement with persuasive arguments, not personal attacks and cheap insults.</p>
<p>Please, you are creating negative impression on people - those of us who are considering GWU as a very viable option.</p>
<p>Aren’t you somebody’s mom?</p>
<p>I am a mom, yes. We are doing research on several schools to see what would be a good fit for our son - like many parents on CC. </p>
<p>In a way, that’s why this tone bothers me: I would like my son to be in a community of thoughtful young adults who can agree to disagree in a civil manner without resorting to name calling.</p>
<p>As previously indicated lizmane, we are simply stating our opinions and observations. Immature??? YOU too are now making disparaging remarks and doing exactly what you are criticizing others of. Come on, we’re college students NOT parents and express ourselves differently then what you might consider “mature”. Our beliefs about your remarks are just as valid as yours!! </p>
<p>Further, if you’re seriously utilizing a few students’ comments as a basis for whether your child should attend GW, then think again… that’s so off. WE are passionate, intelligent and assertive students who are learning to make our way in the real world as independent, open-minded adults, w/o our parents navigating the system for us! That’s a realistic view of the majority of GW students. GW is like most larger universities, you must learn to deal with the ups and downs and yes, you might encounter some bad admins along the way. But, overall most of the staff is helpful and truly cares about the students. GW is a great place to spend four years and if our so-called “tantrums” continues to bother the parents who have commented here, perhaps your children will be happier elsewhere! DONE!</p>
<p>WOW being one day away from the thread and some much has happened! But, being serious this is why im so excited to going to GW next fall. Students being able to voice there opinion. Lizmane if your son is not in to that kinda stuff then i hate to say it but it might not be the place for him.</p>
<p>Saying someone is ‘sanctimonious’ is your idea of name-calling, Lizmane? Really? I find your attitude officious. Oops, there I go again.</p>