<p>Which is better overall?</p>
<p>AU. smaller so more attention and more of a campus</p>
<p>AU, but most answers on the AU board are going to be a bit biased. ;)</p>
<p>Should I even mention that your question is pretty much unanswerable? They are two very different institutions and you’d have to form your opinion on what metrics are most important to you. If you ask a more cogent question, you’re going to get answers of a lot more value.</p>
<p>both universities are pretty bad</p>
<p>They are very, very different schools, and if they weren’t in the same city, you wouldn’t compare them. The majority of GW students are in the liberal arts, with a significant minority in the sciences, and a substantial portion in engineering. At AU, liberal arts students are a minority, with the plurality of students in international service, with large proportions in communications, business, and public affairs. Very, very few students in the sciences, no engineering. </p>
<p>They just aren’t similar.</p>
<p>In terms of academic reputation and prestige, there is no question that in DC, Georgetown rules, followed by GW, and then AU. In terms of AU vs. GW, they are comparable in terms of academic strength and student body quality but different in terms of campus atmosphere. AU has a dedicated, traditional college campus located in a nice residential area of the city. GW does not (I don’t count the Mt. Vernon Campus, as most at GW do not spend significant time there)–it is completed mixed into downtown DC, much like NYU, and you would have difficulty distinguishing GW from the office buildings, apartments/condo buildings in Foggy Bottom if it weren’t for the GW banners. Neither school has much traditional school spirit, and both student bodies are fairly cosmopolitan. For years many people have described GW as standing for “Georgetown Waitlist,” and until recently, AU had the reputation as being a school for people who did not get in to GW or Georgetown. AU is catching up to GW, and many students will choose between the two simply based on their campus preference.</p>
<p>Kudos to hoyasaxa for a really fair and balanced post.</p>
<p>(This is the first time in several years that I’ve used the phrase “fair and balanced” without a hint of irony.)</p>
<p>They are not comparable in terms of academic strengths because they have profoundly different academics (try, for example, to major in engineering at AU as 16% of GW’s student body does at GW). They have very different student body qualities because of the differences in academic offerings.</p>
<p>Mini, it is silly to describe the schools as having “profoundly different academics.” It is true that GW does have engineering, but it is one of its WORSE offerings, and GW constantly considers ending its programs in engineering. It makes little sense to attend GW for engineering. Also, GW has a medical school, so there are some offerings there as a result that are not offered at AU (although, ironically, the premedical program and advising at AU is actually better than that at GW). Otherwise, the academic strengths of both AU and GW are quite similar–perhaps AU has stronger programs in communications, the arts, and GW has stronger programs in some of the health sciences, but both institutions tend to be known for public affairs, international affairs, political science, etc., and the two schools’ reputations in these areas are pretty similar. The student bodies of both schools are pretty academically similar in terms of qualifications, particularly in the last two years.</p>
<p>Nope. Not even close. Find the numbers of AU students in the sciences and engineering combined. At GW. they make up a third of the campus. At AU? In business, Georgetown was last ranked 20th, AU 24th, GW not even in the top 50. Find the number of English majors at GT and GW, then look at the comparable number at AU. GW doesn’t have a School of Communications, or of Public Affairs. They do, however, have a School of Nursing (as does Georgetown, which also lacks a School of Communications or Public Affairs.) </p>
<p>They just aren’t similar. Profoundly different academic orientations, and student bodies as a result. It is a disservice to both schools to compare them. They do happen to be in the same city (though for purposes of campus environment, even that is profoundly dissimilar.)</p>
<p>You are flat out wrong, Mini, on multiple fronts. The number of students in a particular discipline has no necessary association with the quality of those students nor the quality of the disciplines. Take GW science and engineering for instance–most of academia considers those areas at GW as considerably weaker than the same offerings at other universities of GW’s caliber, despite the number of undergraduates enrolled in those programs. Additionally, the GW sciences and engineering are far weaker in terms of academic respect than other disciplines at GW. The understood strengths of GW and AU are in the domain of government, international affairs and the associated social sciences. I agree that the schools are very different in many ways, but it is HIGHLY understandable that undergraduate students would consider both, given their strengths, location, and similar student qualifications/selectivity.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s fair to say that for those interested in international relations and government and hoping for a DC-based internship in one of those areas, the schools are comparable academically–beyond that, I think that that a student interested in any particular discipline would find that one of the two is far more suitable than the other. I also think that the settings, lifestyles and “types” they attract are so different (I sent a kid to each) that even a student committed to international relations or government would have a definite preference for one over the other after visiting both schools.</p>
<p>Agreed–but choosing either school for disciplines other than government, international affairs, etc. likely rests in the DC location for most students (most states have schools with stronger programs than GW and American in other disciplines). And I also agree that the campus atmospheres at both schools are very different, which would make choosing between the two schools easy for most. The student bodies, however, are very similar in terms of geographical distribution, academic credentials, religious backgrounds, etc.</p>
<p>MommaJ, could you say a bit more comparing/contrasting the “types” that each school attracts? To put the cards on the table, there are a lot of Jewish kids from the northeast with A-/B+ credentials at both schools, if I understand the post above. (That’s my impression, too.) But if they are different on some specific parameters of personality, I’d like to hear more. GW and American are in my daughter’s top three (along with Brandeis). She is interested in Middle Eastern studies and would be applying to AU’s SIS/GW’s ESIA. She liked both the campus of AU and the not-campus of GW when she visited. I’d love to hear more about other ways they differ.</p>
<p>Ditto. Brandeis certainly has a stronger reputation in academic circles for most other disciplines.</p>
<p>DeskPotato, I think the students at AU are more laid back and just less urban in their style and orientation, if that makes sense. S felt a bit of an outsider at GW because so many of the students were very affluent, with money to burn, always eating out, shopping, clubbing, etc., none of which was his style. That’s of course an over-generalization, but it was his impression, and part (just a part) of what induced him to transfer. I think AU has a more nurturing environment (has definitely been the case for my D), and perhaps for that reason attracts students who could use a little nurturing, as opposed to GW, which I’d say attracts a more independent type. I think an overnight at each school would really bring out the lifestyle differences to your D. I do see some comparison between Brandeis and AU in that they each offer a suburban campus environment with easy access to urban offerings, if and when desired. It depends on the student, of course, but for some an urban environment can be hectic and alienating, for others stimulating and exhilirating. (BTW, D was accepted to Brandeis and turned it down–it’s off-topic here, but feel free to PM me if you wants my thoughts on that school.)</p>
<p>DeskPotato</p>
<p>With respect to IA/IS - AU SIS is much larger than ESIA at GW and you probably have a better shot at acceptance at AU SIS. GW ESIA’s class of 2014 has only 550 Freshman and the acceptance rate for ESIA was 14% - very competitive (Overall GW acceptance rate was 31%). I believe AU’s this year was 43%. The only IA school more competitive in the DC area is GT - very hard to get into Walsh SFS - Acceptance rate for 2014 less than 8%. (“S” was waitlisted - thus the term GW - Georgetown Waiting). He’s very happy so far at GW ESIA.</p>
<p>My “S” decided on GW ESIA instead of AU SIS mainly due to his wanting an urban campus. As a parent - I preferred AU. I feel both IA programs are excellent.</p>
<p>My receommendation is for the “student” to visit each - they will likely know which within 15" of visitng - the environments are completley different.</p>
<p>CJ</p>
<p>CJ Madison–Your quotes for acceptance rates are way off–Georgetown’s SFS, which is the best and most prestigious international affairs undergraduate program/school in the country, had an acceptance rate of 20%, and GW’s program was over 30%.</p>
<p>I have no knowledge of how the other two schools do admissions, but my understanding is that students apply to AU, and not to any individual program, even though applicants may specify a program on their application. For example, my son applied to Kogod and his acceptance letter referred to Kogod, but the understanding was that the application to AU was to AU as a whole.</p>
<p>Perhaps KBJ could elucidate as to whether AU considers applicants to each program separately, or if it tries to balance admissions across the programs in some way?</p>
<p>AU, happily, publishes a very thorough data book that shows the statistics of the applicant pool, admitted pool, and matriculated student body and even breaks out some statistics by school. </p>
<p>The difference between 15% and 30% is pretty big, with respect to admit rates at GW’s program. Where would be the best place to get the most recent admissions numbers for ESIA? </p>
<p>MommaJ, I did PM you. Don’t know if you saw it.</p>