<p>i'm "commending" armcp for his articulate posts and determination to express himself, regardless of his lack of popularity here.</p>
<p>harpomarx~ yes, you are right, i, too will go. i have strong feelings about GW as i feel they misrepresent themselves to lots of new kids. my family in the DC area has sent me Washington Post articles for years, as we were making our decisions. i do not think the school delivers what it should to all of you, but i know this is inflammatory, which is not my purpose. i'm gone.</p>
<p>For any students considering GW who may be turned off by the whole "Prada bag thing" I just want to second Researchmaven's observation that the "Prada bag thing is a GROSS EXAGGERATION". No doubt there are a significant number of students from wealthy families - but there are also many
"regular" kids at GW. I've asked my daughter about this and somehow she doesn't even know anyone who is extremely well off - or who shows it off with Prada bags, at least. Just about all of the kids that she knows are on partial scholarships, financial aid, and/or work study - like she is.</p>
<p>Actually, there is a HUGE number of very poor students mixed in with the wealthier crowd (rather than being the mostly middle-class like the typical state school). That's just the way most private schools (and financial aid) work -- it will consist of those who can pay the sticker price, those on scholarship, and those who qualify for good amounts of grant aid. It's not rocket science. Tulane isn't that different (except that they offer larger scholarships to some people). If you only like middle-class people, go to a state school or cheap private school. </p>
<p>The Peace Corps is not something you do to get into grad school. Your time would be better spent studying for the LSAT/MCAT.</p>
<p>As an alumna of the university and a former member of the admissions office, I <em>don't</em> want to misrepresent the university. I feel that it is inaccurate to say that "just about everyone" is on financial aid. The most current data show that about half of the student population receives aid. Go on CollegeBoard.com and do the research yourself and feel free to speak with a current financial aid administrator at the University. GW and most private schools are wealthy, period. </p>
<p>Something that bugs me is that while people talk about the "Prada" crowd, they fail to mention the way wealth positively impacts the university. Why aren't there any threads about the 24 hour computer facilities? The music halls, the theaters, the gyms, the palace-like residence halls? Those things didn't get there by themselves.</p>
<p>Tulane gives better scholarships. However, I have several Tulane alums in my family and while they enjoyed the academics, they were not fans of the old facilities, the not-so-great dorms, and lack of safety around Freret and some areas of Uptown (and this was PRE katrina...). No school is perfect. I don't understand why there are so my threads bashing GW.</p>
<p>Hi, SR -
I don't understand why there are so my threads bashing GW.</p>
<p>I agree with you. It's hard to believe that so many people have a vested interest in bashing GW. I personally have observed that it ALWAYS seems to be people who are carrying a grudge because they either couldn't get in, couldn't get enough aid, or just were too conflicted about spending the money. The key phrase here is: vested interest. And what that says to me is that GW, one way or another, evokes passion. There are many people who are passionate about going there, even if they had options which others might consider better. Then, there are those passionate about bashing it. In any event, it sounds like a wonderful place to me if it can evoke so much emotion!</p>
<p>I agree -- maybe it could be a good thing that GW is talked about so much! :-)</p>