<p>Hey, I’m trying to decide between whether I should put down crawford or Potomac as my first choice. I know I want to live on Foggy Bottom no matter what and I don’t think I want thurston. I was just wondering if any one can tell me what the differences are between Crawford, Madison, Lafayette and Potomac. I think I would like Crawford better than Potomac + I wasn’t ED, so I may not be able to get potomac anyway. also Im going to be Ba/md and honors so I was wondering whether that has any impact on whether I get my top preferences. It would be great if you could tell me more about the houses on Foggy bottom and it would also be wonderful if you could put me in touch with any Ba/md studehts you know. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>do you guys know anything about the sonography school? is it expensive to live out in dc?</p>
<p>Acere-</p>
<p>Tuition is expensive.</p>
<p>The city is also expensive.</p>
<p>Tuition, is of course, a massive amount of money. Then, add in pricey dorms. </p>
<p>Sometimes (well, often… depending on how far you are willing to commute) get cheaper housing off campus. Note that some apartments won’t approve students (too young, don’t meet the income requirements, the credit requirements, etc.). If you go to the outskirts of Dupont/Adams Morgan, a tiny studio apartment can be had for $1000 or so… plus utilities and commuting costs. You could get a 1 bedroom in an older apartment building further out, say, Roslyn, for slightly less… plus utilities and community costs. </p>
<p>Restaurants are more expensive. You can drop $15 for a “cheap” take out lunch easily.</p>
<p>Even coffee costs can add up. Same with subway fares. Same with… everything.</p>
<p>And, you’re attending school with many privileged students who wear Northface/Uggs/Prada/Kate Spade while carrying their iPads or driving their Beamers or spending $20-50 a night going out. Sure, you don’t have to buy that stuff, but if you want to go out, eat out, go to entertainment venues, etc., those are all expensive to think about. </p>
<p>If you’re from cheaper small town, you might just be stunned at the kind of money that’s thrown around here. The average income in some states isn’t even $50-60,000 for a family… and that’s the expected cost of ONE YEAR at GWU. That’s a lot. </p>
<p>It’s an expensive lifestyle at an expensive college in an expensive city.</p>
<p>mcb330 -</p>
<p>You have at least 2 types of kids here:</p>
<p>First, you have the polico tools. You’ll see them wearing suits to class, bragging about their White House/World Bank/etc. internship. </p>
<p>Then, you’ll have the designer wanna-be-(usually)-girls. Real Prade/Kate Spade/Uggs/North Face and knock offs. Chemically straightened, bleached, etc. hair with a “nice” fake orange tan. Expect the pants to say “Juicy” on the butt, all the while they’re wearing furry Ugg boots in the middle of a 100 degree summer. Add in some Longchamp totes for school books. </p>
<p>Then, there are those students who just don’t care. You’ll see them strolling into class in pajamas.</p>
<p>Overall, it’s a “business casual” or “business attire” city. People like to dress up in suits here. It’s not exactly the fashion mecca of the world, and there’s many unattractive and unfashionable people here. It’s the city of power, whereas Miami is the city of beauty, NY the city of money, etc., as the old adage goes.</p>
<p>himurabattousai3 - </p>
<p>Honors is overrated. I wouldn’t waste my time with it.</p>
<p>With that said, I would mark Crawford. Potomac is nicer, but you’re less likely to get it. Potomac has rather small rooms, but is more of a social dorm. </p>
<p>If you’re avoiding Thurston, I’m guessing you want to avoid noise and parties, so you’ll probably want to avoid Potomac.</p>
<p>To the people wanting cars…</p>
<p>You can get commercial parking on/around campus. </p>
<p>It’s a few hundred a month.</p>
<p>You can find it more easily further out, say, in Dupont. Then you’re taking the metro to your car. There’s a few commercial parking garages in Foggy Bottom. There’s one by Rice Hall and a few others at office complexes nearby.</p>
<p>Expect to spend $200-300 a month on parking.</p>
<p>There’s a parking garage at Farragut West or so that “only” charges $6 per day if you get your car there by 6 a.m. Their normal rates are $20/plus a day. Contract option it’s about $200/month.</p>
<p>Traffic is a pain.</p>
<p>What about motorcycle parking?</p>
<p>Motorcycle parking is paid, too. I can’t imagine what would make someone want one of those in DC with all of the bad drivers, bad bumpy roads, and parking problems. I would say “at least you can pass cars,” but with how close people drive to each other to prevent people from cutting in, that might not work so well. </p>
<p>While I’ve seen people park motorcycles elsewhere in the city between parallel-parked cars, I’ve seen a few get tickets. Even cars get tickets if they’re too near the parallel parking meter. At least motorcycles are probably cheaper at commercial garages than cars, but still not “cheap.” </p>
<p>I’ve never met a student here that has a motorcycle. Scooters, occasionally. Motorcycles, no. One older neighborhood lady on campus has a Segway. She ties her Segway to the bike racks. </p>
<p>Of course, there are some street parking spaces, but you have to move spots every few hours. Parking tickets are expensive. And, your car can’t be there during rush hours or snow in many locations. </p>
<p>DC doesn’t allow motorcycles to be parked on sidewalks anywhere. But, scooters and mopeds can be in some areas. </p>
<p>DC has some (not many) motorcycle spots, but most aren’t in Foggy Bottom proper.</p>
<p>In fact, here are the motorcycle-specific parking spots in ALL of NW DC… not that many:
2nd St between E & Massachusetts Ave, near the Georgetown Law Center
6th St between Howard Place & Fairmont St
15th St between I & K at McPherson Square
19th St between S & T
E St between 6th & 7th
E St between 22nd & 23rd at Virginia Ave
F St between 22nd & 23rd
G St between 6th & 7th, near the Gallery Pl/Chinatown metro station
G St between 14th & 15th
G St between 17th & 18th, 1 block from the World Bank
H St between 18th & 19th
Eye St between 3rd & 4th
Eye St between 18th & 19th
Eye St between 21st & 22nd
K St between 13th & 14th at Franklin Square
M St between 15th & Thomas Circle
M St between 17th & Rhode Island Ave
M St between 18th & 19th
T St between Florida Ave & 19th
New York Ave between H & 14th
Vermont Ave between H & Eye, near McPherson Square
Indiana Ave between 6th & 7th
Vermont Ave between L & Thomas Circle
New Hampshire Ave between M & Ward Place/21st
Pennsylvania Ave between 18th & 19th at Murrow Park
Florida Ave between 20th & Connecticut Ave
Thomas Jefferson St between M & Canal St
Van Ness St between Connecticut Ave & International Place</p>
<p>Ah ok, thanks! I was considering bringing mine just to get out of the city now and then, but I guess I won’t then.</p>
<p>Hi gwgrad,
First thanks to all your helpful info about gwu. I just got admitted for Fall 2012 as a international transfer student. And I have several concerns about the school health insurance. As many other F1(international students), I am required to have health insurance, however the health insurance that gwu offers for students are really expensive (2200 per year - 10 months). So I wonder if you know any insurance company that can be qualified for gwu’s requirements but in a more reasonable price. THanks so much.</p>
<p>gwgrad,</p>
<p>I read your posts back before I applied a couple years ago and they were very helpful, thanks :). I see you have started posting again.</p>
<p>I’m starting my second year here at GW - PSC major, got a 3.9 GPA my first year or slightly above that. You mentioned that finding work (w/o work study) or a significant internships is difficult. Many the unpaid internships I’ve been looking at already say they require “past experience” that I don’t even have, and the ones I applied for I didn’t even hear back from let alone make it to the interview stage. </p>
<p>Of course I’m going to keep trying, but I’m becoming slightly worried that nothing significant will pop up. I think I’d like to go to grad school (perhaps GW/equiv.) for an MPP or an MPA. But what do you think will happen if when I try to apply to grad school and I don’t really have any significant work (note significant, already have 4 years of minimum wage retail work experience from high school) or internship experience? Will a good GPA/GRE scores be enough to carry me? If not, what kinds of things should I be looking to do?</p>
<p>I take it job prospects aren’t going to be so good (for a PSC major) if I can’t make it into grad school right away either.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>**quynhvan-- **</p>
<p>Glad it helped. </p>
<p>Health insurance is expensive indeed. I have heard of Compass Gold (about $40/month) and ISO Med ($30 month) that offer insurance to international students. You might want to see if GW will accept them. They’re cheap, at least. I think “Global Student USA” offers international student insurance for around $1500 per calendar year. The International Student Office at GW might be able to offer more suggestions. Good luck.</p>
<p>lok100 –</p>
<p>I’m glad you found my posts helpful. </p>
<p>What do I think will happen if you apply to a GW-equivilent MBA/MPA? Tough one. Your GPA is good at 3.9. Have you taken the LSAT, GMAT, or GRE yet? If your test scores are outstanding, you might have a chance. Most people applying to top tier grad. school programs have solid GPAs plus good/very good test scores. Without work experience, it will be hard to compete with them-- unless your test scores and GPA are outstanding. If you’re wanting to go to a less competitive school, say state school, a strong GPA and good test scores would often be good enough with little work experience. </p>
<p>I suggest participating in some student organizations to get some leadership experience.
Those will help with finding a job in the coming years, and are good for grad. school apps. Some student orgs are frankly a waste of time, but if you find one you like that has real world relevance (say, marketing or accounting), you can get some useful experience. Avoid organizations that are filled with petty, drama b.s. Find one that’s enjoyable that does respectable activities/charitable things/etc. Being a member of some organization is virtually useless on a resume, but being the marketing director who achieved record attendance at an annual event is at least fairly useful. </p>
<p>Or, find some random small non-profit and accept a small salary part-time job. The “big name” jobs and internships are competitive and hard to get. Maybe you’ll be the secretary, but… that’s not that much difference from some generic office internship where you’re making photocopies. If you find some small po-dunk charity that you’re remotely interested in, you might have more of a chance. Some charities, NGOs, churches, Habitat for Humanity, and even local libraries and animal shelters accept volunteers to help with everything from office work to marketing to fundraising. Fundraising is useful experience in all sorts of careers.</p>
<p>You can also try online volunteering-- volunteermatch.org has some organizations. Find some specialization-- say, social media or editing-- and find some group to volunteer for remotely. That will be good for real world (well, sort of) on your resume. Then, you can use the charity volunteering to apply for “real” paid jobs later. Best of all, you can often do this sort of volunteering whenever… even at 3 a.m. That’s a perk in college.</p>
<p>There’s also university jobs. Some are part-time, some full-time. Some full-time jobs offer desirable tuition benefits. GW also likes to hire it’s students/alumni, so you might be more likely to get a job with GW than off-campus. I wouldn’t even look for “GW student” jobs, necessarily-- student and work-study jobs aren’t as easy to find. You could work part-time as a secretary in some GW office. It pays (beats unpaid internships, a.k.a. photocopying interns who fetch coffee). And, it provides some valuable networking/connections within GW. That’s good for future recommendation letters, networking for future jobs, and getting your name known in your desired department. GW jobs can often offer opportunities for advancement, which is a huge plus. Bonus points if you work for the grad. school program office that you want to attend later on.</p>
<p>Another option is to start your own company or charity. Volunteer in some third-world country or your hometown in the summers. Run a charity drive for the local animal shelter or orphanage. It’s easier to find jobs in small hometowns than to find embassy internships in DC. See if you can find good internships or volunteer roles during Christmas break and over the summer in your hometown, too. </p>
<p>Mixing in a strong GPA, very good test scores, some hometown summer volunteering/jobs, and a local part-time job with the university or some small charity (try Rossyln or a bit further out) would go a long way for you. Good luck.</p>
<p>keabie18 -</p>
<p>I wouldn’t bring a motorcycle/moped to get out of the city. Aside from being dangerous with bad DC drivers and bad roads near most of the city bridges, I’m not even sure the interstates allow motorcycles. </p>
<p>Getting around the city on one is one thing,… driving to the far suburbs is another. I wouldn’t try it. People fly by on the interstates, often topping 80-90 mph. If you’re going to the suburbs, I would imagine you would want to shop or get groceries… so a taxi would be easier. To go to NY, you could take the Chinatown bus (cheaper) or train (nicer). With how fast people go on the parkway, I don’t suggest a motorcycle for that… especially with crappy roads. </p>
<p>You could use one to get to other parts of DC for bars/restaurants, but that’s assuming you go there alone. Usually people walk, take the train, or share a cab to get to the bar that night. </p>
<p>I would suggest a car, if anything,… and that’s assuming you want to spend a few hundred a month for the luxury. You could take a cab out to the nearby suburban shopping for about $15-20 each way. Even those cab fares round trip a few times a month are cheaper than the cost of parking. Personally, I like having a car in DC… but if I only used it on an occasional weekend, that might not be worth it. GW discourages freshmen from cars, but… a car is fun if you don’t mind the expense and find places to go more often. NY, Boston, or WV are fun weekend trips. </p>
<p>I suppose you could take cabs around the areas you would want to ride a motorcycle around and decide if you want to do it. I’ve seen at least a handful of people get hit by cars on their motorcycles and bicycles, so I would be cautious about it. Still, if the places I mentioned above are places you would frequent, it might be a relatively easy way to commute.</p>
<p>Other transit:
- Metrobus
- Metro subway
- The Circulator-- stops at mostly tourist-y stops, very cheap
- Georgetown Bus-- to get to where the non-GW rejects attend school.
- Taxis
- Walking… Dupont isn’t that far, Georgetown is walk-able… other than that, cab.
- Mount Vernon shuttle- to get to the MVC campus on Foxhall Road
- 4-Ride- to get your drunk *** home, or to get a ride back to your dorm if you’re lazy.</p>
<p>Weather?</p>
<p>Summer: Hotter than ****.</p>
<p>Winter: Cold. Usually it snows a few times a year, and a significant snow every few yrs.</p>
<p>Is it political?</p>
<p>Obviously. Living in DC during election years and seeing the inaugural parade is cool.</p>
<p>Test Scores from 2011 – 25th / 75th Percentile </p>
<p>ACT Composite: 27 / 31
SAT Critical Reading: 600 / 690
SAT Math: 610 / 700
SAT Writing: 620 / 700 </p>
<p>ACT Composite 29 average </p>
<p>Cost of Attendance $59,985 / year</p>
<p>Race, per collegedata.com</p>
<p>0.3% American Indian/Alaskan Native
10.3% Asian
7.8% Black/African-American
7.9% Hispanic/Latino
1.9% Multi-race (not Hispanic/Latino)
0.1% Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander
61.2% White
10.5% Unknown
International Students 7.5% from 87 countries</p>
<p>Would you suggest living on the Mt. Vernon campus as a freshman?</p>
<p>I am aware that GW is a diverse place, but do you often see people mix together and have friends of many different backgrounds or do people self segregated like I have seen at several universities?</p>