Ask a GW Student...

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
21

<p>Okay wow, that is a lot to process but I needed a little guidance, haha. Thanks so much for the advice! It is greatly appreciated! (:</p>

<p>I completely agree with you on getting the requirements out the way. My dad and I sat down after CI, and literally planned out the ENTIRE four years - picking classes, narrowing down my concentration in IR, researching professors, planning out my daily schedule, the works. He is a retired Lt. Colonel from the military - he gets things done, lol.
Right now, I’m registered for 4 of the required 6 freshman classes for the Elliot School.

  • Intro to Comparative Politics
  • Microeconomics
  • World History
  • University Writing
    I’m also taking the Contemporary Science class, not required, but I figured I’d just get it out of the way now. It worked out to be 16 credits. Not shaping up to be an easy semester, but I think I can handle it. But yeah, spring semester I’ll just be taking the other 2 required courses for Elliot freshmen - Macroeconomics and Intro to International Affairs. I think I’m on a good track towards graduating on time, and getting all my requirements taken care of!</p>

<p>My schedule is pretty much the same, every day. All of my classes start at 9:35 every day, except Wednesday, and end around 2-3ish. I ended up getting all my classes at decent times. 9 am classes weren’t ideal, but I’m actually really okay with that though. In high school I was used to being up at 6 to be at school for 7, so I’m hoping 9:35 will be a walk in the park (:
I keep hearing to avoid Friday classes, like from everybody. I’m living in Thurston so will it be thattt bad on Thursday nights? </p>

<p>About financial aid, do students who are already in college typically receive more scholarships? I’ve heard that once you graduate high school, the free money being thrown at you pretty much stops and its RIDICULOUS trying to find that extra money. Is that generally the same for GW students? Either way, I’m definitely going to apply EARLY this time for scholarships/grants in the fall…</p>

<p>Seriously, you are awesome for answering all my questions! Thank you!!</p>

22

<p>Britty3092-</p>

<p>I know it’s a lot. I’d print any college advice you get-- whether here or from parents or whomever. Print it out, think about it, refer to your print outs later. You don’t have to do everything at once, and it’s handy to have a reference sheet. Spend some time planning every once in a while-- maybe every few months. Think about your life-- do you like the classes, the school, the friends, etc. If you don’t, you can change things to how you like it if you take the time to think things through every semester or so.</p>

<p>That’s great that you’ve planned out the classes ahead of time. I’m impressed. Some people don’t realize that there is a concentration required for IAFF and end up cramming it their last 2 years. That’s actually a fairly good/easy enough first semester. You’ll have more of a challenge adjusting to college itself than with the classes.</p>

<p>University Writing- Simple. Can you CLEP or otherwise test out of it? I tested out of all English requirements. I’m not sure if they require UW for any student regardless now, though.</p>

<p>Microeconomics- Good. You’ll need this as a background class for many classes. I took 5 econ classes one semester, and that wasn’t a particular fun idea (I took other classes on top of that, plus worked). I’d probably take Intro to IAFF first semester, then Econ the second semester, though. It’s a bit of a pain, but do-able, and I’m not good at the subject.</p>

<p>World History is surprisingly challenging. It’s not so difficult, but it’s a lot of memorizing… and analyzing. Same with European History later on. </p>

<p>Intro to Comparative Politics… good class to start with. Reasonably easy (requires some effort, but not difficult).</p>

<p>What foreign language are you taking? Take it early on.</p>

<p>Helpful hint: For classes that require many levels (Econ, history, foreign language), take them in consecutive order. Don’t skip a semester, no matter how much you want to: you’ll forget it. It’s much easier to take Econ 181/182 right after you’ve taken Econ 11/12.
I’ve taken an insane number of classes at GW. Send me a message for details about any professor. And, don’t forget to revise your plan each semester as some classes will be full, or will conflict in schedule, etc.</p>

<p>9-2/3ish isn’t too bad. Are you working too? 9-3ish sounds about like a high school schedule. If you’re going to do 9 a.m. classes, do it at first. It’s really hard to take all afternoon classes, then suddenly switch to 8/9 a.m. classes one semester. </p>

<p>Thurston is fun. Crowded, rowdy, but fun. You’ll meet a ton of people. Yes, it’s loud. Thursday-Saturday are big party nights, and Thurston is basically the freshman party hub. Most people go out to clubs/bars to party (18 to enter, 21 to drink), so the noise will be them coming back drunk, rowdy, or otherwise loud. I know some people who party Wed.-Sat., and there’s noise in general in dorms, so Friday classes aren’t the worst thing. The main problem of Friday classes is that you’re so excited for the weekend that you just don’t want to go. In fact, early morning or late afternoon classes are tempting to skip, too. Don’t. Try to go regularly, and actually read some/much of the books. How noisy Thurston is really depends on your roommates and neighbors, and how light of a sleeper you are. It’s rowdy in dorms in general, but Thurston lives up to it’s legend of being rowdy/partying/etc. There’s a reason it’s nicknamed “Thrust-on.” With that sad, you certainly can live there, study, and not involve yourself in partying. You’ll still hear some noise. If you don’t like it or it really interferes with your studying, put in a room/dorm change request early on.</p>

<p>Consider studying abroad at some point. It’s a good time in life to. Of course, it’s hard to get back into the social scene/reconnect with friends after studying abroad, but is memorable enough to take that chance.</p>

<p>Also, consider taking up some relaxing sport or hobby. Yoga, knitting, painting, whatever. Relax and enjoy college (yes, I know, I just gave you a list of things to do, then said enjoy college… both can be done in moderation). </p>

<p>Financial aid: once you’re in college, yes, it’s more difficult. What you get now is often as good as it gets.</p>

<p>Like I said, I didn’t get one dime in financial aid, and I applied to tons of scholarships- merit-based, etc. I’ve heard GW has/had a scholarship that you receive automatically based on GPA. I’m not sure if that’s true. I didn’t receive it. There are 2 ways to lesson costs: 1) apply to be an RA 2) get a univ. job that has tuition benefits. I wouldn’t count on much other financial aid, but still apply. What ruined my chances are that I was a dependent on my middle class parents. That screwed me over, so I didn’t get a dime of aid—now I’m in an insane amount of student loan debt (after I’ve paid my student loans off… by the time I’m 70 years old… I’ll likely have paid $300,000+ in tuition plus interest). Apply for aid, but don’t count on it. If your aid gets lowered, for heaven’s sake, transfer to a cheaper school for the following semester. I wouldn’t go to GW with any less aid than that—it can be a fun place, but student loans are a nightmare and you want to minimize them. Not to terrify you, but seriously, it’s a whole lot of money… it adds up quick, and interest on a $200,000 loan is INSANE. If you get no aid ever, transfer! No school is worth $100,000 or $200,000. I paid it (loans), and regret it immensely. </p>

<p>You sound pretty prepared, so keep being that way… then, relax a little (not too much) and enjoy college. The 4 years will fly by, and you’ll have a lot of unique experiences. Take a lot of photos. Scrapbook or journal or blog the college experience. Seriously, it sounds cheesy, but it’ll be fun to look back on. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you forget all of the experiences from college, from cool guests on campus to late night monuments at midnight site-seeing with friends. </p>

<p>And, one more thing: every weekend, pick a place to go in D.C. for fun. Take photos.
Whether a monument or museum or mall or historic movie theater, DO IT. Go,… every week… to something. You’ll feel like you have all the time in the world in that city to explore and sitesee later, but soon you’ll graduate, move on, and that’s that. Go sitesee often. Entangle friends and dormmates to go with you- it’s a good way to meet people, and it’ll make the city a more enjoyable place to live for you. You’ll want the fun break, and it’s good to venture off campus (clearly, keep safety in mind,… blah blah). I don’t care how much you feel like you have to study or sleep, go find some unique or fun or memorable experience that the city has to over each week. You’ll graduate before you know it.</p>

23

<p>Does GW have any rivalries?</p>

<p>Not football rivalries, since GW doesn’t have a team.</p>

<p>But, GW and Georgetown students kind of have a rivalry among each other. It’s never acted on, just kind of 2 local schools where people like to play favorites to. Clearly, Georgetown is better. It’s better ranked, has more prestige, etc. If the decision was go to go Georgetown or GW, I would pick Georgetown, hands down… without a question.
A joke among GW students is that we’re all people who applied to and were turned down from Georgetown. Another thing is that GW students like to be compared to NYU. It seems like everyone in DC wishes they were in NYC, and everyone in NYC wishes there were in DC. Clearly not everyone does, but it’s kind of a popular trend: graduate GW, move to NYC. Graduate NYU… maybe head down to DC. NYC has a lot of lure for GW students.</p>

24

<p>Should I rush? Should I join school clubs?</p>

<p>Should you rush? That’s up to you. It’s a good way to meet people, but there is often a LOT of drama in Greek groups here. It can also be expensive and time consuming. And potentially fun and memorable… but think about it carefully, and if you’re willing to put in that much time, effort, and money. Clubs? If you want, but don’t overdo campus involvement. There’s plenty that could easily waste your time with endless (and, often, pointless) meetings. Wouldn’t you much rather have a PT job that actually pays you, instead of working tirelessly for some student club for free? Yeah, that’s what I thought.</p>

<p>Why is the campus called Foggy Bottom?</p>

<p>Gross, ain’t it? D.C. used to be swampland. Yeah, doesn’t it sound like a great place to call home?!?</p>

<p>What’s Mount Vernon?</p>

<p>Ok, let’s get this straight. Mount Vernon Campus is a GW campus. In the 1990s (or maybe earlier), it was Mount Vernon Women’s College. GW acquired (however you want to describe it) the campus, and now it’s part of GW. There are dorms there: some are historic buildings, and look quaint. It is largely a freshman campus. It is on Foxhall Road, past Georgetown. It’s about 10-45 minutes from Foggy Bottom, or more, depending on traffic. (It’s a few miles away, but traffic gets bad.) It has a quaint looking classroom building that has a traditional parlor room, some art studio classrooms, some offices, etc. The campus also has a buffet and a “pub” (small restaurant and small grocery store with pool tables in it). There are also sports fields, and random other things that wouldn’t fit on the Foggy Bottom (main/downtown campus). </p>

<p>Mount Vernon is also a name for George Washington’s (president) estate. No, his estate is not related to GW. </p>

<p>GW also has a campus in Loudon for some research facilities and offices.</p>

<p>Can I work during the day and take night classes?</p>

<p>Um, good luck with that. (In other words, no.) It’s not very realistic. Most undergraduate classes at GW are scheduled so that students take classes during the day. You could work part of the day and take classes part of the day, but it’s highly, highly unlikely (if even possible at all, which I doubt) to find all of your required classes in the evenings/at night. Some graduate programs offer more night or online classes.</p>

<p>What’s the library like?</p>

<p>It’s been around for a good amount of time. It gets crowded during final exam time. There are group study floors in the “stacks.” The 4-6th floors have stacks and stacks of books, and are thus referred to as “the stacks.” It’s a good place to study. Don’t forget to turn in books on time, or you’ll pay a fine.</p>

<p>What’s the hippo?</p>

<p>The previous president of the University, SJT, (I think he’s president emeritus now) bought it. Sometimes, in stories, he says that after one too many drinks, he bought the hippo from an artist and gave it to his wife. She didn’t want it, and gave it to the school. He’s a funny and sarcastic man, so he might have been joking… we never knew for sure.</p>

<p>The hippo is the unofficial mascot of the university.</p>

<p>What’s the university mascot?</p>

<p>A colonial. Yeah, isn’t that random? The unofficial mascot is a hippo. Yeah, we didn’t luck out with mascots here. </p>

<p>Is there Starbucks?</p>

<p>Yes, everywhere.</p>

25

<p>What are popular trends on campus?</p>

<p>Well, the usual things… mostly for girls, there’s designer sunglasses, leggings, mini skirts, jeans, Hollister t-shirts, AF clothes, Kate Spade bags (real, or not… same with Prada), GW shirts and hoodies, North Face jackets, iPhones and Blackberries, flip flops, Tiffany jewelry, Vera Bradley weekend bags and accessories, D&G items, Starbucks, Muleskine notebooks, Lacoste shirts, water bottles, organic food, Marc Jacobs accessories, Urban Outfitters clothes, Banana Republic clothes, UCB and similar clothing stores, random wall posters from the bookstore, Ikea furniture, etc. People notice these things, but it really doesn’t matter what you have or wear.</p>

<p>GW isn’t considered a particular fashionable school. Wealthy? Yes. Fashionable? No. definitely not.
There’s a lot of “homely” or otherwise plain/average looking people. It’s not a school known for it’s pretty girls or cute boys. Some people (mostly freshman greek girls) go tanning, but it doesn’t seem like most other students do. Low-rise pants and the usual preppy outfits are popular. Some people wear suits to class (“political tools”), while others wear brightly colored pajamas. I suggest comfortable city shoes. Most seem to have messenger or tote bags for books, instead of backpacks… but no one really cares what you use/wear. Some girls have their hair straightened chemically, some Asian hair straightener, at salons. Some guys get hair highlights, and many girls do. Basically, if it’s opulent, it is liked here.</p>

26

<p>What should I bring to my dorm?</p>

<p>Sheets, bedspread, towels, decor, organizational tools (desk organization, hanging closet shelf/shoe things, underbed storage box if your bed has space underneath, basic utensils for microwave cooking, a handful of plates/cups/spoons, rug for the cold floor, blanket, slippers, bathrobe, clothes, PC, phone, air freshener, ear plugs, winter apparel for snow season, mementos or trinkets that remind you of home.</p>

27

<p>gwgrad, this is very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write all this info. My daughter will be a freshman this fall, living in Thurston, got a 20,000 per year merit scholarship or she wouldn’t be attending. She will be coming in with the max AP credits-24-and plans on majoring in Poli sci at this time. If she continues with that, we have laid out all the remaining requirements, and it looks like, if she took a couple of classses here at home at our local state university next summer, she could EASILY graduate in 3 years. That would be with 16 credits this semester, 15 all the other semesters and the 2, 3 credit summer classes at some point, so not like it’s anything crazy or anything. So, my question for you. Her dream forever has been to go to law school, it is what she really has a passion for. You said you went to GWU underdrad and for law school, right? How did/do you like the law school? Do they give any kind of merit money for law school? I love the idea of only paying for 3 years undergrad and helping her out for a year of law school instead. Another option she is considering would be a combo BA/MA program in Poli Sci that is usualy a 5 year program but since she would be finishing a year early she could maybe do it in 4 years without rushing at all. That would be fine but if her goal is still at that time to go to law school I don’t want her to do the masters just because it is there. I’d rather her use the money toward law school since it is so expensive. Any thoughts and once again, how was/ (is— Are you a law student now?)GW law school for you? What are the job prospects coming out of it? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Haha, you read my mind. I’m definitely planning on printing all this advice out, just to look at every now and then. </p>

<p>In regards to professors, I have Foster for MicroEcon, Dickson for Intro to Comparative Politics, Matthews for World History, Wolfe for UW, Zysimilich for Contemporary Science. I’ve actually did my research and looked up them up on ratemyprofessor before registering, and they all seem alright but what do you think? Any experience with any of them?</p>

<p>About foreign languages, I’m planning on taking Spanish 3 in the spring semester. I’m assuming that will get the third-year proficiency requirement for the Elliot School out of the way. That’s how it works right? Spanish 1, 2, 3, and then you’re done? Silly question, but I figured I’d ask, lol. Sophomore year I’m planning on starting Arabic, maybe as an elective. Do people usually start a new language that late?</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

29

<p>Britty - I’m pretty sure you’ve misread the ESIA language req’s. You need 3 “years” of college level Spanish or other language as directed for the ESIA major. At GW that means SPAN 1,2,3,4,9,10.</p>

<p>See: <a href=“http://elliott.gwu.edu/academics/ugrad/ia/language.cfm[/url]”>http://elliott.gwu.edu/academics/ugrad/ia/language.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>CJ</p>

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<p>great information</p>

31

<p>I’m just scared about getting INTO the college.</p>

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<p>CJ, woah definitely missed that little detail. Thanks!</p>

33

<p>Britty-</p>

<p>GW requires 9 semesters of an approved language (German, French, Spanish, Italian, or I’m not sure what else). You take the language placement exam to determine which class you start with. If you place into second year Spanish or French, then you’ll take another 2 semesters of classes after that. If you start a new language (or don’t place high enough to skip levels), you take 9 semesters of classes. Most meet every day. They’re difficult, so do this early on.</p>

34

<p>What’s the best thing about GW?</p>

<ul>
<li>The city. Hands down. Events, world and industry leaders, historical sites/landmarks.</li>
<li>The professors- some are fantastic. Some are retired generals or ambassadors or politicians. Some are newbies. Class sizes start out big for required classes, but get smaller as you move up in the class levels.</li>
<li>The facilities. GW has impressive buildings (at least the new ones are).</li>
<li>Strong number of local connections, helps with local job searching.</li>
<li>GW knows how to put on a show. Seriously, go to their events. They’re outstanding.</li>
<li>**Best of all, where you graduate. **Graduation on the Capital grounds or NM, depending on year. If you love politics, there’s nothing like graduating in front of the WH. It’s outdoors, with the city as your backdrop. Pretty damn awesome.</li>
</ul>

35

<p>rokangl-
Feel free to post your stats, and I’ll chance you. I didn’t even care about getting into the school, and I wound up accepted and lured there.</p>

36

<p>Saf- </p>

<p>I’m glad it helped, and good luck to your dauther.</p>

<p>Let me tell you that 3 years to graduate isn’t realistic. Sure, academically, you can do it. But, if you want a normal college experience (4 years) to study abroad or meet people or get an internship/job or anything, it’s not likely. Many people come in saying “oh, sure, I’ll graduate in 3 or less years and save money. Easy.” Yeah, no. 99% of the time, they’re not ready for advanced classes that early on, or they get a job/internship, or classes fill up and they can’t get in, or they otherwise can’t do the plan. It’s not likely. Possible, but most people don’t do it. You come to GW to experience DC and life in the city, and that can’t happen in 3 years… barely can happen in 4.</p>

<p>Plan on 4 years. There’s no sense in rushing the kid, and 4 years is realistic. If 3 years ends up happening, good… if not, you’re in the same 4 year (plus) boat as everyone else. I came in with a TON more AP credits, and took summer school. Did 3 or less years happen? No. Not all AP or summer school (elsewhere) classes can count for GW/ESIA requirements.
The 5 year BA/MA programs aren’t all that popular, it seems. I guess it’s because 17/18 year olds either don’t know what they want or don’t want to commit to that many years of school. I’d skip it. If she’s going to law school, focus on the 4 year BA, not a master’s you’ve never use. With a JD, my opinion is that an MA isn’t necessary. And I say that with so many credits that I could have 1-2 MA’s right now. My personal opinion is that Poli Sci is only a good degree line if you plan to work for government, and are absolutely sure of it. Some would disagree, but it’s not applicable to most entry level jobs. (Then again, some say… what major is?) The BA/MA programs are good for some: solid programs, and good if you want a BA/MA combo to teach the subject as a career (possibly with a Ph.D. added on later).</p>

<p>The law school is among the top in the country, and pretty much lives up to the name. Financial aid is again hit or miss. I don’t know anyone who’s here on a full ride, but I’m sure there are some people who are (maybe?). Keep the undergrad GPA up, and plan on 4 years of a BA. Start studying for the LSATs sophomore year. Talk to professors (legitimately, not kissing up) with course-related classes throughout college, and eventually ask them for recommendation letters. Social life? Not much. City? Yes. Good connections for jobs, clerkships, etc. LOCALLY? Yes. (GW connections help getting jobs here, or in the region, not in some small town across the country, usually.) Most friends I know who graduated in the past year or two popped out with reasonably good jobs. They’re not banking it, but are decent. One of them is struggling to pay back all the loans they took to go to law school here. Too many people expect to go here and magically be rolling in income after they graduate- that ain’t gonna happen. The first few years out of law school you may very well be a paper peddler/pusher. </p>

<p>Long-term is the goal of going to school here. With the degree name, and working through the menial entry level, better job opportunities open up later. </p>

<p>Personally, without a substantial scholarship, I recommend people go to cheaper state schools for the BA. Get a good GPA and GMAT/GRE scores. Then, go to a top tier school for your MA or Ph.D. or JD., or whichever the highest level of education you plan to get. That’s not to say that there aren’t cool experiences to be had by going to a top tier undergrad, though.</p>

37

<p>I think that got everyone’s questions so far.</p>

38

<p>Should I bring a car?</p>

<p>Are you kidding? Traffic = nightmare. City parking = pricey. Street parking = not at ALL reasonable for long-term parking. You get tickets often, and they’re expensive- moving your car every 2 hours is very unrealistic, and you can easily drive around 2-3 hours without finding ONE open spot. </p>

<p>Sure, a car would be convenient for groceries, suburban shopping, and weekend region trips. But, pay for parking. Compared to the rest of the school costs, parking isn’t all that expensive on-campus for students who park with an annual parking contract.
Don’t expect to be able to street park, it ain’t gonna work. Don’t expect to park in some corporate parking- it’s $12-30 a day.</p>

39

<p>Well, let me just say I’m definitely retaking the ACT. I’m hoping to get around a 27-28 I didn’t study and rounded up with a 24 :P.</p>

<p>Stats:
Female Mexican
From Arizona
School- Block schedule</p>

<p>W: 3.8 UW: 4.3
Rigorous classwork:
AP Bio- A
AP Chem- A
AP USH- A
AP English Lang- A
Hons. Pre- Cal- A
Hons. English 2- A
Hons. World History- A</p>

<p>Senior class:
AP Lit
AP Cal AB
AP Cal BC
AP Gov’t
Spanish 3
Hons. Spanish 4
Creative Writing
Band</p>

<p>I’m captain of Color Guard, Secretary of NHS, Volunteer at an elementary, I did track and cheer. </p>

<p>Rank: Top 2%</p>

40

<p>I also have an upward trend:
Freshman- 3.5
Sophomore- 3.875
Junior- 4.0</p>

<p>Overall: 3.8</p>