Ask a GW Student...

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
41

<p>rokangl-</p>

<p>Yes, you should apply to GW. I’d say you have a chance.
The weakness is of course the ACT. 24 is weak for top tier schools. You still have time to retake it, so study for it and retake it as much as possible. A 4.0 GPA doesn’t hold strong if the ACT/SAT scores are weak. Same with rank- being in the top 10% at a renowned private school is better than being in the top 1% at a weaker or average school with less rigor in academics. Take the SAT also, as some people fair better on one test instead of the other. And, it’s another opportunity for a better score. For reference, my score was around 30+, I think, but I shined on subject scores-- I scored in the top 1-3% nationally in at least 2 of the subjects on the exam. On one subject, I missed only 2 questions. The first time I took the ACT I slept through half of it and scored in the mid-twenties. Oops. Take the test again- scores can and do raise. If your school offers a prep class for exams, do it. And, take the free practice tests online, as well as go get an ACT book and review it… often.</p>

<p>Nice, keep up the good grades. Upward trends are good, and you have a nice variety of honors and AP. You have a nice variety of AP classes. Take the AP exams. In many subjects, GW only takes 4s, sometimes 5. </p>

<p>Arizon and Mexican- both very helpful. (A local sarcastic observation is that 99% of us are Jewish from New Jersey/New York. Clearly, not that many are,… it just seems like it sometimes). Other states where fewer students apply from seem to help (like Alaska, Alabama). Bonus points go to anyone who isn’t another rich NYer. (The school likes to see someone overcoming some sort of familial or socioeconomic challenge, making good grades, being a leader, being amazing… blah, blah.)</p>

<p>Color Guard, NHS, etc. both show leadership, which GW likes. Track and cheer… GW has a cheer team. I believe they give scholarships for it. You should look into that. Do you have any unique hobbies or volunteer experiences or summer jobs? Don’t try to make one up that’s unique, as schools see through that… but if you have something, show it. </p>

<p>Your college essays and recommendations will be very important, particularly with the weak ACT. The female/cultural background, being from Arizona, and being a leader in some of your clubs are strong points. Include in your college essays about any unique family cultural traditions/heritage and what you want to do in the future, and why exactly GW relates to what you want to do. Thing about why you’re unique, and include that tastefully in the application. </p>

<p>I’d say you have a chance, just get the ACT scores up, keep the grades up, and have stellar college essays and recommendations.</p>

42

<p>What is the weather like?</p>

<p>It sucks. It’s ridiculously hot in the summer, and freezing in the winter. The city used to be swampland… what do you expect, a tropical paradise? Yeah, no. It’s muggy, hot and gross in the summer, making those business suits for your internship all the more fun to wear. In the winter, there is either an absurd amount of snow, or general frigidness. Why do you want to live here again?</p>

43

<p>How many freshman will there be?</p>

<p>It varies, based on admissions. But, usually 2000-2500 or so.</p>

<p>What ACT scores are common?</p>

<p>Composite: 26 – 30 (25/75 percentile)</p>

44

<p>Hey gwgrad,</p>

<p>Thanks for all the informative posting here - it’s been really helpful. </p>

<p>Can you comment on the poli. sci. program at GW? I’m a rising senior and I’ll likely be applying this fall. </p>

<p>Also try to chance me if you can :P.</p>

<p>IB Diploma Candidate (school is very heavy on IB compared to AP)
Cumulative GPA: 4.094
Weighted 5.011 (school doesn’t have rank)
SAT: 1930 (taking again in fall)
M: 610
CR: 680
W:640</p>

<p>SAT II U.S. History: 730</p>

<p>Junior Classes, IB/APs</p>

<p>IB English 3
IB Pysch
IB/AP U.S. History 2
IB Latin 3
IB Envi. Sci.</p>

<p>All final grades were A or above.</p>

<p>Upcoming Senior classes:</p>

<p>IB European History (HL)
IB Discrete Math
IB Psychology (2nd year HL)
IB English 4 (HL)
IB Latin 4
AP Gov. and Politics.</p>

<p>Have moderate ECs (but no huge laundry list).</p>

<p>Officer in FBLA for 3 years (will likely be President if the club isn’t eliminated this year due to budget cuts by the state). Lead editor of student directory, service club/latin club member for 2 years. Not a sports kid :p.</p>

<p>Have had same outside school job for 4 years. Also serve as the student liaison for the town council in my area. </p>

<p>I’m considering apply ED (though still not sure about this - financial aid is not the FIRST concern but it still is a moderate concern). I hear the admit rate for ED is much higher.</p>

<p>Of all the campuses I’ve visited, I liked GW the most (hated the traditional feel of Georgetown, and I mean hate). I’m a Caucasian guy from a middle class family in NJ, and I’m liberal.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

45

<p>

That is exactly what I did… Haha I couldn’t sleep at all that night so when I was taking the test I was half asleep and half watching the clock. Without any study or sleep I’d say a 24 isn’t too bad haha. Next time I will study and will sleep and I should definitely (hopefully) get a 27-28.</p>

<p>*Also I visited GW and American, will that help?</p>

46

<p>rokang3l-</p>

<p>You’ll want to shoot for a 29/30. A 27 is relatively low here. Go to sleep early next time. Study months in advance, not days. I went to a camp the week prior and put my head on the desk and literally slept… and snored. It wasn’t my best. And, mid-20s were embarrassing for the schools I applied to. Mid-20s is ok for state schools, but it doesn’t put you in a shining light for top tier schools. Get a few ACT study books, and spend half an hour a day studying… or 3 times a week, at the very least. And, take the SATs also… maybe you’ll fair better on them.</p>

<p>Will visiting campus help? It’ll help you decide if you like the school, but is irrelevant to admissions.</p>

47

<p>Ult-</p>

<p>Glad it’s helped.</p>

<p>Poli sci is a good program, but I can’t say that I’ve liked all of the classes in that department. Some of them lived up to the usual stereotype of poli sci classes (arrogant, memorizing things, etc.). Some classes were nice and interesting, though. It’s a good program, but less popular. It’s in CCAS. Why PSC over IAFF? ESIA is far more selective than CCAS. </p>

<p>Middle class New Jersian… Jewish, too? I’d say you’d fit right in. :wink: So, 99% of our school comes from your state and NY (sarcastically speaking, of course). Liberal? You’ll fit in. Middle class? You’ll likely be screwed with financial aid. I’m middle class, and didn’t receive one dime in aid. </p>

<p>What’s your GPA out of 4.0? Your classes are solid. Is your high school well-ranked? You might have even had more AP/IB than I did. Nice grades, and IB is good. Have you taken the ACTs? Your SAT is pretty nice, but you’ll probably need a 2000+, just to stand out (white, middle class, NJ… not quite unique). I’m guessing you can do over a 2000+, anyway. Get a few books, and study each week. And, take the ACTs. </p>

<p>Your weakness is in the ECs. GW likes leadership, especially some kind of rare, random or exotic leadership experience (teaching kids in Siberia type exotic). Outside job is good. I would say to include it in your application somehow to show leadership and overcoming some sort of challenge… too bad you’re not poverty-striken so your essay could be about that. Think about what makes you unique, and if there’s nothing, come up with something. Job? Exotic travel? Summer programs? Student directory? I’d say apply to GW. If it’s your first choice, apply early decision. If it’s not, I wouldn’t waste the early decision and would use it elsewhere. Apply to Georgetown, too- I would if I were you, assuming you boost the test scores. If my options were Georgetown vs. GW, I’d obviously go there in a heartbeat. GW’s campus is more “city-like,” though… and is heavy on NY/NJers, liberal, wealth, etc. </p>

<p>So,…
Grades and classes: check.
Test scores: should bump … need the edge.
ECs: Ok. Not strong,… but ok. See what you can do about them.
Job: Good.
White male NJ: Not an advantage.
Get good recommendation letters.
Focus on the college essays heavily.
Proofread and review your application excessively.</p>

48

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m not really sure I’m interested in international affairs. I love politics as they relate to BOTH domestic and international issues. I just feel that political science better serves this purpose when what I’m interested in is politics right here at home. Perhaps I’m wrong? Should I go for IAFF instead of PSC?</p>

<p>I’m not Jewish myself. My GPA is 4.094 on a 4.3 scale. My high school is one of (if not the) the top performing public schools in the county and a top in the state (they say this all the time, but I suppose they base it off average standardized test scores). Unfortunately I come from a very wealthy community in which most of the people around me have lots of money. And even being a middle class white male I don’t really have any exotic tales of overcoming any extreme challenges. I’m just a normal kid :p. </p>

<p>I suppose the closest thing to a leadership EC I have is the student liaison on my local town council. The school has recently enacted large budget cuts and I’m going to be reporting the impact of that from a student’s perspective to the council. My role in that is to represent the school.</p>

<p>But yeah - I feel there isn’t much I can do about EC’s at this point because its too late. I can’t really do anything thats long-term at this point before I apply.</p>

<p>EDIT*: I’m also in the middle of taking an SAT prep course. So hopefully my scores will increase considering I had not taking a course before my first try.</p>

49

<p>Also - I see that you went on the Law school. I’m not sure exactly what I’'m going to be doing for grad school, but law is definitely an option (perhaps public admin. or public policy as well). From what I know - a lot of people who get a pol. sci. degree undergrad eventually move on to law? What path did you take?</p>

<p>Edit*: To add to the info on the post before this: </p>

<p>I was also planning to do an interview - would you recommend?</p>

50

<p>Ult-</p>

<p>Having a top high school definitely helps. I used to live in NJ myself. Yeah, I’m one of them.
I did ESIA ~> Law. Esia’s program is more renown (in terms of GW). I’ve found the ESIA professors to be more “in the field” (current diplomats, or people with career experience) than PSC-- but maybe it’s not and just seems that way. PSC requires more history courses for the major and a lot of memorizing history, while ESIA has a lot more economics. So, pick what you like… if it’s PSC, go for it, as it sucks to do a major you disdain. Just keep in mind that PSC isn’t particular applicable to entry level jobs… unless you do gov’t work. If you do PSC, I’d suggest law school afterwards. If you’re doing law school, my opinion is that an MA on top of that isn’t necessary. A JD means a higher entry level income, while an MA means… well, relatively little these days. Look at the IAFF concentrations and see if those interest you. You would IAFF with a PSC minor (though, frankly, I’d consider that pointless). You could do Econ, and open up some WB possibilities, as well as researchships. Then, do international law. </p>

<p>It’s not too late for ECs. Don’t go overboard with it, but some unique service experience or leadership experience could be good.</p>

<p>Definitely do the interview… but ONLY if you’re very good at interviews. If you’re shy or otherwise nervous at interviews, don’t do it. I didn’t do the interview. In fact, GW wasn’t even my top choice at first… I filled out the application and barely bothered to send it in. I’m sure an interview would have been a good idea, as well as early decision application, had I actually cared about the school back then.</p>

<p>SAT prep course should help. Take the ACTs, too. I shone on the ACTs, while my SATs were relatively weak. I can’t remember what the scores were, though.</p>

51

<p>My dream career is to have some top-notch government job - I suppose. I walk by all those government buildings and D.C. and just wish over and over again that I could have access to them :P. </p>

<p>Even if it turns out somehow that PSC is not for me, wouldn’t it be easier to transfer to ESIA from CCAS rather than apply for admission to ESIA directly?</p>

<p>Interviews are somewhat iffy for me. I’ve never done any “interview” per say. I think it all depends what they ask me. I could do extremely well with the interview or just ok. I would probably be a little nervous about it but I’m usually good at hiding that with some humor.</p>

<p>edit*: I’ve been emailing my regional admission director with some questions. I’m hoping if I do the interview, I’ll be able to do it with her.</p>

<p>also EDIT*: I wonder if its worth saying this, but I’ve made two attempts to apply to overseas service projects. I applied for a two-week learning trip to China with Gtown between soph/jun year and a two week service-learning trip to Peru with with my IB program between jun/sen. year. Both of these trips did not run because not enough students enrolled. Is it worth mentioning that I made the effort to go on these?</p>

52

<p>Ult- </p>

<p>If you applied to, but didn’t attend, international trips, don’t mention it. It didn’t happen.
Besides, mentioning Georgetown to GW is a big no-no. </p>

<p>Easier to transfer into ESIA? Probably not, they don’t like upperclassmen transfers. If you want ESIA, start with it. PSC and ESIA requirements are a good bit different, and you don’t want to change majors down the line too much. It’s a pain. ESIA is more locally (and perhaps internationally) respected than a PSC department. They have more resources (building, connections, alum, etc.), events, etc. Most people choose ESIA/IAFF over PSC here.</p>

<p>Let me advise you, gov’t jobs pay little and require long work hours. Sure, sometimes there’s cool travel,… but it’s work travel. Think long and hard about what you want. Such jobs interfere with family, where you can live, and what you can afford (and mostly what you can’t afford).</p>

53

<p>Thanks again for all the help - it’s nice to be able to talk to a former student. </p>

<p>Its really hard for me to tell exactly what I’ll like before I get there. I know personally, that my favorite subject in school has ALWAYS been history, and politics has been more of a hobby of mine that has developed over the years to be my main interest. I always thought I was going to be a history major, but thats changed to poli. sci. It seems like its a major that incorporates history, politics and government. </p>

<p>As for government jobs - I can’t really say on this one. I know what you mean government jobs paying little. What I do hear is that they often has strong job security and decent benefits. To be honest I know I’m interested in gov. and politics but I really don’t have much of an idea of any exact career in that field. Thats why I was considering law school afterward as well. Though, I feel like there are so many different government jobs and positions.</p>

<p>I suppose you could really have ANY major and still qualify for law school admission. But I feel like if I don’t choose a major thats my main interest I won’t be motivated to do as well. I hear that law school admission is based much more around raw GPA/LSAT scores rather than major difficulty. My GPA would likely suffer if I have a major that doesn’t have my full mental commitment.</p>

<p>Anyway, I think it’s also important for me to remember that I’m just entering my senior year in HS. Who knows, I may not have any interest in law school 5 years down the road.</p>

54

<p>You have some time to figure out a career. It’s best to know from the start, but still.</p>

<p>I’m a current law school student now. Had I expected to go to law school, I would have gone to the cheapest public or similar school I could find for my BA, then to law school at a top tier.</p>

55

<p>How hard is it for transfers to get in? I have a friend who is transferring. He is in track and has a 3.8 CC GPA. But I think he said it might have went down to a 3.5ish 3.6.</p>

56

<p>The thing is, our government has become so bureaucratic. There are so many different agencies and commissions. Who knows, I may end up with a job with the agencies created by the new health care laws. Its hard to know which one I’ll want when I don’t even know how many types there are :stuck_out_tongue: .</p>

57

<p>It’s hard for transfers to get it. Possible, but hard. They have to be in some way exceptional, or have a hook or two. A 3.5 without a hook probably won’t cut it, unless it’s a 3.5 at a top tier school. If they have a 3.5 and plenty of hooks and ECs, it might do it.</p>

58

<p>Thank you for sharing your experiences at GW! My son is very interested and is likely to be competitive for admission. Interested in History and poli-sci, pre-law – from California. He likes the internship opportunities. But he’s also lefty, artsy - Comedy Sports and drama (performance, not self) and GW sounds a bit stuffy and materialistic. His best friends are thespian types. Any thoughts? Thanks.</p>

59

<p>Hmm I think he said a 3.75. Is that still good or bad?</p>

60

<p>3.75? He should try to increase it to a 4.0 or close, unless he has a lot of hooks at a very renown school. (If someone’s getting a 3.8 at an “easier” school, it’ll only go down if they’re moving up to top tier. But, if it’s a 3.75 at MIT, it’s good.)</p>