<p>Which one is the best and why? i cant decide where to go. I am undecided in my major as well.</p>
<p>Of the three, I think Villanova has the weakest liberal arts education program in terms of what General Education requirements the school has. I also think Villanova is the weakest in terms of academics. Only 89% of their faculty has a terminal degree in their field (compared to GWU’s 92% and AU’s 94%). American University employs many professors of prominence in their fields, with many instructors also working for the government or other organizations while serving as a professor. As a result you almost always have a good connection for internships, same goes for GWU. </p>
<p>If Athletics are important to you – 'nova wins hands down. They have a school spirit that AU and GWU just can’t beat. Neither of the schools in DC has a football team.</p>
<p>Campus: They couldn’t be more different. GWU is campus-less. AU has an oasis feel – a traditional campus surrounded by Tenleytown, and 'nova is a sprawling campus. 70% of Villanova undergrads live on campus, while that number is closer to 55% for AU and GWU. Are you okay with being confined to campus at Villanova until Junior year when you can bring a car and finally make it over to Philly? Are you okay with the sometimes quiet weekends at Villanova when you can’t get off campus even for a quick dinner? Or would you rather go to AU and GWU which are readily metro accessible and the city is just minutes away – and the food, nightlife, culture and history that goes with it. </p>
<p>If you narrow it down to between AU and GWU: Come to AU if you are 60+% sure that you will major in Political Science, Justice, Pre-Law, International Studies, Communications, or Business. Go to GWU if you are 60+% sure you want to major in math, a hard science, or engineering.</p>
<p>American is the weakest academically but is still pretty good. It has a really bad name though (i.e. there are thousands of american universities). You have a good list because they all have certain similarities and are generally peers.</p>
<p>Here are the stats:</p>
<p>American University
Selectivity Rating: 93 (out of 99) (Princeton Review)
Academic Rating: 86 (out of 99)<br>
Average SAT score: 1260
ACT Range: 25-30
Student body: 6,311 (61% female / 39% male)
Student-faculty ratio: 13.5:1</p>
<p>George Washington
Selectivity Rating: 96 (out of 99) (Princeton Review)
Academic Rating: 86 (out of 99)<br>
Average SAT score: 1290
ACT Range: 27-30
Student body: 10,500 (55% female / 45% male)
Student-faculty ratio: 13:1</p>
<p>Villanova University
Selectivity Rating: 96 (out of 99) (Princeton Review)
Academic Rating: 88 (out of 99)<br>
Average SAT score: 1295
ACT Range: 28-31
Average HS GPA: 3.8
Student body: 7,201 (50% female / 50% male)
Student-faculty ratio: 11:1</p>
<p>Those are the stats. Villanova and GW have virtually identical SAT and ACT scores. The best student to faculty ratio is at Villanova and the worst is at American. The one of the three that lags slightly behind in scores, academic rating and student to faculty ratio is american so I would say that they are a step down from the other two. Also, if you are a heterosxual woman you should look at the disparity between men and women in the student body at American (61-39). Unless you are VERY attractive, you are going to have a lot of competition for male attention and will likely have to “date down.” GW and Villanova look like better options in my opinion. I would say they are roughly equal in academics (each with it’s own strengths): </p>
<p>George Washington is the largest. If you like the city and a bigger school GW looks to be the best option. As noted above, it has less of a traditional campus. </p>
<p>Villanova is smaller and has a suburban campus. The campus life will be different with most kids in dorms. The best sports school of the three if you are into that. Also, the person above who referenced the metro above is ill-informed. Villanova has a SEPTA station on campus that provides fast acess to downtown Philadelphia. </p>
<p>Between these 2, I would say to visit and choose the one that you like better.</p>
<p>thank you both very much! i appreciate the info.</p>
<p>Definitely visit the campuses to get the best feel. A lot of ratings and rankings (for example, Princeton Review’s “academic rating” score) are pretty much arbitrary and don’t say a lot about the schools.</p>
<p>I would definitely give all three schools a good look, as small differences in SAT scores actually make little difference as to the academic quality. Also the slight differences in student/faculty ratios don’t mean much either, because I know that at American you’d encounter much smaller class sizes (particularly for introductory courses) than at, for example, GW (not too sure about Nova but I can imagine class sizes would be low as well). It has a lot to do with the respective academic cultures of the institutions, which is again not reflected by raw numbers. I would look more at what the school could do for me once I was there and what I would be left with when I graduated, rather than a slight difference in the scores of entering students. The output is much more important than the input here.</p>
<p>Just my $0.02</p>
<p>Obviously, the three schools are pretty comparable statistically. Making a decision to elimate AU from consideration based on these numbers ignores itangibles that you will remember long after you’ve forgotten how many applications were denied, whether your roommate scored a 1390 or a 1410 on the SAT before you even knew her, or whether your average class (whatever that is) had 8 or 9 students. </p>
<p>Take it from an old man: sometimes numbers <em>do</em> lie.</p>
<p>ncdad is right that the schools have similar statistics. That’s why I think you have a good list. Sometimes you see people asking questions like “Should I go to NYU or Lafatte College?” and you think that the person has no idea what they want out of a college. Yours are all similar enough that it is pretty clear that you have decided on a “type” of school.</p>
<p>When I suggested you remove American, it was just a suggestion. If there is something (even an intangible) drawing you there, then go for it. Good luck in your decision and let us know what you choose.</p>
<p>Villanova’s business program is much stronger than either AU/GWU. As you are undecided I’m not sure how much that matters though.</p>
<p>And AU had a much stronger IR program.
Here’s my take on it-----</p>
<p>AU for IR, Communication, Political Science
GW for Liberal Arts, Political Science
Villanova for Business</p>
<p>All 3 are great schools with Nova and AU having suburban campuses accessible to the city
GW urban non-traditional campus
Sports- def. Nova
You really can’t go wrong with any of them---- you need to visit!</p>