<p>I'm really stuck between two colleges- GWU and NYU. Financially, GW is a better option for me, but I really want to go to NYU. I was wondering if parents thought there would be a significant difference in the education I would receive at these two schools or if parents who are involved with either school could say which one has a more academically-inclined atmosphere. I always thought of GW as more of a party school and I can't get over that stigma even though I'm now not sure if that's the truth. I know NYU has more of a prestige factor and I say that I would never pick a college based on (flawed IMO) rankings, but I wonder if, in the back of my mind, that's what's getting me, so I wanted to hear someone else's opinion. Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>I think it depends on your area of study, at least to some degree.</p>
<p>College of Arts & Sciences at both. I'm not sure, but I am thinking about studying anthropology. NYU has the better program for anthropology, but there is a chance I could change my major. I most likely will be applying to law school and the academics at GW struck me as very pre-professional and less just about gaining knowledge, but I don't know if that's fair.</p>
<p>If money is an issue, maybe it should guide your decision. Otherwise, just choose the school that "feels right". NYU has a very distinct "feel" because of its location.</p>
<p>NYU doesn't give much aid- but I know the couple that teach this class Empires, States, and Political Imagination & it sounds fantastic and I don't like history.</p>
<p>However- GWU is in a pretty compelling place itself & aren't they building new dorms?</p>
<p>
[quote]
In much of social science as well as in popular conceptions, the nation-state is regarded as the
central unit of historical activity. Yet even during most of the last two centuries, the idea of a
"nation" was only one way of representing political affiliation. An analysis of empire--both in
the present and the past--opens up possibilities for examining a wider range of social linkages,
imaginations, and behaviors. This course will focus on the comparative study of empires from
the Romans to the present, and upon the variety of ways in which empire-states have established
and constrained claims to rights, belonging, and power. The study of empire expands our
debates over rights, citizenship, economic regulation, and accountability without letting them fall
into a seeming gap between the nation-state and the global
[/quote]
</p>
<p>GW is a good school and if finances work better for you there it makes sense to go there. I would not perceive NYU undergraduate arts and sciences as markedly better in a general sense. Remember that GW gives a good number of very generous merit scholarships to make sure it attracts strong students. I think both GW and NYU will have their share of both party people and serious students, and people who both work hard and like to have fun in various ways. Neither is a party school in the classic sense of the words. Either way you will be in in an interesting city and at a school with first-class professors.</p>