After numerous college visits around the Midwest and East, George Washington has become my number one school, edging out American U slightly. That said, I haven’t felt the financial confidence to take the risk of applying ED1 (I assume that would a proper concern with a yearly family salary of 90,000 or less). My worry relates to dorms. The research I’ve done into the dorms at GW (as we were not shown any during our tour) makes Potomac seem absolutely great. I am certainly not an anti-social person, but I am not at all a party type and Thurston does NOT seem like the place for me. I’d also prefer not to be at Mt. Vernon as GW selling point to me was the downtown city location. My worry is whether or not I have a chance to get into Potomac House with Regular Decision and if not, if there are dorms that are similarly good. I could potentially consider ED2, but at a significant risk, so I need to know if the risk is worth it to get a dorm that fits me best.
Can I get into Potomac?
If not what else is similar?
Is ED2 worth the risk?
A little about me to consider…
I’m not a super huge studier, but I want time and space for my academics.
I don’t like Party Atmospheres
I do like to be social and hope to make friends in college, but a in more relaxed friendly conversation settings.
Extra Notes:
I’m a Political Junkie (Obviously considering GW)
Very Much Liberal Leaning
I’m from small town Ohio (pop. 9,000)
Hoping on majoring in Political Comm.
I am a freshman currently living in Potomac so I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. I believe GW no longer gives preference to ED applicants in terms of dorm selection so I would not let that have any influence on your decision. If you want to live on foggy, don’t get into Potomac you could still live in either Madison, which is comparable in cleanliness to Thurston but extremely centrally located, or mitchell, which is located next to Thurston and all singles. One nice thing about thurston is that while it is loud, because it is so big, it is a great way to meet new people, which is especially important your freshman year.
You won’t find any other new-ish dorms on Foggy like Potomac, but I think Madison is another great option. Sure, it’s older, but I think the location of it is far more centralized to things like academic buildings, food, Metro, and the library. If I had to pick a dorm on Foggy as a freshman it’d probably be my #1 choice.
3)I can’t give any input as to whether ED still allows you dorm preference (perhaps call the Housing office at 202-994-2552. Never be afraid to call the school). However, I’d like to give encouragement to the housing situation in general. I was like you in that I didn’t want to get “stuck” on the Vern my freshman year as it was Foggy Bottom that sold the school to me. I did, however, get assigned to a dorm on the Vern and it turned out to be a great experience. Something I have learned personally and through countless other acquaintances: your GW experience is more about the “whole” than any one part.
What I mean is that you shouldn’t ever get too caught-up into “getting into the right dorm” or “getting into X class during X semester of my X year.” Your undergrad experience will be 4+ awesome years if you can learn to take things as they come and make the best out of it. Believe me, things will happen outside of your control so it’s good to be flexible (we had a saying in the Navy: “Semper gumbi,” or “always flexible.”)
So, it’s quite possible that you could end-up somewhere you didn’t want as far as housing. Remember two things: 1) you can still make awesome friends in an imperfect dorm, and 2) dorms only get better the longer you’re at GW. You might be one of the unlucky students that have to deal with an older building or living on the Vern, but as an upperclassman you have access to Ivory Tower (Shenkman), 1959 E, and South Hall. Places that give merit to GW’s “dorms like palaces” credit.
Anyway, I hope this doesn’t come across as too preachy. I just wanted to give you something to think about and to hopefully help you get into a mindset that not only will help you at GW but also for things after.