Hi! In college I’m looking for a big and beautiful campus. Georgetown has everything I want…except this :(. Can you tell me what it’s like being at student at Georgetown? Could you also talk about what the campus is like? Thanks!
You definitely won’t need your hiking boots at Georgetown.
Georgetown has a compact and user-friendly campus, not a large and sprawling one. There’s no shuttle from one end of the campus to the other as at Duke. A comfortable and relatively short walk will take you wherever you want to go on campus.
The front part of the Georgetown campus is strikingly beautiful. There you will find Gothic buildings, the beautiful Gaston Hall, and the serene Dahlgren Chapel, one of my favorite spots on the campus.
The back part of the campus is less beautiful but still very nice with many recently constructed buildings such as the student center with views of the Potomac River, the Leavey Center, the new science building, and Hariri, the home of the Business school.
Any consideration of Georgetown’s campus should include its contiguity to the town of Georgetown and its proximity to Washington DC – two of the most picturesque and appealing places in America.
The townhomes that comprise Georgetown begin immediately outside the front gates of the campus, and it’s a relatively short walk along quaint streets from the campus to downtown Georgetown, a beautiful area filled with restaurants, shops, not to mention delicious cupcakes at Baked and Wired.
The Georgetown campus also offers the cultural activities, attractions, internships, and jobs in Washington DC. In this sense, Georgetown’s campus combines the best of two worlds: the suburban beauty of Georgetown and the urban opportunities of Washington D.C.
Georgetown’s campus is not a utopia. For example, the back part of the campus needs more green spaces and the football arena is comically small. Nevertheless, Georgetown’s campus is a great place to spend four years.
If you can, visit the campus and see if it feels right for you.
I agree with all of the points @espenser listed above.
Georgetown’s an urban university in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in one of the most expensive cities in the country. The combination of expensive real estate and agreements with the city and neighborhood keep Georgetown from expanding outward, so Georgetown cannot afford to create the sweeping, picturesque campuses you may see at other universities.
Georgetown’s main campus sits on only 104 acres of land, and it shares space with the medical school, resulting in some ugly and close together buildings, especially in the northern part of campus. However the university has made strides to make the campus more attractive, and there are areas of natural beauty to appreciate on campus, like the koi pond next to White-Gravenor, the stream next to the observatory, and the lawns near Wolfington.
However, there are some benefits to being on such a compact campus. In any of the freshman dorms, you can roll out of bed 10 minutes before a class in the ICC, Healy, Hariri, White-Gravenor, Reiss, or Regents and still make it on time, with a little extra time needed for Walsh, the Car Barn, or St. Mary’s (unless you live in Darnell). There’s also something to be said for being within a 10 minute walk of the library and the dining hall no matter where you live on campus. The library’s a bit ugly on both the inside and outside, but if you want a beautiful library, there’s also the Bioethics Research Library in Healy (though it closes early).
Anyway, a campus does not an undergraduate experience make. Visit and see what you think of the campus yourself.
There actually is a shuttle for the lazy from north campus to the new bus depot thing.
Georgetown has a pretty, albeit small campus. However, the facilities are top notch-this is perceived as a problem for some as the new buildings have taken away some of the green space. However, you can be off campus and
in the Georgetown neighbourhood in 5 minutes which is a really nice trade off. If you really want a beautiful campus,'maybe you would be happier at Uva, Duke or Wake Forest.