What is the basis of your opinion here?
Would that mean that a college like South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a great place for a student with broad or undecided interests?
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It would be difficult to explore broadly in the natural sciences without an available geosciences department. The fairly unusual absence of one at Georgetown, therefore, is worth noting, in my opinion. Of course, the OPâs son may not have an interest in studying sciences beyond a required minimum, but this has not been specified.
Regarding your example of a school with an overall emphasis on geosciences and associated engineering disciplines, this would undesirably limit a curriculum in other areas for a student with wide-ranging or undecided interests.
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On the other hand, the difference between many top-rated colleges as far as outcome for the individual student might be negligible - and more a function of location. In fact, many will say that after the first employment, the name on the diploma will mean very little - and the same is true when people pursue graduate studies.
So given that, âfeelingâ content for 4 years is probably not really âsuperficialâ, but might actually lead to a better outcome, than being unhappy/frustrated with the state of the facilities?
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Depends on what youâre comparing it to, I guess. Iâll take a grim library that has all of the books and periodicals I need over a small library that has cushy chairs and mood lighting. ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ
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The advantage of a big, well-known, research university is that no matter how bad some things are, there are bound to be other things that strike just the right chord. You just have to be patient and look for them. Have you ever scrolled through the âSchools Your Child Crossed Off the Listâ thread? The standards for small colleges are much higher. The food has to be four-star quality; the buildings all have to look a certain way; They have to be âtarget schoolsâ (but not too preprofessional); have walk-on roles for every theater performance (but not be too âartsyâ). You catch my drift. If you can honestly say your NESCAC choices check all the boxes as far as DS is concerned, - then, thereâs your answer.
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My kid couldnât decide whether or not to apply to Gâtown. Started the app, didnât finish got an extension from Gâtown but decided against it. Loved DC. Hated the library ( and kid spends a lot of time in the library). Didnât like some of the derogatory things said during a tour. Also, felt like it was great for pure politics and foreign service. Thought it seemed weak in STEM ( which was odd). But didnât feel like a place to figure out what you want to do. So, some of the same things your kid picked up on.
Itâs a great school.
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In this context, what is your opinion about Harvey Mudd for a student interested in the natural sciences?
https://www.hmc.edu/academics/majors-at-harvey-mudd/
Back to Georgetown, note that study in geosciences is not absent, but is found in parts of other departments or majors such as environmental biology and science, technology, & international affairs.
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There is no doubt that the Georgetown Library has access to all of the resources he will need. But that is true for other libraries at top colleges (frankly almost all colleges given consortium agreements and digital access). But the library is an important space for doing work. If the look and feel discourages students from coming inside, it loses it value as a critical study space on campus.
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The kids I know who have gone to Georgetown have been happy with the decision. Admittedly, most have been more interested in politcal scientific/IR. I would characterize all these kids as ones who thrived on competition â so they liked clubs that were selective, for example. I donât think most NESCAC schools have this dynamic in their culture. Your kid might be motivated by that or might not.
I donât think small colleges necessarily have the same dynamics as small high schools, but there are definitely kids looking for more anonymity. My kid felt like the LAC experience was one that would work well for him specifically because it had worked well for him in high school and that he had the rest of his life to experience city life. He had several friends who wanted nothing more than to get out of their BS community. Study abroad was my kidâs way to experience city life in college, so it didnât have to be either/or. Kids in his profile from Georgetown got to experience life in a different city. Itâs totally individual.
Georgetown is really different from a rural LAC. It is neither better nor worse. But it may be more or less what your kid wants.
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Given online resources, particularly the Google academic paper resources available to anyone with a .edu email address, and given all the dorms have study areas, does anyone really use libraries anymore on campuses?
(and donât get me wrong, the GU brutalist library is awful, but it has been since the day it opened)
Yes. My daughter is there every weeknight (at her college) and yes they have rooms in the dorm.
She just has âher place.â
My S (at GW not GU) uses library (Foggy Bottom) everyday. He loves to study there.
Georgetown has a relatively low endowment while maintaining excellent academics, although other campus attributes like food and dorms may be less than other colleges offer. Despite those shortcomings, my freshman wouldnât want to be anywhere elseâŠabsolutely loves it. My older child who graduated years ago felt the same way. It is a special place with motivated, thoughtful, and intelligent students who value the international and philosophical perspectives it emphasizes.
The lower endowment is a result of numerous factors, which include a relatively late and lesser focus on development (soliciting contributions) activities than their peer institutions, encouraging and educating students to pursue careers in public service and foreign affairs, neither of which are $$$$ occupations, prioritizing inclusivity of faiths and gender identities at the cost of losing financing from the Catholic Church, and investing in initiatives that promote academic and scholarly advances in equity and social progress over other needs. Recent improvements to athletics, like Cooper Stadium improvements and funding of athletic academic support resources, were made due to one large directed donation.
Georgetown was also the first university to publicly address its shameful past with slavery, and it did so at its studentsâ behest. The administration may move slowly at times, but the students hold it to the ethics it espouses. Students voted to pay an additional university fee in order to help fund scholarships for ancestors of those abused as restitution.
The spirit and social life on campus is great, so I donât understand the criticisms I read about on CC concerning those, but in the end, fit and priorities are personal.
As to the library, my student is there all the time. How it looks on the exterior has no impact on the studying that goes on within. Like all campuses, there are numerous other places students go to work as well, but the library remains the hub.
Finally, some needed improvements to dorms were made while campus was closed during Covid. Regardless, problems remainâŠit certainly isnât perfect, no school is, but only your child and your family can determine whatâs best given your options.
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My daughter is at the Library at her school almost daily. She likes to get out of the dorm, have space to spread out, and be in a place where no one will bother her. But she has friends who have literally never stepped foot in the building.
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Thank you. This is so helpful.
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I forgot to add that neither of my children studied/study politics or government, nor do they discuss those topics at lengthâŠprobably due to my persistent interests in debating both at home!
They have varied interests and have never found the campus to be one dimensional in that regard at all. There are clubs/organizations for all interests, of course, and there are varied majors and combinations available and pursued in fourâŠsoon to be fiveâŠdivisions of schools.
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For my daughter, it is a deciding factor. During Covid Times she could have stayed in her Upper West Side apartment to study, write essays, etc. - instead sheâd rather walk the 10 blocks to MoHi to be in the library, surrounded by other students.
Even at a large university with several libraries, they are very busy to the point that people make jokes about some people living in the most desirable spots because they donât want to give them up - ever.
When she visited a graduate school, seeing the library was key - and knowing how late it would be open.
In addition, according to her, moving into a âwork spaceâ will also put her in a work mindset.
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Lau, like most campus libraries, has floors that have become suited to different functions. Isolated areas for deep studying without distractions, more social one for group discussions, another for studying with companions nearby for support at late hours. Students do use it comprehensively.
Both my kiddos, students of the College, say Hariri is popular as a study/meeting place tooâŠgreat light, space, and furnishings.
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Yes. Some kids like getting work done in the library. So it can be an important consideration.
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Back when my sister went to Georgetown, she roomed with a house full of pre-meds as well as an art history major, and language major. I visited her on multiple occasions and they all seemed to have a great time. It definitely wasnât just students interested in SFS. Georgetown has a lot to offer in a really cute walkable city with tons of restaurants to go to if the cafeteria food has deteriorated. Whenever I hear that itâs all students interested in SFS/politics, Iâm always surprisedâŠas this was far from my sisterâs experience.
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