Georgetown Dorms & Food

I’m the parent of an admitted class of 2023 student who is trying to decide between GT and WashU. She has talked to 2 current students from our state, one is transferring out and another (soph) says she’s miserable. YouTube videos confirm issues w/ dorms/food but most seem to live w/ it. However, georgetown@hotmess instagram site is downright disgusting and unsafe. Any updates from anyone? We’re continuing to try to talk to other current students but haven’t found anyone yet who disagrees that food/dorms are bad. Has school responded anywhere to these concerns? Quality of life wins over prestige in the end so I really want to better understand the reality of living conditions.Thanks!

Food is not really a problem–the dining hall’s downstairs level is an all-you-can-eat type of thing, and the food there is mediocre at best. There are other places on campus where meal plans are accepted that are much better quality, and a lot of people cook once they get an apartment with a kitchen. Dorms are not great though, but I will say that when serious problems like the stuff you see on georgetownhotmess happen, they’re responded to pretty quickly by facilities. Georgetown’s buildings are all pretty old and they can’t renovate everything at the same time, but facilities tries its best to respond. When I was in one of the freshman dorms last year, our heater wasn’t working, and facilities fixed it the day after we had put in a request, but more minor stuff will take longer to respond to because they have to prioritize the immediate stuff.

Our daughter transferred in as a junior. Although the dorms and food aren’t perfect, her time at GT has hardly been impacted by them. She left a gorgeous new dorm at her highly ranked school to transfer to GT, as her former school lacked the quality of peers and academic rigor she craved. She would take great classes and peers over beautiful dorms any day.

OMG the pictures on hotmess are horrifying. Pass.

WashU is clean and meticulous. They have excellent food.
Both are great academic schools. DC would win over St Louis for location, in my opinion but the pictures and complaints about rodents, roaches, flooding, and gross food would make the decision easier: WashU

From what I’ve seen and read, the dorm situation seems ‘meh’, like many other schools. Better than living on a ship or the Navy’s barracks, so I’m fine with it.

Honestly, the dorms aren’t great and it can be frustrating to deal with facilities but it is also VERY rarely as bad as the hotmess instagram page shows. In three years of living in Georgetown dorms, it’s more inconveniences than anything. In the few cases we’ve had broken toilets or mold or things like that, it’s usually responded to fairly quickly. I would still choose to go to Georgetown all over again- the positives of the school far outweighed the small inconveniences of dorms.

Son and I went to EA GAAP weekend. We’re from the Kansas City (catholic school K-12). Walked around outside of dorms - didn’t go in. Most of the current students said they’re not great but not horrible. But I have a son - not a decision breaker. Girls??? Students said food isn’t fantastic but not that bad - limited. My son isn’t a foodie and I’m not a chef, so I guess it’s what you’re used to. All the current students were down to earth and friendly which was a bit of a surprise. Dressed very casual - could put them in a Midwest college and not know the difference. Big factor for son - didn’t want elite/snooty feel. I was very impressed with the academic presentations and historic traditions still in place. He turned down a lot of private catholic colleges with almost full rides and all NMF full ride schools. We did get a nice amount of aid which also was a deciding factor. And DC was cherry on top for him - he’s visited a few times. For him, he didn’t want to be in a college town hours away from a metropolitan city. But, I did that and loved it. Gotta go where you feel best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKGFYzl6670

Useful dorm tour video!

My daughter is finishing her sophomore year at Georgetown and is so incredibly happy there. She has honestly been quite satisfied with her dorms and never experienced any of the issues shown on hotmess. She was in Harbin as a Freshman and then was very fortunate to get into Arrupe this year as part of an LLC. (Arrupe is only 2 years old and is quite modern and nice.) She is less happy about the food but it’s definitely not a deal breaker. She has found places on campus that she enjoys such as Crop Chop and also enjoys the abundance of amazing food that surrounds the university and is further afield in DC. I know that many students order food from nearby places such as Curry & Pie, Falafel Inc, Chaia Tacos etc. There is also a great Farmers market that happens on campus every Wednesday and brings in amazing food from many DC restaurants. Although I am sure that there might be better food at other universities, my daughter would never trade her time at Georgetown. She has met kind, down to earth, and wonderful people there and the academics are stellar. She also absolutely loves DC and the Georgetown area in particular. With all of the cultural offerings, free museums, amazing restaurants, and internship opportunities, I think that you would be hard pressed to find a better college town!