<p>PMK, the American dorms were one of the two worst we saw on all our college visits. Fwiw, which probably ain’t much.</p>
<p>vp, Student bodies have reputations and Georgetown’s is that it is conservative (or at least more conservative than its peer schools), preppy and wealthy. My son won’t look at it.</p>
<p>However, my kid is liberal, gay and agnostic. I agree with him that Georgetown would be a lousy fit but if I had a different kid, we might consider it (if we won the lottery.)</p>
<p>TheDad, My surroundings matter to me however it must skip a generation because my son barely notices. I sent him a link on the most and least attractive colleges and he was sincerely baffled as to why people would consider that factor. I’m baffled when people don’t!</p>
<p>We have friends whose daughter just graduated from American and she is an intellectual powerhouse and just a generally all around great kid. She’s always been interested in social justice and American just fit her like a glove. Plus she had amazing internships and has had a few job offers, which is impressive to me in this economy. I really do believe that for the right kid, American be both challenging and rewarding.</p>
<p>PMK: My daughter is at best agnostic, atheist is probably more accurate. We were assured by several Georgetown students (not just the tour guide) that being atheist is not a problem, nor is being gay (D is not gay but is very gay-friendly). Didn’t see any “popped collars” or preppy students but yes, there were a few YSL wearing people on the tour. The ‘more conservative than peer schools’ is somewhat attractive to D because she wants to be on a campus where the conservative end of the political spectrum is at least represented. But then another school near the top of her list is Swarthmore, so go figure.</p>
<p>Georgetown is by far the best. I’m not saying this to belittle GWU because it is a good school too, but it’s filled with Georgetown rejects.</p>
<p>I didn’t find American’s campus very appealing either, and have to admit that most of it seemed to be taken up by streets and parking lots. However, S2’s comment was “I like the other things about it that are more important to me.” Was glad one of us had our priorities straight…
I agree with PMK’s last sentence completely, and it could apply to many kids for many schools–</p>
<p>American’s campus has a cool tunnel… but the space is wasted. It has a McDonald’s (what a terrible choice) and a HAIR SALON. Does it really need a hair salon on campus? I, too, thought it was full of streets and parking lots… plus, the campus is pretty helter skelter. I did like it, though, but I’m not so sure I’m going to apply anymore.</p>
<p>The biggest problem I have, personally, with Georgetown is the atmosphere. It’s very preppy. The kids at the other schools respected it for its academics but never failed to mention the preppiness - a comment I find EVERYWHERE on the internet. So, there must be some truth with it. It also doesn’t have a very good financial aid program (comparatively speaking). When you couple that with the preppiness, it probably doesn’t hold much socioeconomic diversity. At least, not much more than middle and upper class kids. Even GW, which is outrageously expensive, has great need-based aid and need-aware merit aid (and American is alright with the merit aid).</p>
<p>I have heard many students say that the academics at GW and Georgetown were comparable, but I don’t have a base for comparison. Georgetown is also not particularly integrated into DC. Unless there’s a bus stop, you’d have to travel a ways to get to the metro. And I’m not sure how you’d do that, since Georgetown is up on a big hill surrounded by highway (at least the two sides we saw). The campus looked impressive, but personally, I’m not a big “campus” person. GW’s campus is very urban, but unlike Boston or NYU, it does have a defined campus feel. </p>
<p>As for living, GW beats American by a landslide. The meal plan is retail and by the pound. There isn’t really a cafeteria - eat wherever. It’s expensive, but American’s meal plan isn’t cheap and they only have one dining room. The retail options are Subway (not bad), McDonald’s (gross), Chick-Fil-A (I think they might be removing it though), and a coffee shop. The dorms are really, really bad - but then again, GW’s dorms are like palaces. I glanced through Georgetown’s living arrangements and they weren’t bad, but the thing that bothered me most was that it seemed like you’d need a car. I don’t have a license, so I’m ruling out any campus where there are lots of streets, cars, parking lots, and car culture.</p>
<p>Like vicariousparent’s daughter, I’m also agnostic/atheist leaning. That pretty much rules out Georgetown for me (American is methodist affiliated, which I did not know until recently… but it’s also arguably the most liberal university). I do like that it has a conservative side. I like schools with a strong conservative… minority. In my defense, I LOVE to debate, but debate is exhausting on the day-to-day. For the sake of my blood pressure, I prefer a liberal campus with a vocal conservative minority.</p>
<p>My son chose AU because he felt like he could have it all…he wants to be able to throw a frisbee and study on a grassy quad (he loved the ampitheater) but he also loved the urban energy of the campus, the directedness of the students, and the DC opportunities.</p>
<p>At the beginning my H and I were a bit surprised because at the beginning of the college search he was all about LACs…but an hour after arriving at AU and speaking with his admissions rep he was ready to apply ED…which he did. S3 is a very direct kid…when he identifies a goal, he goes straight after it. While he applied to a few other schools,(withdrawn within an hour of receiving his acceptance) he was sure he wanted AU and wanted to get that phase of senior year over with. He knew that with his profile AU was most likely a sure thing for him, even without ED, and that applying ED would make it a certainty.</p>
<p>So far he is very happy with how things are working out…he got into the UC he wanted, he has received the schedule he requested, and he is excited about going to orientation later this week.</p>
<p>applicanot,
As someone who works ten minutes from Georgetown and whose husband sepnt a summer in a sublet straddling the Georgetown and GWU campuses, let me say that the LAST thing you want in that area is a car!!! Parking is difficult at best, streets have timed parking limits, and condsider yourself fortunate to get a space in the first place. Like in any other major city, public transit is your friend.</p>
<p>We have a neighbor whose S is at GWU, and the car stayed home second semester.</p>
<p>“As for living, GW beats American by a landslide. The meal plan is retail and by the pound. There isn’t really a cafeteria - eat wherever.”</p>
<p>too funny! My d. was appalled at the GW meal plan, and the fast food court serving as the main source of food. But I do understand how some folks would like it. And while, physically, the dorms at GW are indeed better than American’s, there is the matter of Thurston…(a dorm for 1,100 first years, with no residential advisors, no source of advice or experience for choosing profs, navigating the city, dealing with assignments, finding internships, etc.)</p>
<p>"Georgetown is also not particularly integrated into DC. Unless there’s a bus stop, you’d have to travel a ways to get to the metro. And I’m not sure how you’d do that, since Georgetown is up on a big hill surrounded by highway (at least the two sides we saw). "</p>
<p>Georgetown actually has a free bus service for students that will take them to the metro in Rosslyn. I’ve made the walk a few times though, Rosslyn is less than a mile from Georgetown.</p>
<p>As a distraction not to get into the whole prestige thread of LACs, my comments regarding the schools are limited to the impression I had from my neighbor ( who graduated from college in '07, was that the program at GWU was similar to any other large university- in that some lower division classes were very large and run not so well. But expensive is her impression.
She graduated in public policy, is now an artist.</p>
<p>D’s best friend is attending Georgetown, * not a preppy, by any means*- just finished her first year and seems happy.
Don’t know much about American- but just realized that several of older D’s friends from K-12 now live in the D.C. area, which as provincial as I am, seems interesting since the control group is relatively small.</p>
<p>There is not much experience with these schools in Northern Virginia. </p>
<p>It makes little sense to pay incredible amounts of tuition to go to American and GW for Virginia students that gain admission to W & M or UVa. And it is a real stretch to pay for more prestigious Georgetown when UVa or W & M are in play. It does happen - my neighbor - valedictorian at the local high school - transferred to Georgetown from James Madison (she went on a full academic ride) when she discovered there were very few serious students like her at JMU. This is not a rant against any of these schools, just a reminder that money always matters. American in particular (like University of Richmond) strikes me as a very challenging value proposition. </p>
<p>Only a handful from Thomas Jefferson Science and Tech go to any of these schools in a good year - this may be a function of the schools being too close to home, but more likely a function of the UVa factor - where 120 or more go each year. Again, value matters. TJ parents will pay through the nose for the Ivies and Stanford and Duke, but if those are not options, Uva starts looking very attractive. </p>
<p>If I lived in Maryland, likely different conclusions would obtain.</p>
<p>we visited GW and G-town last summer. </p>
<p>folks have repeatedly here mentioned that GW’s urban. having graduated from Drexel in Philadelphia i think i have a good sense of an “urban campus”. GW is, by far, the most urban campus i’ve ever visited. i was surprised by the early posts describing it as “cohesive”. from a physical standpoint, we felt just the opposite. seemed like campus buildings were interspersed with non-campus buildings. urban campuses have many positives. If you’re a city person, np. if the urban nature is at all a concern, i’d say u have to visit to form ur own impression. </p>
<p>agree with the characterization of g-town as “separate from DC”. in fact, some edges of the campus are bordered with a large wall. definitely felt like a little enclave on the edge of the city. while separated from much of dc, it does have the immediate g-town district with bars, shopping, restaurants that many kids like. our tour was funny. we had a double major (pre-med + something else) young woman who also volunteered with the paramedics, taught first aid, was a selected student for a private session with condoleeza rice, … i think she intimidated the heck out of both our kids.</p>
<p>We were very aware of the “preppy” reputation of Georgetown when we visited and my daughter has an extremely sensitive nose for pretentiousness and preppiness. She spent a whole day attending classes there and then the next day we went on the tour. She found that unlike many of the other campuses she visited, the students at Georgetown were very friendly and warm and down to earth. We did not notice students wearing expensive clothes or flaunting wealth. </p>
<p>About the religious affiliation the tour guide told me that indeed there are a lot more Catholics at G-town than at other universities but the school is constantly pushing the envelope and getting in trouble with the Vatican about everything. She said that she knew plenty of atheists, gays and lesbians who were comfortable on campus. She felt the only person who would feel uncomfortable is someone who is in-your-face intolerant of religious people. She also thought this was in marked contrast to Notre Dame where the non-religious might feel uncomfortable.</p>
<p>I thought it was a good sign that the info session did not start with a prayer ;)</p>
<p>VP, that’s a very good take on G’town, I think.</p>
<p>I found it quite touching to hear them describe the founding of the university- don’t remember the details but the founder wasn’t accepted in university in the US because he was Catholic. So he went to Europe, got an education, and then came back to found a university that would be open to people of all faiths. I saw female students in Islamic ‘hijab’ outfits walking around quite comfortably on campus. Lots of color diversity, not too much self-segregation. It felt like a melting pot of sorts. </p>
<p>Nevertheless I belong to the “where there’s smoke there’s fire” camp, so the ‘preppy and snobbish’ reputation does bother me and I would love to hear about contrary experiences.</p>
<p>Georgetown was my D’s first choice (rejected, however). I think it was based on her perceived quality of the education, professors, and students. She was then left to choose between BC, GWU, and American. Once she decided she wanted to be in DC, we took another look at GWU and American. American offered more merit money, but the campus felt too small and confining to her. She has loved GW and can’t imagine being anywhere else. She definitely loves the middle of the city aspect, which is not for everybody. Her club team practices on the National Mall. Thurston was no problem for her (there are house proctors). As for the meal plan, with a full size refrigerator in the room (provided by the school), she had most breakfast and lunch meals there, and managed to find several healthy eating options. She did have a couple of large introductory classes, but has met with advisors and has her whole 4 year class plan mapped out. She has joined several organizations and gets plenty of advice on classes and professors from other students. There is an extensive listing of internship postings the students can access.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about the preppy and snobbish reputation at G’town; it has been said of GW also. I’m sure there are plenty of snobs (and non-snobs) at all schools. Visit more than once if you can.</p>
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<p>That’s not true at ALL. There are 2 resident advisors (GW calls them House Proctors) on every floor of Thurston, and at least one for every other freshman dorm as well. They can help you with any aspect of the work/life balance and ESPECIALLY with getting around the city. Academic advisors and the Career Center are probably better choices for choosing classes and finding internships, but the house staff can offer insight too.</p>
<p>And as far as dining options, students can use their GWorld card at over 100 places around campus (not just restaurants and take out, but also a grocery store, the bookstore, CVS, student health services, and a wide variety of other stores). They are required to spend a certain amount at GW dining venues, but these aren’t just fast food places. Take a tour of GW and see for yourself what is there.</p>
<p>As I mentioned in an earlier post, my S graduated from G’town in 2007. He is the most “unpreppy” person I have ever met and has a certain distain for any show of snobby behavior. Yes, there is that type of snobby, preppy student there, but there are also many students like my son. There are definitely many students with much money, but there are also many students like my son, with financial aid and work study. He had a wonderful group of friends in college - and his group included wealthy and middle class down to earth kids. Wealthy does not always equate with snobbiness or preppiness. I’m sure some students would be bothered by behavior like that, but to tell you the truth, I found more preppy, snobby behavior at my older D’s large southern state university (with the sororities and fraternities), than I did at G’town. I do chuckle though when I remember the time my S called the house wondering how to cash in his plane ticket for Thanksgiving. It seems he was offered a ride on the corporate jet of a friend’s dad and didn’t want to do it unless he could get a refund on his ticket. I was a little envious:)</p>
<p>DS did not look at G’town. We originally went to DC to look at AU but while we were there, decided to check out GW too. Good thing we did, since DS fell in love with GW and has decided to go there this fall. </p>
<p>I liked AU but as one poster has mentioned, their tour/info session was poor. Our speaker was horrible and could barely answer the questions. I felt as if I was at a HS presentation, rather than a university presentation. The tour was much better and our guide was enthusiastic about the school. I found the campus to be rather small and isolated. DC is not right outside the door. They are located down Embassy Road and the area around it is residential. I know several kids that attend AU and they all love it there. Their parents are pleased too. Dorming has been the only complaint - triples are (were) popular the past couple years. </p>
<p>GW is right in the heart of the city and that really appealed to DS. I did get a campus feel. It is more defined than the NYU campus. I also like that it wasn’t spread out a mile along a road like BU was. The information session was definitely an improvement over AU. I found many people that day that could answer questions and direct us to what we needed. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic about GW and he did talk about academics. Face it though, the main attraction of going to a school like GW is that it is in the heart of the city and that is going to be emphasized. </p>
<p>In the end, DS chose GW over American, BU and several other schools. GW gave him a very generous scholarship and it ended being one of the less expensive options. So far, I am happy with his decision. Both of us have had to either call the university or email them and they always seem to bend over backwards to direct you to the correct department, answer your questions, etc… I hope that is a sign of how they will be the next 4 yrs. Next week he leaves for freshman orientation and he can’t wait to go!</p>