Georgetown Reputation: True or Not True?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

As the title implies, I’ve heard some things about Georgetown that concern me, and I’m curious to what extent they are true.

  1. Competitive or collaborative: I want to major in Government in the College, and I’ve heard that GTown can have a cut-throat atmosphere to it. Specifically in the College, are students generally there to help each other out, or is it more cut-throat competitive?

  2. Grade deflation: I want to go to law school after I graduate, and I’ve heard that at GTown, it can be difficult to maintain a good GPA (3.7+). Again, with regard to a Government major, how difficult is it to keep good grades?

  3. Clubs: Thread after thread talks about how competitive the clubs are. If I’m not interested in those four or five elite clubs, is it easy to be involved and social?

  4. Finally, Georgetown has a reputation for being a school for the children of very wealthy successful families. Does any kind of elitist attitude pervade the campus? Being from a middle-class, Midwest family, this is something that worries me a little bit.

Thanks!

2

Some collaboration. You’ll do fine in government classes. Yes some clubs are competitive. My kid found a bunch of truly nice friends.

4 is gnaws at me. Very tough living in an elite neighborhood and difficult for this middle class parent to observe. There is no accessible reasonable shopping. If Gtown was truly diverse and socially conscious they would put a mini Walmart on campus. The city is not that accessible without lots of long bus rides. Sorry to sound harsh but my son describes the lower middle class as living in the shadows. Budget an extra thousand, or two for lifestyle....including Uber.

3

My son transfered to Gtown and gained a great network of great kids. I am proud of how well he has done. Didn’t intend to scare you off. I will celebrate when I am no longer a cosigner on his loans. And, yes i’d do it again!

4

I’ll be a freshman there next year so I won’t be much help on mot of this, but in response to @Burgermeister 's comment about the city being inaccessible… there’s a free shuttle for all Gtown students to various places in DC specifically for the purpose of accessibility (to learn more: https://transportation.georgetown.edu/guts)

5

Some true, some partially true, some overstated.

Students generally are more competitive with themselves than with each other. So while I wouldn’t describe it as cutthroat, there is no shortage of Type “A” personalities who are very motivated. Students tend to be very involved with academics, jobs, internships, and clubs. Sometimes, they overload themselves which some view as a badge of honor. But if that’s not you, I wouldn’t worry about it. I think generally you will find a very caring and helpful community at Georgetown.

There is some grade deflation at Georgetown, but that does not mean you can’t get good grades. They have raised the bar with respect to graduating with Latin Honors. For example, you’ll need closer to a 3.7 GPA to graduate Cum Laude vs. the old 3.5.

The top 4-5 clubs are difficult to get into, but as someone else posted, the vast majority of students do not belong to those clubs and there are plenty of other options (overwhelming choices, actually). Again, unless you feel like you absolutely MUST belong to one of those clubs, I wouldn’t sweat it. You’ll be fine.

Finally, Georgetown, like any other elite university, has it’s fair share of wealthy students from wealthy families. But unlike some of those other schools, Georgetown’s endowment, and therefore available financial aid, is lower. Having said that, there are plenty of middle class students at the school who receive some form of financial aid. And while Georgetown often has a “preppy” reputation, in actuality it is a very international school and so there is a good balance of all types of people.

I will finish this by saying that you will be able to find friends with similar interests and background as you. But one of the beautiful things about the school is that you can also find others who are different from you. And that is one of the best ways to learn and grow as a person.

Good luck to you!

6
  1. Government classes definitely are not cut throat and the only school which could even (mildly) be described that way is the Business School due to the strict curves in classes.

2)Grade inflation is practiced at Georgetown, not grade deflation, especially in the SFS and the College. Over 60% of the SFS graduated with above a 3.5 and about 25% graduate with above a 3.7. Government classes can get tricky because quite often the bar to get an A is something like a 95 in the class, but overall, it is not too difficult.

  1. Its pretty easy to be involved in something and social. Anything team-based can be difficult to get into at first, but there are loads of organizations that have no requirements, no essays, and no interviews. For example, Philodemic will take anyone that shows up and participates in the debates and that is a huge organization.

  2. I personally am on scholarship and have never found it difficult to fit in or believed the school was overly snobby. While some of the things fellow classmates say can be entirely removed from reality, again, I think the reputation is overstated.

7

It’s become an urban myth to single out Georgetown for its wealthy students.

In fact, one can imagine a well intentioned, but misinformed, Bernie Sanders’ supporter saying, “We want free education for all Americans, not just the children of the billionaires and millionaires who only attend Georgetown.”

Far be it for me to rain on anyone’s parade, but Georgetown is not unique in having wealthy students. In truth, every top-private university in America has a large percentage of wealthy students. Here’s why:

A. Only about the top 3 percent of the wealthiest Americans can afford to send children to a top private university like Georgetown without financial aid.*

B. A substantial percentage of the students at top private universities like Georgetown do not require financial aid.
C. Therefore, wealthy students comprise a substantial portion of the student body at these private universities.

8

Parent here:

  1. Ds is a Govt major. He’s never said a thing about it being cutthroat.

  2. The only thing I know about grades is that ds’s could be better. :wink: But, really, they’re fine.

  3. Yes, some clubs are competitive, but you’ll find a place. Interestingly, one of ds’s social circles is from work-study. Next year, as a senior, he’s living with three guys who lived on his freshman-year floor. He’s involved in several clubs/groups and even travels with some of his activities. Just put yourself out there, and you’ll find a spot.

  4. I beg to differ a bit with espenser. Yes, all private schools have lots of wealthy kids. Ds1 went to one of those schools, but he’s had none of the experiences with wealthy classmates that ds2 has had at Georgetown. I believe several things contribute to their different experiences. I think part of the reason is because Georgetown is in a tony area. We always make fun of having a “Georgetown breakfast,” which will be $15 for something basic vs a breakfast here at home. Ds1’s private college was in the Midwest, and it’s just not as attractive to a lot of hyper-rich, East Coast types in the way Georgetown is. And kids tend to stay on the Midwest campus and not venture into the city, making everything cheaper so it’s not so obvious if you can’t afford yet another dinner at The Tombs. Ds2 has been pretty surprised by how many of his classmates seem to lack an intellectual interest in things outside of their little world – that being anything outside the East Coast. And it’s not the they are rich; it’s that they seem unaware, for the most part, of their extreme privilege. He thinks most of the kids are out for themselves and aren’t looking to be a part of something “bigger.” He thinks the Jesuit values are a bit of a unifier but for the most part it’s kind of every man for himself. Again, he has a lot of great friends there, but when he leaves his school he won’t have the fondness for his alma mater that his brother does, and that makes me kind of sad.

9

I agree mostly with what others have said.

1/2)The atmosphere is intense, but not cutthroat; that is, I think it more closely resembles the stress culture of trying to do everything and be perfect, rather than being out to get other people, per se. As for Government classes, it isn’t difficult to do decently well but I would argue that there is a bit of deflation. This is because the classes themselves aren’t inherently super difficult, and the department has capped the number of A/A-'s to 40% of the class for the four introductory courses (US Political Systems, International Relations, Comparative Political Systems, and Elements of Political Theory) and at 50% for the upper-division classes. Combined with the fact that we are a DC school with a ton of political nerds (Gov is the single most popular major in the entire university), it can be a bit difficult to “excel” in Government courses.

  1. Yes, some clubs are exclusive, and particularly the well-known ones. The good news is there are tons of other clubs that aren’t nearly as competitive, and there are lots of ways to make friends besides joining an exclusive club (though it certainly can expedite the process).

4)I receive a lot of financial aid. There are a lot of wealthy people, but they aren’t (for the most part) obnoxious about it. Mostly it comes out in the preppy dress and incessant travel plans, but I’ve never felt that they were attempting to feel superior because of it. In fact, overall in my experience the rich kids tend to be even more privilege conscious, and it can be somewhat entertaining to watch them squirm while trying to discuss difficult issues of class, race, sexuality, whatever, in a way that is “culturally sensitive.” In short: I wouldn’t worry about the money thing.

10

Adding a couple of things - personally I think Georgetown (at least in non-STEM) has some pretty heavy grade inflation going on. If you show up to class and at least hand in the assignments, you’re pretty much guaranteed a B+ or A-.

And yes, everyone is rich. You’ll notice this when people go out to eat every other day, or when they go to Egypt or Hawaii for Spring Break.