Georgetown SFS vs. UNC CHapel Hill

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I am having an incredibly difficult time deciding between Georgetown School of Foreign Service and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
My eventual plan is to attend law school, so I am wondering about the importance of what college or university you attend for undergraduate studies on your acceptance to law school. I have heard that for law school in particular, what undergraduate university and the type of caliber school it is plays a more heightened role for law school acceptance than for some other graduate studies. I.E. It bout easier to get accepted to one of the better law schools in the nation coming from a more "elite" private university than a decent public school.</p>

<p>I ask this as I was accepted to Duke, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Emory, and UNC Chapel Hill. I do not have any particular interest in attending Duke or Emory as they are not as oriented towards what I wish to study as Georgetown, which is international relations and eventually international law (I am a Swedish and French citizen, trilingual, hence my interest). This leaves me with Georgetown SFS, my number one choice as I find the school provides me with exactly what I want to study and wonderful resources, and UNC Chapel hill, which is not as rigorous academically as the other schools but which is an excellent choice and to which I received a half ride. My grandparents are going to help me out substantially paying for college, so I would be able to afford to attend Georgetown for undergraduate, but would then have to take out some loans to afford law school. I was wondering if I should make this commitment to attend a top university for undergraduate school in the hopes of attending a better law school, or save my money, go to UNC to which I have to pay substantially less due to the scholarship, which is obviously a slightly less competitive public school. If I went to UNC, I would most likely have to take out much fewer loans, if any when it comes to affording for law school.</p>

<p>Could you guys tell me about some of the advantages of attending Georgetown and how it could eventually aid me in my future endeavors. What is the student/teacher ratio, for example. The proximity to central Washington D.C. also seems tremendous for internship opportunities. Also, I was wondering how hard it to adapt to a school like Georgetown, especially the self-selective SFS. Is it hard to excell when all the students around me are going to be quite goal-oriented and academically gifted. Would I get a lower class rank and grades than if I attended a slightly less rigorous UNC. No doubt has a tremendous amount of gifted students, probably just as many as Georgetown. However, Georgetown does only have 6,000 students while UNC has about 17,000, so there is no doubt going to be more "slackers," and I feel like it could be more difficult to place higher in a school with such a large proportion of gifted students when compared to the total number of students. Could you guys shed some lights on these issues. Why would you attend Georgetown over UNC. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>You've hit on a few questions, so I'll try to answer them in order.</p>

<p>I was wondering if I should make this commitment to attend a top university for undergraduate school in the hopes of attending a better law school, or save my money, go to UNC to which I have to pay substantially less due to the scholarship, which is obviously a slightly less competitive public school. If I went to UNC, I would most likely have to take out much fewer loans, if any when it comes to affording for law school.</p>

<p>Loans are pretty much standard operating procedure for students these days, even at state schools in some cases. What I can tell you is that, with an SFS degree and a law degree on top of that, you will be able to pay off those loans pretty easily. Starting salaries for associates at the top East Coast firms (the ones that you would/should be shooting for with your skills and qualifications) easily break $100,000 per year. At that rate, even if you've got significant debt, you can cover it without too much difficulty - the system knows that and banks on it.</p>

<p>Could you guys tell me about some of the advantages of attending Georgetown and how it could eventually aid me in my future endeavors.</p>

<p>Very briefly: For someone interested in IR and with an international background, Georgetown SFS is hard to beat. Law school is a popular option for Georgetown and SFS students, so you'll definitely be able to find advising and excellent preparation for that track.</p>

<p>What is the student/teacher ratio, for example.</p>

<p>11:1, according to Princeton Review.</p>

<p>The proximity to central Washington D.C. also seems tremendous for internship opportunities.</p>

<p>Georgetown is inside the District, which is, geographically speaking, a pretty small city, so transit to the Golden Triangle, Capital Hill, and the other internship hotbeds is about as easy as it's going to get. We actually tend to live much closer than they do - most of the white-collar workers in D.C. live in Maryland or Virginia. For example, this summer, I got fed up with taking to Metro, so I just walked to my internship each day. Took about 25 minutes, but it was a pleasant (albeit muggy) walk.</p>

<p>Also, I was wondering how hard it to adapt to a school like Georgetown, especially the self-selective SFS.</p>

<p>This is different for each person, of course. If you mean adapting strictly to the academic load, then I think you should have no problem (Duke, Emory, and SFS acceptances are quite the accomplishment).</p>

<p>Is it hard to excell when all the students around me are going to be quite goal-oriented and academically gifted</p>

<p>In my experience, the opposite is true - being around so many bright and motivated people only motivates you further. It pushes you to perform up to your own capabilities and to not slack off.</p>

<p>Would I get a lower class rank and grades than if I attended a slightly less rigorous UNC.</p>

<p>Possibly. Maybe even probably, although the nature of mass classes of the sort you find at big state schools is that sometimes the grading is very formulaic and your quality is not appreciated as it should because the grader is basically just going off a checklist and doesn't have time for holistic appreciation. This is a problem one runs into in big survey courses everywhere.</p>

<p>However, Georgetown does only have 6,000 students while UNC has about 17,000, so there is no doubt going to be more "slackers," and I feel like it could be more difficult to place higher in a school with such a large proportion of gifted students when compared to the total number of students.</p>

<p>While it certainly is more difficult to place higher, rest assured that law schools take this into account. They know all about the differences in undergraduate programs and factor that in to their decisions, so that even if you're not summa cum laude or top 5% at Georgetown, a solid track record will be given its due value.</p>

<p>Why would you attend Georgetown over UNC.</p>

<p>For international relations, SFS is the best, hands down and bar none. Chapel Hill is a nice town, but Washington is the capital of the world's lone superpower and a wonderful city. The internship opportunities at Georgetown are far better than anything you could find at UNC, particularly given your international interests and background. In terms of school spirit, Georgetown offers a feeling of community that larger schools have a hard time matching. When it comes to athletics: well, I was there in person to see Georgetown defeat UNC 96-84 in the Elite Eight, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. North Carolina fans, meanwhile, have a much harder time getting tickets to see even home games. And NCAA tournament games - forget about it!</p>

<p>The list goes on.</p>

3

<p>Noooo don't go to DC, its a crappy city, I live near DC and its just a horrible place at least according to local news</p>

4

<p>What?</p>

<p>Downtown DC and Gerorgetown ore some of the nicest neighborhoods in the whole country!</p>

5

<p>I wouldn't say UNC is "easier" or has "more slackers" while GTown students are all "more gifted" and "more goal-oriented." thats an incredible slap in the face to UNC and its students.</p>

<p>UNC is a very good school--and it has its +s and -s, just like georgetown. However, just because UNC is larger, doesn't mean there will be a larger percentage of slackers...or have people who are less goal oriented. Remember, whether you go to Georgetown or UNC, theres going to be a bottem 50% of the class at both schools. While GTown may indeed be better for a internation relations major or studies, it won't help you getting into a better law school--GTown isn't really viewed as a superior school in the law school admissions process (unless perhaps you're applying to gtown law school).</p>

<p>Also, it will be harder to be a standout at UNC than Gtown because its significantly bigger, and therefore has a greater quantity of top students. Even if just the top 10% of UNC's students are just as talented as the top 25% of Gtown students, the top 10% of UNC's class contains more students than the top 25% of a GTown class.</p>

<p>Regardless, you can't make a wrong choice, and you should definately go to whichever school you feel like you like better.</p>

6

<p>I just visited Gtown, the surrounding "town" or the place Gtown is in is like one of the nicest places I've been to... some parts of DC might be bad, but the Gtown area is like a up-scale neighborhood... dude John Kerry lives like 2 blocks off campus (the tour guide told us)... I mean it's safe enough for a senator...</p>

7

<p>How many large classes can a new student expect (like the large lecture-style classes, with 100+ students). These are commonly found at the introductory level courses at many universities. Is it different for SFS since it such a small school. How many classes are taught by TA's, if any?</p>

8

<p>Basically no classes are taught by TA's. You might have a Ph.D. candidate teaching part of an intensive language class, but that's fairly rare, almost all your language classes here will be taught by full-time faculty with Ph.D's, which is really unusual at any school. </p>

<p>Some intro level courses like Macro and Micro and Political & Social Thought will be large, in the realm of 80-120 people. But that's about as big as they get. Other intro level classes are under 40 people. Language classes are capped at 16. Other than that most of your other classes at Georgetown will be fairly small seminars, even at the 100 level I think most classes are under 30 people.</p>

9

<p>That's good to hear. That's one of my fears if i decide to go to UNC, that the classes will be quite large. I learn better in a smaller environment, with more tight-knit relationships with teachers. How is technology on campus, i.e. how much of the campus is wireless (dorms, outside, etc.)?</p>

10

<p>All academic buildings, the library, the dining hall, and Healy and Copley lawns are quoted as having wireless. Other areas have spottier coverage, but you can get a signal a lot of places inside and outside that supposedely aren't covered. </p>

<p>With dorms it's really hit or miss. Some have it, some don't have it, some don't have it but you can get a signal, and some do but you can't really get a signal. It's honestly not a big deal with the dorms, I think most of them are fibre to the desk which is going to be a lot faster than wireless anyway. </p>

<p>My only real gripe is that on campus apartments universally have no wireless, and university-owned townhouses don't even have ethernet. And UIS is really insane about not setting up your own wireless network, even if it's invisible and totally secure. They shut off my ethernet for a week because I had an illegal network last semester...</p>

11

<p>Dude, people turn down Harvard ( and the rest of the ivies ) to go to Georgetown School of Foreign Service!! There is no question about that. In any other field, one could get into pros-cons, but not with the Foreign Service. </p>

<p>How could anyone even think of comparing the DC area with Chapel Hill as far as opportunities in Foreign Service is unreal to me...</p>

12

<p>After going over the choices with my parents, we've decided that I will be attending Georgetown SFS in the fall of 2007. I can't wait to start, i'll see you guys in the fall.</p>

13

<p>Great! I look forward to seeing you on the Hilltop. Be sure to stop by the Hoya Blue table at some point - we're always looking for enthusiastic new students.</p>