<p>Hey georgetown students or alumnus, I'm thinking about applying to Georgetown because I'm really interested in International Affairs, but I'm a little hesitant with Georgetown despite all the great things I've heard about it. The only reason is because I don't want to go to a very elitist, preppy school. I don't really know what the feel of Georgetown is and I'm not going to have the chance to visit before I apply, so I just want to know what the people there are like, the kinds of things they major in and do. Also, could anyone tell me about their Study Abroad opportunities?</p>
<p>From a parent’s perspective I have found the campus to be open and the kids very friendly. Based on our son’s feedbback, it is not snobby or preppy although I am sure there may be some students like that. Our S is a junior and has found a wide range of kids, in his dorms, activities, club sports, and classes and is friends with many of them. If you are really interested in IR, check our the School of Foreign Service (SFS), as it’s the best thing going in that field.</p>
<p>S is in study abroad this semester. There are many opportunities, both Georgetown direct commuities abroad, affiliated school programs and direct matriculation in foreign universities. He is in Scotland and everything with the University was handled through the Study Abroad office including coordination of Visa info, school program applications, health coverages, all finances (his FA carried over), etc. While he had a list of things to do, it was nothing that couldn’t be easily handled. His credit will come back as credit and not count in his gradepoint average. I don’t think that is the case if you study at one of the overseas campuses such as Florence or Qatar. This year he has friends from GU studying in London, Sydney and througout Europe. </p>
<p>You really should consider appyling, It is getting more selective but everyone who checks it our as a prospective student or an admitted student raves about the spirit on campus and throughout the school.</p>
<p>One reason our daughter chose Georgetown was because of the friendly feeling she received from the students. She says that the snob factor is there, but it is not a big part of what is going on. She came from a preppy west coast school so she is comfortable in the prep setting and it was not a turn off for her. Look past the popped collars and preppy attire and you will find many warm, welcoming bright lovely students. She recently fell down the stairs rushing home one evening after dark carrying a load of books and papers. Many people stopped to help her up, brush her off and gather her things. The Georgetown students are nice and caring and she is very, very happy:)</p>
<p>Regarding study abroad, our daughter is looking into the Georgetown house in Florence and the Oxford program. The florence opportunity allows her to continue to study Government and English from Georgetown professors - grades do count I believe. Oxford is a more intense 1 year program. I think there are many more study abroad choices available to students, there are frequent info. sessions and if you meet certain gpa requirements you can apply. I think it is fairly accessible to most who are interested. At Georgetown there are premed majors, business majors, econ majors, govt. majors, classic majors, english majors, nursing majors and sfs majors (IR), the list goes on and on. She loves her government classes, Greek language, Econ, and is even taking oil painting for fun. Georgetown has it all.</p>
<p>The student body is diverse - that means there are students from prep schools and students who are not. Not sure that everyone would defines “elites” the same way, but there are students from wealthy families and students who are from the middle-class and lower income groups. There are a lot of internationals, as well.</p>