Hi everyone. I was recently accepted to business schools at Georgetown and GW.
Career-wise, I hope to go into finance (i-banking, private equity, etc…), economic policy (something at the IMF, World Bank, or Federal Reserve would be really cool), or law. I know both schools are really strong in these fields.
I know Georgetown is considered to be more prestigious, but I received a much more generous aid package from George Washington (it would be almost half the cost of Gtown). I am wondering if the opportunities available for Georgetown students are significantly better than those offered to GW students, enough to warrant spending alomst double on Gtown.
I can only speak for GW, but I cant imagine for double the price getting getting the opportunity you would get at GW. When you visited both campus’s though would you be happy either place. the other option is to start at GW and then transfer to GU later on.
If you want to do investment banking and private equity, go GU. Georgetown is a TARGET school for IBD/MBB Consulting/Some Private Equity/Some HF’s on Wall St. The alumni network, prestige, reputation, are all much stronger at GU for finance.
GWU just barely added a BS in Finance 4 years ago, and they’re a complete non-target for investment banking. They send no more than 3-5 kids to IBD per year, out of the entire class.
GU sends 3-5 per investment bank.
It’s not a hard decision at all, and if you’re pursuing a career in high-finance, know that it’s worth it even if you were paying full tuition at GU, because of the doors it opens you’re almost guaranteed a position as long as you are motivated and dedicated!
Summary: GW doesn’t even compare to GU when it comes to recruiting in Finance.
^^ @msport has it exactly right. If you plan on staying in DC, go to GW, but if you want to go to NYC or do private equity or mgt consulting, GU will open more doors for you.
I should also note: GU sends 15 people/year to Goldman Sachs alone. That’s more students into GS than all of GW’s graduating class of '17 going into IBD as a whole.
If I understand correctly, Georgetown would cost you $70,000 per year while GW would be $35,000 per year ?
The difference of $140,000 ($35,000 x 4) is significant–especially so if you decide to change majors or pursue a non-IB type career. $140,000 plus interest could pay for an MBA ,or for a one year specialization degree (Masters in Finance, Masters in Accounting, Masters in Data Science, for example) with $70,000 left over for other purposes.
I cannot recommend one over the other because I do not know your financial situation or your career plans or whether you will change majors during college.
As far as the advice from the above posters msport & londondad, I agree that it is accurate–but cannot say whether or not it is the best advice for you without more information.
“I am wondering if the opportunities available for Georgetown students are significantly better than those offered to GW students”
Yes in finance.
“enough to warrant spending alomst double on Gtown.”
That’s a subjective judgement that you’d have to make yourself. What are the dollar amounts?
For politics/policy/IR in DC (and definitely if you are pre-law), I’d say they are close enough where paying a lot more for Georgetown does not make sense. For finance, however, they are not in the same league.
I have worked in banking/finance in the DC area for over 20 years, and we recruit equally from both schools for all of our offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and elsewhere. We focus on GPA and coursework at GU, GW, Columbia and Northwestern to name just a few.