Georgetown vs JHU

Colleges & Universities A-Z Georgetown University
21

<p>Don't worry, I am not a student at Georgetown (though I am applying there). I am not really concerned with either of the schools we are comparing, just noting that a small gap in the USNews rankings such as that between JHU and GU does not constitute a better school. </p>

<p>And for the record, I considered JHU, but at the time news of murders in the general campus area, as well as an article posted by the school paper about the unhappiness of students, were enough to hinder any further action on my part.</p>

22

<p>Just to clarify:</p>

<p>I really don't think that a small gap in the USNews top 25 ranking is sufficient to say that one school is better than the other. To be sure, the only schools which are definitively better than Georgetown are Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, and Caltech. The rest of the schools are pretty comparable.</p>

<p>Ironically, the preponderance of frosh admits I have had the pleasure of meeting have taken a very mature attitude toward the rankings. I've met students who turned down Stanford, others who've turned down Harvard, JHU, Rice, Dartmouth, Penn, Cornell, Brown, Chicago CMU, MIT, and Yale to attend our school.</p>

<p>If it's in the top 25, it's good enough. If you get into HYPSMC, kudos to you. I would still, though, give Georgetown heavy consideration.</p>

23

<p>i agree...literally georgetown's humanities are unmatched =D</p>

24

<p>My D considers both JHU and G-town for different reasons: she is mostly interested in foreign languages, linguistics and music and, therefore, she is currently trying to think over what kind of double-triple-major or major-minor or dual degree she could make out of her interests. She is attracted to JHU because it has Peabody Institute and dual-degree (BM/BS) opportunity as well as it's IR program; but unsure about her abilities to get into it and to manage the workload (if she try to do both); also, we have heard that Baltimore is not very safe/pleasant city, the dorms and food at JHU are not particularly good, the students are overly competitive and not exactly happy ... so, there is some general "quality of life" concern for the kid who would be very far from her home.</p>

<p>On the other hand, G-town is attractive with it's excellent languages and linguistics, known as beatiful campus (btw, what about its safety?) ... but, while there is some music department there, we don't know anything about it's quality. Also, my non-religious nerdy Californian, public-school-raised kid is concerned about it's Catholic church affiliation and somewhat "preppy" reputation.</p>

<p>While we are trying to plan some college visiting this spring or summer, I'd like to see some comments here regarding those concerns (mentioned above). It would be greatly apprecciated. :-)</p>

25

<p>Visiting Georgetown is a must</p>

26

<p>myau...I don't know where you got the bad dorm rumor from...JHU's dorms certainly aren't bad...</p>

<p>And they redid the entire food system this year, so don't look into that anymore. </p>

<p>Also, JHU wasn't founded on any religious affliation...and never intended for religion to mix with studies...so that's a plus for you I guess</p>

<p>You'll find competition in any top college...it's not like the best of the best are just going to let everyone else slide by...</p>

<p>As for workload...JHU doesn't count 1st semester grades so you can test the waters...and every semester you're allowed to take a pass/fail course to balance out things. </p>

<p>You will find lots of science majors, but your daughter then shouldn't care about competition...it's usually only among science majors no?</p>

27

<p>jovenes132, thank you for your reply. There is some misunderstanding here: I never wrote about JHU's religious affiliation, only about Georgetown's one. The info about food and dorms were from different college guide books (I forgot, which ones); glad to hear it isn't an issue anymore.</p>

<p>I'd be happy to have any information on both institutions before (and after - if) we go visiting there.</p>

28

<p>Oh yes I knew that you didn't mention reilgious affiliation...I just highlighted it because it seemed like an important factor in your daughter's decision.</p>

29

<p>The general consensus is that Georgetown and JHU are both very strong undergraduate insitutions. Georgetown's rankings on national rating scales have perhaps not been as high as they should, given its unusually low endowments (the administration there is rife with incompetence).
The measure of what's a "better" school is pretty subjective. Overall, GTown and JH are on par with one another. And while Hopkins is fairly consistently more highly-ranked than Georgetown (albeit by a small margin), Georgetown - for whatever reason - has significantly greater name recognition. Especially overseas.
What it comes down to is what area you're most interested in. While Georgetown has a strong pre-medical program, if you're pretty sure you're going to med school, JH is probably the better choice for you. On the other hand, Georgetown's social sciences departments - especially the Government department and the School of Foreign Service - are definately stronger and more renowned. Languages and linguistics are strong at both schools, but within these fields it depends on what specific area you are most interested in.
While "Premed = JH, Prelaw = Georgetown" might be an oversimplification, it also sums up a lot of these points fairly well. I should note that Georgetown technically does not have a "prelaw" program, but those people interested in going to law school typically major in Government, Political Economy, or one of the School of Foreign Service majors. It also has specialized pre-law advisors at the career center.
Of course, there are also non-academic factors to take into consideration. Georgetown is generally considered to have a superior location, but some people actually like Baltimore better than D.C. And don't discount the importance of liking the "feel" of a campus. You can't know if a college is really for you until you've visited it.
Also, keep in mind that Georgetown is a Jesuit institution. That's definately not for everyone.
In any event, if you find yourself debating between these two schools, congratulations! Believe me, there are far worse positions to be in than having to choose between Georgetown and Hopkins.</p>

30

<p>myau,</p>

<p>I would be happy to address some of your concerns about Georgetown:</p>

<p>-Music: There is a music department at Georgetown, but it is part of the larger Program in Performing Arts. Georgetown does not offer a music major, but she may elect to minor in it. There is also a general Art, Music, and Theatre major. (There is also a theatre major getting off the ground soon, if your daughter would be interested in something like that.)</p>

<p>-Catholicism: Georgetown is not just a Catholic school - it is a Jesuit school. While the Jesuits are a subset of Catholicism, they tend to be significantly more liberal than the clergy as a whole. Moreover, Jesuit philosophy has a HEAVY emphasis on education in all areas. While most professors at Georgetown are not Jesuits, those that are won't go around attempting to convert your daughter or make her confess her sins. Rather, they teach with energy, enthusiasm, and understanding. Keep in mind, this is coming from a non-practicing, agnostic Muslim who is currently a senior at Georgetown. Indeed, the best professors I've ever had here have been Jesuits. I highly doubt your daughter would feel alienated at Georgetown due to religious reasons.
Theology is part of the general education requirement, but many of the theology classes have nothing to do with Catholicism. Indeed, I took Comparative Mythology to fulfill this requirement.</p>

<p>-Preppiness: Alright, I will admit, Georgetown has more than its fair share of preppiness. That being said, a "nerdy public-school kid" can easily find a social circle that fits her needs. (I myself am a Monty Python-obsessed geek who spent four years dealing with overcrowded classrooms and asbestos-laden buildings, albeit on the east coast. I sympathize.) Certain organizations, such as the various theatre clubs, H*yas for Choice, the music department, etc. have a preponderance of non-preps. That, of course, doesn't not change the fact that the school as a whole has a somewhat preppy atmosphere. Your daughter will have to decide for herself whether or not that is something she is comfortable with upon visiting.</p>

<p>-Safety: There are some safety incidents every once in a while, but that's to be expected on just about every college campus. I'm not going to lie to you - DOPS (Department of Public Safety) is something of a joke. Of course, there are still fewer incidents in Georgetown than at JH in Baltimore.</p>

<p>-Administrative stuff: I should warn you that the housing office is pretty incompetent. I'm not sure whether this is common to colleges, or if it's really a stand-out feature here at Georgetown, but they're pretty darn annoying. (Hint: if you decide to go to Georgetown, see if you can wrangle a room in New South for your freshman year. Trust me on this one.) Your daughter will more than likely live off campus during her senior year (unless she elects to go abroad either for the fall semester or for all of her junior year). Luckily, there is plenty of off-campus housing available in the area within reasonable walking distance to classrooms. I live off campus now, and so far it's been going quite well.
Speaking of going overseas, the Office of International Programs (OIP) is somewhat disorganized as well. This, however, does not keep anyone who wants to go abroad from doing so. If you daughter wants to go abroad during her junior year - which most Georgetown students do - she ought to look into it relatively early. I would recommend starting toward the beginning of her sophomore year, or even the summer before.</p>

<p>-Grading: This is actually one of Georgetown's strong points. They've made huge strides in combating grade inflation over the past few years, and have not experienced a significant grade deflation as a result.</p>

<p>-Location: Washington, D.C. is absolutely rife with internship and job opportunities that are unmatched in just about any other areas of the country. While JH is a fine institution with a lot going for it, Georgetown definately has Hopkins beat hands down in terms of networking opportunities.</p>

<p>I hope that clears some things up for you. You should definately visit both GTown and JH before making a decision.
Either way, good luck to you and your daughter, and I'm sure that if she attends either of these schools she will have more than ample educational and career opportunities.</p>

31

<p>Georgetown and JHU were two of the schools I was deciding between so trust me, I thought through all of the aspects of both schools. I obviously chose Georgetown and I think it was the best decision of my life. Hopkins has a reputation for having unhappy students, and although it isn't always smart to listen to reputations, this one seems to be based on fact. Hopkins is incredibly competitive, like hardcore cutthroat. I know some people there and they said that if you leave your notes unattended in the library that they will be stolen because other people want you to do badly to help the curve.</p>

<p>Georgetown is completely different than that- everyone is very supportive. Premed students suffer through difficult classes together and help each other in studying and with homework instead of trying to constantly be better than everyone. JHU does have a better reputation for premed/biology, but Georgetown is good too. One thing to think about is if you want to be surrounded by people who are studying the same thing as you- sure it's nice to be able to study with friends, but I think it's nice to have friends majoring in other subjects because then you can forget about classes. </p>

<p>I honestly don't know much about the social life at Hopkins, so I won't make any assumptions, but I will tell you that the social life at gtown is great. Work hard, play hard. </p>

<p>In terms of location, gtown is for sure superior. DC is amazing, georgetown is amazing. I actually love the innerharbor in Baltimore, but outside of that what does the city have to offer? </p>

<p>I could keep giving other comparisons of the schools, so if you still have questions just ask. Think about overall academics, social life, school spirit, religious tradition, location, sports, interships, satisfaction of students, etc.</p>

32

<p>-aaa...regarding georgetown and jhu in terms of competition...well...if 50% of your class is going to grad/prof school compared to like 30%, i guess jhu is suppose to be more competitive...it is like comparing a high school w/ 50% of graduates going to college and a high school w/ 30% going to college...which one will be more competitive? O.o...
anyhow i came here to congra. georgetown =D
Steny Hoyer, georgetown alumni, elected as majority leader for democrats in Maryland's district, shame that jhu can;t produce their own politicians =D</p>