<p>I've been accepted to the liberal arts colleges at Georgetown and Northwestern, and I can't decide where to go. I have a very broad range of interests: I've always been a strong math student, I like history (although it's definitely a challenge for me), I'm interested in politics, I like to read and write, and I'd like to be involved in some music program. At this point I have zero career plans. I would like a more traditional college experience, but that's not necessarily a priority for me. And I'm pretty liberal, if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Both really excellent schools.
My daughter is at NU and I went to grad school at GU, so I know them both well.
i would recommend NU, which I personally think is a bit better and a bit more fun than GU.</p>
<p>Tough question. I believe the two are fairly similar in terms of the type of students they attract (more well off, slightly more conservative than those students at most LACs of comparable standing, etc.). </p>
<p>So, do you like the DC-area or the Chicago-area more? Is one cheaper? Etc.</p>
<p>I think NU has better sports, if you care. I also think of it more when I think of business professions…I think of it as having stronger math/econ, but that could be because I once saw a Youtube video of an a capella group there singing some math song lol.</p>
<p>Georgetown is a better locatin if you’re interested in politics (of course). DC is pretty politically charged, and there will be a lot of the internship opportunities with nonprofits, in political offices, on campaigns, what have you. There’s also free museums! Don’t discount this…it’s awesome…you could spend years exploring all of the history and art…Additionally the park-like monument areas in DC are absolutely stunning. Great places to do reading or homework. The weather is better at GU, too ;), so there are more days out of the year where this is actually possibly.</p>
<p>Personally, I like Chicago more as a city. I think DC, especially the Georgetown area, is more straight-laced and stuck up (I’m saying this as someone who loves DC, so don’t get on my back!). The nice areas are not as gritty…they are just nice…the gritty areas…well…avoid them. But Evanston also has a rep for being kind of priviledged, so maybe the comparison there is null. I also dislike Georgetown’s campus (not as pretty as it looks in the pictures, and very small). But I’ve never even seen NU’s campus in person.</p>
<p>Don’t know about the difference in music offerings. Maybe that will be the tipping factor? Or weather/politics? ;).</p>
<p>yeah, it depends on where you want to go. but I know that Northwestern has a better music program because it has a music school. therefore, more opportunities to participate in music events.</p>
<p>The scope of liberal arts education in the two schools is not even comparable.
A well-rounded LA education (northwestern) vs a polisci/FS/history leaning LA education (Gtown). Not to mention the theater, music, ENGINEERING (you know if you’re into better research facilities, more NSF funding, etc.)… oh yea and there’s that journalism school… MEDILL! </p>
<p>I mean gtown can barely flaunt its sciences. Location is a matter of preference. </p>
<p>And the point about politics and gtown: Rahm Emmanuel is Northwestern educated, Chicago is a political machine that churns out DEMS like there’s no tomorrow… </p>
<p>Just sayin, Gtown kinda pales in comparison.</p>
<p>" I like history (although it’s definitely a challenge for me), I’m interested in politics, I like to read and write"</p>
<p>So history, poli sci, etc. leaning liberal arts may not be a bad thing? DC is a hub for political activity, though we all know senators and reps come from all over the nation (since that’s like, the point). </p>
<p>But I agree that which city one prefers is personal preference… </p>
<p>However</p>
<p>“I’ve always been a strong math student”
- “music”</p>
<p>Made me think of NU. Though you can’t say NU will necessarily have more opportunities to participate in music…you’d have to look more into that I’d imagine, though it could be true.</p>
<p>Jeez. What a great choice. Flip a coin!!</p>
<p>I am an NU alum. I was also admitted to Georgetown back in the day. I recently toured Gtown (for my son) and was blown away. Really, unless there are significant financial differences or you have a decided preference for DC or Chicago, flip a coin. These are both fabulous, top notch choices and at this level, it’s about personal preference.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I’ve spent plenty of time on the Georgetown campus, and am visiting Northwestern sometime over the next few weeks. There are so many “best colleges” lists out there, and they all say different things. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t be missing out by picking one school over the other.</p>
<p>Georgetown is a great school but Northwestern would be an Ivy if it was on the east coast.</p>
<p>Georgetown’s undergraduate campus was not in the least bit pleasant-looking. There’s exactly ONE really nice building on that campus (the really old one that’s always featured in brochures), and it really skews your view about how the rest campus would look like. I was extremely disappointed and ended up not applying. The downtown campus, on the other hand, is REALLY NICE. </p>
<p>Georgetown’s academic departments aren’t very impressive for the most part also.</p>
<p>Oh my goodness - I thought Gtown’s campus was gorgeous. The quad that you enter through. My D hadn’t even been interested (we were looking there for her twin brother) and she walked away drooling. Frankly I think it “shows” better than Northwestern’s campus does, with the exception of the lake.</p>
<p>Our family had the same reaction as Brebeuff and umcp to Georgetown’s campus - not really all that nice. Northwestern’s campus is a mixed bag - beautiful in parts, Soviet style architecture in others.</p>
<p>I’m don’t think any of this matters! Both are great academic institutions.</p>
<p>^yeah, the entrance with the one old building is like, the only pretty part of campus haha…</p>
<p>And it’s suuuuch a small area at that…nothing compared to UMCP ;0. And people do not usually rave about MD’s campus…haha.</p>
<p>I mean, it’s a city campus, essentially, so you can’t really judge it by that, though. It’s kinda apples and oranges when comparing it to other unis, especially more suburban ones. And good thing GTown stands well enough off as an academic institution…</p>
<p>I’m so puzzled by how anybody could find Georgetown’s undergraduate campus nice-looking, let alone “gorgeous.” University of Maryland College Park is much much nicer in my opinion.</p>
<p>I would just like to say that some opinions here are definitely biased (judging by the usernames and locations) so if I were you, I would just form my own opinions about the beauty of the campus. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no one here can possibly tell you how you’ll feel about NU or GU’s campus (though it seems you’ve already visited GU and have formed your own opinion already).</p>
<p>The campus aside, your academic profile does seem to match Northwestern since they are very mathematically inclined and their music program is better (I don’t believe Georgetown even has a separate music school so that says a lot about that subject). I would disagree with umcp11 on the business thing because Georgetown has a very good business school. Honestly, Georgetown isn’t as wildly conservative as you might think, being a Jesuit university, but the university certain holds some conservative views (e.g. they don’t allow the sale of any birth control items and they don’t fund the pro-choice club).</p>
<p>Well, brebeuff, I’m an NU alum, was just on the NU campus today, and I think Gtown’s campus shows much nicer than NU. There you have it. I love Evanston but the Gtown neighborhood is great too.</p>
<p>I personally like the Georgetown campus and the surrounding area. But I know lots of kids immediately turned off by a visit. </p>
<p>The biggest complaints I hear are a lack of open space and how tourist-laden the Wisconsin/M corridor is. Georgetown is admittedly a very “compact” place.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I just associated a strong math/econ program with having a lot of clout in the business world.</p>
<p>GTown’s rep is probably similar though. The two are essentially the same level of school.</p>
<p>
Yeah, I know but that’s irrelevant. I just have a different opinion. I wanted to like Georgetown’s main campus but didn’t. I did say the downtown campus was nice.</p>