I’m a rising sophomore at the University of Michigan, but I just received an offer to transfer to Georgetown - specifically the SFS! Now, I’m wondering if I should transfer or stay at Michigan. Both are incredible schools that I know will set me up for a great future. I just can’t make up my mind. Here are a list of pros and cons:
Georgetown pros:
Washington DC!!
Highly ranked IR program, SFS is world-renowned!
No greek-life
Internship opportunities
Amazing professors
Offer to become apart of the Georgetown’s Scholar Program for first-generation students!
Georgetown cons:
ACADEMICS ARE HARDER! I’m scarred I won’t be able to maintain a strong GPA - which is key to getting into a T14 law school.
Smaller student body. I’m somewhat introverted, and I feel like I won’t be able to make new friends.
Terrible housing and dining. Just check out @ georgetownhotmess on instagram.
Farther from home
EXPENSIVE! I received similar financial aid packages from both Georgetown and Michigan. But, at Georgetown, I would have to buy a plane ticket home for every break, and just the cost of living in general is really high in DC.
TOXIC CLUB CULTURE! I’ve heard Georgetown’s motto is, “sleep when you’re dead.” Some of the clubs are so hard to get into (think acceptance rates lower than actually getting into Georgetown) and most of the students are sleep-deprived.
"Georgetown Bubble" Most of the students come from wealthy families, and I feel like I would have a hard time fitting in. I’ve heard they’re snobby and stuck-up, plus most of the clubs are very exclusive to them. Also, most students don’t even leave the Georgetown campus that often because they either don’t want to or it’s super hard to find transportation into DC.
Michigan pros:
Closer to home. I’m somewhat of a homebody, and I really like the security of having my family close. Also, I’m already familiar with area and have a good group of friends in AA.
More Credits. At Michigan, I have 17 more credits than I would have at Georgetown (AP Credits) and I have more of my gen-eds completed. For example, I wouldn’t have to take a foreign language at Michigan but I would at Georgetown.
Great polsci program! I’ve already gotten a feel for the department and built a relationship with some of the professors. I also know I could stand out as a student at Michigan, but I would have to work extra hard to stand out at Georgetown.
Highly ranked public policy school. If I chose to not study polisci anymore at Michigan, I can apply to transfer to the Ford School of Public Policy - which also had great professors (similar to Georgetown).
Michigan cons:
Location. I know I said I liked being closer to home, but AA just doesn’t offer as many internships opportunities as DC would offer. I would only have the opportunity to intern in a big city during the summer.
Networking. Most of Michigan’s alums are engineers, doctors, businessmen. Most of Georgetown’s alums are lawyers, politicians, government workers. I feel as if I would have better networking opportunities for what I want to do in the future at Georgetown.
Party Culture. Last year, I wasn’t a huge fan of Michigan’s party/greek-life culture. Don’t get me wrong I like to have fun, but I don’t like to go out 3-5 days a week. At Georgetown, most of the parties shut down around 1 am, and I’ve heard some of the students even talk about intellectual/political things at parties - which they don’t really do at UofM. Georgetown seems to have more of an intellectual vibe than UofM does.
Less prestigious. Degree isn’t as flexible as SFS. Michigan is an amazing school. They are consistently ranked T25 by US News and ranked in the T10 for graduate programs. But, I feel like a Georgetown degree is looked at as more prestigious for what I want to do in the future. Plus, with the SFS, I can create my own major if something doesn’t work out or go into finance if I don’t want to go into politics anymore.
I’m so stuck on where to go. I have to chose in 5 days. If somebody could give me some advice or help a girl out, I would really appreciate it.
I’m not going to tell you where to go but I will mention that Jesuit colleges typically have a large core curriculum. If you are considering the transfer be sure you can finish the core plus graduation requirements for your major in four years.
If Georgetown is not affordable, then that is not a real option.
If you prefer not to study a foreign language, then the SFS is not a good match.
If you have 17 additional credits at Michigan, then you can double major or you can start a master’s degree program a semester early because you should graduate a semester early.
Georgetown offers a lot of master’s degree programs as well as both full-time & part-time options for its law school.
Do you have a specific career goal ?
With respect to academics, what are your strengths, weaknesses,likes, & dislikes ?
On the one hand, you wouldn’t have applied to transfer to Georgetown if you hadn’t had a serious interest in that program. So, it merits serious consideration. (Also, congrats!)
OTOH, I’m getting the feeling that at this point, you are pitting a FOMO-based feeling that you should go to Georgetown against an actual gut preference to stay the course at Michigan. And in reality, I don’t feel as if the pros and cons stack up to substantiate a “should.”
The pro/con balance is sufficiently even that if you truly desired to transfer, absolutely, go for it. But that’s not what I’m hearing.
My sense from what I’ve read is that you should stay the course at Michigan, and as Publisher says, consider that Georgetown will be there for grad school. Here’s why:
You have already invested in building your social and academic network at Michigan. 3 more years will go by very quickly - why spend one of them starting over when the “bird in the hand” is likely to be just as good or even better?
You’re right that costs will add up, for travel and other expenses at Georgetown.
17 credits is a whole semester. The total amount of foreign language study could potentially add up to another semester, if you aren’t already close to “proficiency” as SFS defines it. Then, as happy1 points out, there may be additional core requirements that may or may not be classes you would have chosen to spend your time and energy on. That’s a lot. You have three more years of college; do you want to spend a year or more of that time checking boxes that Michigan won’t require of you? What would you rather do with what amounts to a full year of elective time? For one, you could do the Michigan in Washington program, and you wouldn’t even be missing out on getting your feet wet in DC! (Which is to say, it isn’t true that your only DC opportunities would be in the summer.) And/or you could do a semester or year abroad. (My kid didn’t go to UMich, but most of the best friends she made during her semester abroad did, and she ended up spending the following fall break making her first-ever trip to Michigan to visit them in Ann Arbor! Study abroad is definitely well-supported at Michigan, and there are plenty of English-language options.)
The option to switch to public policy may in fact be your best bet, particularly if you’re not passionate about studying other languages and cultures.
Re: your “networking” bullet point: it really doesn’t matter what most of Michigan’s alums do. Michigan is a very large school and very likely generates just as big a cohort of alumni in political/legal careers as G-town, or at least not far off. UMich has exciting and innovative grad programs in these arenas and is in no way inferior in this regard; it just has more critical mass in other areas as well, which does you no harm whatsoever. (In fact, is it really an advantage to be at a school where a huge share of the students are gunning for all the same opportunities?)
Re: dominant culture - you’re not going to love every aspect of either school, as you have already surmised. Nonetheless, you sound pretty happy both socially and academically at Michigan, and you’re not sure whether you’d achieve the same comfort level at G-town, especially given the challenges of launching as a transfer. G-town has 7500 undergrads, but fewer than 200 transfer students enter each year. That’s a pretty small cohort.
Bottom line, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Transferring is for when you’re sure. The default should be to stay the course unless the transfer plan makes a compelling case for itself, and I don’t see that in your post. JMHO.
OTOH… there’s always that mind-trick of flipping a coin and seeing whether you’re pleased or disappointed by the result. Treat my response like that coin toss. If everything I’ve said actually made you react by wanting to rebut my arguments and explain why your gut says G-town, then you have your answer, too!
Both great schools
Just reading your CON list for Georgetown. I think you answered your own question.
Plus how you think you can excel at Michigan
Alumni Network UM over 500,000 Georgetown 200,000. GT may have a higher percentage of alumni in your major but UM makes up for it in sheer number of Alumni
Intern in the Summer as you mentioned
OP mentioned getting admitted to a top 14 law school as a goal.
Several major, elite law firms in Wash DC hire recent graduates of prestigious colleges & universities for their 2 year paralegal programs. Most participants move on to law school after the two year well paid paralegal experience.
Most participants are recent graduates of elite schools such as Ivy League schools, Northwestern, Chicago, Williams College, etc. Not sure about Michigan, but almost certain that Georgetown is well represented. Many of the participants share an apartment which is great for networking & camaraderie.
if you goal is LS, either can get you there. Both are top-ranked Unis, so prestige is equal. Yes, SFS is primo, but law schools won’t care about that. Note: internships and networking are not relevant to LS. GPA+LSAT is. I question whether GU will be more “difficult”.
I’m all about going away to college if you can afford it, but that would be for four years. I would not transfer as a LS prospie.
btw: ever heard the saying, ‘all politics is local’?
SFS is the school if you are planning an international career (esp State Dept or similar). If you are planning to stay in the US and do something governmental it matters less. Your imply that you don’t want to do more FL- but proficiency in another language is expected for SFS.
Most of your “cons” for Georgetown are anecdotal, and either simply wrong or only part of the story.
Your “cons” for UMi have some fallacies as well (eg,UMi degrees are very flexible, and it has has great networking).
So know both programs well enough. Sit down with your Michigan advisor and you can mimic the GT program if that’s what your after. If you did well your first year at Michigan then your doing well. It’s not an easy school. Both schools have international exposure and reputation. There are plenty of alumni in any field but they won’t just run out to help without you making it happen at either school. My son went through this. They are more then happy to help but wouldn’t make my school decision on it. It’s great you got into the GT program. You can get internships in Washington. But it’s up to you to make it happen. I wouldn’t trade those 17 or do credits. As stated, minor, or double minor or major and yes you can make your own program at Michigan. Again, talk to your advisor.
I worked at a prestigious firm in DC that had several U Michigan grads among its attorneys. U Michigan is actually a very popular choice for top students from DC and its suburbs.
I too would worry about a financial commitment from Georgetown to cover an extra semester. Have they offered this to you?
Finally, we are not where we expected to be vis a vis the pandemic.
Not talking about attorneys; I was referring to paralegal positions for rent graduates of the undergraduate schools at Michigan.
Michigan’s law school is ranked among the top 13 law schools & places well nationwide. Recruiting paralegals from undergraduate schools is quite different.
One caution. I spent my career at the UN and World Bank. The SFS is by no means an entry route into either. Many students make this mistake. First, you need a graduate degree. Second, spaces for Americans are limited. In my YP class, most Americans came from Harvard and Princeton. So please don’t think that going to SFS will make it easier to land a job with an international organization.
