Georgetown vs. UVA

<p>Hey kids,</p>

<p>I am 17 and going to be a senior this year. I lave both UVA and Georgetown. I want a school near a medium to largely populated area but with a nice campus. I am undecided as for my major but I like the idea of poly sci. or business. I want to have a lot of fun in college but plan on working very hard as well.</p>

<p>Assuming I had my choice I need to decide between UVA and Georgetown. Can people give me input on what they like and dislike about the two. Also which is harder to get into (I live in New Jersey), if I should apply early (I know UVA is ED nad Georgetown is EA).</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, any input is appreciated.</p>

<p>P.S. Current students of both schools feel free to duke it out over these two.</p>

<p>i went to a 10-day camp type of thing for medicine & healthcare at Georgetown and we stayed at the dorms and just went around campus and stuff... the dining hall kinda sucks and we found a cockroach in the grapes and the dorm rooms are way too cold and kinda crappy. and the environment doesnt really feel like home... idk how to explain it. it was an amazing experience but i would definitely not go to Georgetown. i know nothing about UVA though.</p>

<p>I toured both UVA and Georgetown while I was making my college decisions and I seriously considered both, so I'll tell you everything I know that I can remember right now. :) If there's anything I forgot to address, just ask. I can't speak to academics because obviously I never took a class at Gtown, but in terms of atmosphere, here's what I know.</p>

<p>CAMPUS
-Georgetown's campus is small, cozy, and a little cramped. Personally, I like this, but some people find it confining, and I imagine it might get so after 4 years. Some of the buildings are very beautiful, while others...not so much.<br>
-UVA's campus is very open and sprawling, while still being very well-defined and distinct from the city. The beauty of the buildings and architecture simply can't be beat anywhere in America, IMO. Everything is well-maintained and very historic and seems to be a part of Jefferson's original plan--which much of it was, of course. :)</p>

<p>SURROUNDING TOWN
-Georgetown is in a very, very nice area, with stores like Coach, Lacoste, Patagonia, and Ralph Lauren all in a row. The town is very quaint and one of the nicest college towns I've ever seen. It felt very safe, and straight out of the 18th century. I half-expected to see a horse drawn carriage come down the cobblestone sidewalks.
-UVA is in a town called Charlottesville, which isn't quite D.C. Drive for 30 minutes in any direction and you're lost in a forest. (A beautiful forest, though.) However, the downtown area is right next to campus and has tons of restaurants, shops, and bars, as well as movie theatres, ice skating rinks, and anything else you could need. It too is very colonial and historic in style and feels straight out of the 1700s. C'ville is a pretty major area and has all the major grocery stores, furniture stores, and other chains that you might need. </p>

<p>SOCIAL SCENE
-Georgetown is Jesuit, so it doesn't have any fraternities or sororities. Instead, they have "roof parties", which is exactly what it sounds like: a party on the roof of a dorm. The dorm roof we were shown on my tour had an amazing view of D.C. and the Potomac. The roof was littered with beer cans, packs of cigarettes, and hard liquor bottles, so I imagine the roof parties are not too different from srat/frat parties. Although I bet they're pretty annoying if you're trying to sleep in the dorm under them.
-UVA's social scene is a lot more Greek. Most of the Greek parties are open, so it's not a Greek-or-geek scenario. They're very fun and creative and often have live bands, dancing, and crazy themes that everyone dresses up for. I went to a Christmas themed frat party in May once, and the frat brothers had bought ice to pour on the ground like snow, were playing Christmas music, and had Christmas drinks like egg nog and spiked apple cider. It was awesome! There is a lot to do if frats aren't your thing, too, so don't feel like this is your only option.</p>

<p>MISC
-UVA has a TON of school spirit. Football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and even baseball games are always packed. We love UVA, and are proud to be a part of Mr. Jefferson's plan. Support for our Cavaliers runs deep, and Cavman is the most badass mascot ever.</p>

<p>Basically, I love my school so I can wholeheartedly recommend it. I liked Georgetown when I was there, but it paled in comparison to UVA, IMO. </p>

<p>Also, based on my personal experience with the kids from my school who got into these colleges, I think it's harder to get into UVA. But not by much, and that's not based on anything except anecdotal evidence.</p>

<p>Hope this helped! Ask away if you have any other questions.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a freshman at Georgetown this year. So I don't have a whole lot of insight on campus life but I'll do what I can (What can I say? I love this school already!)</p>

<p>CAMPUS:
I agree, this school is confined-it takes about 8 minutes on foot to walk from one end to the other but I think it's within reason. Personally, I love it so it comes down to personal choice I guess. It's in the middle of the capital of the United States which like no other city has crime. But, it's the capital of the United States so your opportunities are endless. It's on the biggest factors on why I chose this school over my other choices. Globally-serving plus it's the only school that has my major as an undergrad (International Health). Some of the older buildings such as Healy Hall, Gaston Hall (gorgeous!), White Gravenor are beautiful and others not much (Lauinger Library). I wouldn't say a lot of buildings look shabby though. Plus, if you want to get off campus, you can just walk down the hill or through the gates and you're right in D.C. Internships, internships, internships.</p>

<p>SURROUNDING AREA: I also agree that this is a quaint little town. Very upscale. A lot of important people live in the area. For example, they showed us Madeline Albright and John Kerry's townhouses on the campus tour. Georgetown residents aren't that favorable of the students but that's understandable. But, they're just gonna have to deal. Georgetown was there first!</p>

<p>SOCIAL SCENE: Reportedly, the rooftop parties are the places to be. It probably is like the frat scene without the frats. I'm happy that Georgetown doesn't have fraternities or sororities but when I went on an official visit, I saw a half full cup of beer on the sidewalk. I won't lie, I was kinda happy to see it anyway. When I first thought of going to Georgetown I was like "no, I don't wanna take Theology. That's a waste of time!" Fortunately, I've grown up and I love the fact that my school of Jesuit and community service oriented. This semester I'm going to be taking The Beginning of Philosophy and then next it will be the Problem of God which are supposed to be amazing classes. I"m sure there's people there who don't take advantage of the school's service element but it's prescence is felt but at the same time it's not overpowering. If you're looking for a government/political science enviroment, this is the place to be (Georgetown and D.C in general) but keep in mind that the school is more internationally focused than American.</p>

<p>MISC
Georgetown's school spirit probably does pale in comparison to UVA's. Basketb all is HUGE and then after that, it's probably lacrosse. The football team doesn't really get any respect lol.</p>

<p>I also did the whole 10-day NYLF Medicine thing at Georgetown and I will admit I hated the campus at that time (sophomore year maybe?). But, to me, the cafeteria food was decent-good. I never heard anything about cockroaches but there's always a chance. There are however, several other places to eat on campus (Hoya's-a restaurant, Taco Bell, KFC, a Subway-esque place, Hoya Snaxa-a convience store) and TONS of restaurants off campus.</p>

<p>In terms of the dorms, yeah the dorm I stayed in was kinda cold lol until I figured out how to turn off the air conditioning. They are kinda small (especiallly the dorms in Darnall which is far away from the rest of the campus and Village C (Village C dorms have their own bathrooms so that may be a plus for you)) but they definately work as freshman dorms. When you're an upperclassmen, you have the options of apartments and townhouses that are in huge demand. If you think about it, it can cost someone millions of dollars for a little condo in D.C and as a college student, you're paying college student prices :)</p>

<p>This was a long post but I just had to defend my school! Feel free to PM me any questions.</p>

<p>wow you guys are helpful. i have visited both and really liked them. Could you guys take a look at these two links to threads i have made about whether or not i can get into these schools and comment? thanks, mike.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221051%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221051&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221049%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221049&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>