I saw a piece on youtube that had students being interviewed regarding a new policy where students had to live in the dorms for 3 years. Is this true? How are the options for sophomores and juniors?
Yes, it’s true. If you’re a local resident you can request to opt-out by living with your parents; if you’re a military veteran (or anyone else that’s not your typical 18yr-old freshman) then you can also receive a waiver.
Options for upperclassman dorms are excellent, in my opinion. There are a still a few second-year dorms that aren’t quite ideal (older/unrenovated, small living/kitchen spaces), but many a great. Third/fourth year dorms are really nice. Granted, you can sometimes save some money by living off campus as a senior (or previously as a junior), but the added convenience of living on campus and being a very short walk to classes, food, and your friends is tough to put a value on for many.
If you’ve got any other questions on dorms or life on the campus in general let me know.
Thanks! I do have another question. If there’s no meal plan, how does it work? Are their still places in the Marvin Center ie Wendy’s or KFC? Do the students just use cash?
There’s no meal plan but you are given a certain amount of money (GW “Colonial Cash” https://gworld.gwu.edu/colonial-cash ) that you can only spend on campus or other supported vendors. It’s expected that you use this cash for food, and there’s all kinds of places ( https://dining.gwu.edu/where-eat) Some are in Marvin Center, some next door in District House, and a plethora of others scattered about campus or just off campus. Also, be sure to use all of the Colonial Cash by the end of the year because it doesn’t roll over.
Excellent! How about sororities. Stats are sometimes misleading. Sororities seemed like a bigger part of social life then the %s show. Are sororities a big deal there?
I think the last figure I saw was that 30% of students are involved in Greek life. As far as whether or not they’re a “big deal,” I think that’s pretty subjective.
In my opinion (basically from what I’ve witnessed, and I’m sure @gdubya can chime-in also), Greek life is definitely noticeable to those not actively involved. When it’s Rush Week, everyone on campus is wearing their letters and there are parties/socials all over the place. Further, there are a lot of Greek houses on campus, and since the campus isn’t what I’d call large, you get more exposure to Greek life even if it’s just witnessing loud parties as you’re walking through campus before/after your Thursday evening class.
If you’re inquiring more as someone that’s interested in joining, I don’t think you’d be disappointed. I rushed a frat my sophomore year (even got a bid) and thought everyone involved was really great. Two of my close friends belonged to that frat and had great experiences, not just because of the camaraderie, but the social events and community outreach were very fulfilling. Further, I hear the networking is a huge perk for post-graduation employment.
Actually my daughter will be touring the school soon and I don’t think she wants to go to a place where those who don’t pledge feel left out just in case its not for her. She loved DC the last time she was there. I happen to have gone to GW, but it was deep in the last century. Thanks so much for all of your info!
I’ll gladly chime in!
GW greek life is certainly noticeable on campus, but I wouldn’t say that it’s a driving factor behind the overall social scene. Like @NHuffer said, everybody wears their letters during rush week, and the greek houses are really hard to not notice on the weekends. But that being said, students definitely have fulfilling social lives outside of the greek system, and by no means are you an outcast if you don’t take part. If you’re worried about catty sorority girls running the social scene, I wouldn’t worry a single bit. If rather, you’re inquiring as somebody who’s interested in joining, then I think you’ll have a good time doing so;
At the end of the day, since GW greek life isn’t a juggernaut influence in the overall student body’s daily life, joining a frat/sorority can offer the following
- Camaraderie and Friendship
- Professional Opportunity/Networking
- Social Events and Partying
- Opportunities for community outreach
Joining greek life can certainly provide you with any mixture of those four things (depending on which frat/sorority of course), but there’s more than enough opportunities to have those four things if you’re not a part of greek life as well.
For example, I’m a member of an honors professional fraternity. We don’t throw mixers, but we do host speakers, have careers events, nerd out talking about our shared interests, and exchange phone numbers for future networking. I have a great time there and definitely enjoy the perks, but most of my socializing takes place with other people I know… either from other clubs or just some cool guys and girls who I met in my classes.
It’s also worth noting that we rush during the spring semester, not the fall. So you have time to figure out the reputations of each group, and weather or not greek life is for you.
Whether you join or not, you’ll be fine.
Thanks for the info. Those are the answers I was looking for.