GW or UW-Madison?

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
1

<p>Hello all. I was recently taken off the wait-list at GW, and am now undecided between GDubs and Unviersity of Wisconsin-Madison. Here is what I consider good about each school:</p>

<p>GW:
The city (more opportunities since I am gay)
Distance away from home (I am from Chicago)
Better reputation i nthe programs I am looking at: International Affairs, International Business, and Economics.
More diverse than Madison (I am Indian)
Relatively small, compared to Madison</p>

<p>Madison:
Closer to home
Beautiful campus (nicer than GW in my opinion)
More opportunities if I decide to change my major (a possible liklehood)
More people = more opportunities
Smaller city, but plenty to do (State Street).
Crowd is more down to earth, especially when it comes to dressing. (unlike GW</p>

<p>Can anyone shed some light on my situation?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>G-dub...cuz DC is ***en awesome!</p>

<p>Plus they're pretty leet at the Int'l stuff</p>

3

<p>Although I wouldn't say my options were exactly the same, I too had to make a hard decision between GW and Emory. Coming to my decision was not easy, but I chose GW because it is more known for IR, like you said, and because of its location (and financial aid). I liked Emory's campus better and I thought there would be more opportunities if I changed my major, but ultimately I liked D.C. much more than Atlanta and although I might change my area of interest slightly, I don't see myself making a major change. And if I do... I can always transfer! </p>

<p>Plus, the internships are going to be better in DC, bottom line, especially for IR related jobs. I'm sure UW-Madison has some great internship programs, but nothing compares to being I-N the heart of DC. At Emory people told me that they'd spent a semester in DC interning, but at GW you're already there! Someone else in this forum told me they already intern for a Senator in D.C. and literally half of the people who work for him went to GW and loved it. </p>

<p>Another piece of advice I found helpful from this person: "After college you can move to any state and work in government...any Senator from any state would recognize Washington experience, whereas it may not work the opposite way (someone in DC not really recognizing experience with a GA senator as significant, for example)"</p>

<p>Ultimately, you have to decide what is more important to you: a more traditional campus in a smaller city with great academics or a dynamic, urban environment that is ESPECIALLY strong in your field of interest... I chose GW. I think you will find your niche at either school... you should try and evaluate which is going to bring you closer to achieving your goals and where you think you will be happiest! Good luck, I know its really tough!</p>

4

<p>I was accepted to both schools and am gay as well. UW is notoriously liberal, but you are going to find more gay clubs/gay life at an urban school like GW most likely. Honestly, I chose GW because A) I would die in the winter at Wisconsin and B) GW is more diverse (e.g. most people come here not knowing anyone so it's easier to make friends)</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your input. It is a tough decision, and hopeflly I'll make the best one. GW is AMAZING for connections and my chosen area of study (the elliot school). However, another Pro I forgot to add for UW-Mad is there great study abroad program.It is very open-ended, and I can pretty much go anywhere in the world.</p>

6

<p>Study abroad is very open at GW as well. We have over 200 approved programs that are open to any GW student. All your credits will transfer and all your financial aid and scholarships will go with you abroad. If you find a program that is not approved, you can petition it with the Study Abroad Office. My friend went to Warsaw by petition, so it's very do-able.</p>

7

<p>Are you kidding me? Wisconsin has a much better business school, a much higher ranked department in political science (yep. GW doesn't have the best faculty), an overall better reputation, and the list goes on. How about, even out of state, 20K cheaper per year. George Washington is an overrated, over priced private college. </p>

<p>Ask this question on the Wisconsin board and you'll have a 100% different answer.</p>

<p>I should also add that Wisconsin has study in DC semesters (or years) so you can get the best of both in madison. REMEMBER, Madison is a state capital. It's 5 minutes FROM campus. It negates many GW advantages.</p>

8

<p>It depends, they are really different schools. Both are good, you can't really go wrong.</p>

9

<p>Yeah, Wisconsin does have a stronger business program. However, if you are considering international affairs, I would strongly recommend GW over Wisconsin. There is no better place to study intl affairs or political science than DC. In addition, there is something to be said about studying under people who actually work in the area that they are teaching... It's an amazing thing, in my opinion. ANd of course, the internships, lectures, etc. that you can attend at GW are awesome.</p>

<p>You really can't go wrong either way, though... They are both good schools. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>I do agree GW has a pretty special undergraduate program in international affairs. It also has a very neat political communications program. However, when faced with the choice I picked Madison because it saved so much money.</p>

11

<p>'tis true....your gonna end up shelling out about 52k a year for Gdub. While Madison is a state flagship, and a lot cheaper. But the dorms at Gdub are nuts....beats out most college dorms, I think thats where alot of that cost comes from</p>

12

<p>What about economics? Which school is better?</p>

13

<p>There are whole lot of indians in the DC area, expecially in the richer parts to the north of DC in Maryland and the North west in Viriginia. I am indian and live here. I would think few than .5% of madison would be indian. I was in between UMD and Wisconsin and chose UMD because it is diverse, near DC which is HUGE for internships, and most of all it was cheaper and I did not have to wait to get into the business school as it is a 4 year program for those admitted as freshmen unlike UW which is 2 years.</p>

<p>Now Wisconsin is a great school and GWU has competition in the DC area. G-town UMD, GW and American are all right here and are all goo. UDC is here but I don't think anyone thingks that is a good school. G-town gets the most reputation points around here then umd, then GW, and then American. GW got a 3.4 Peer assessment ranking by USNEWS, AMerican got a 2.9, UMD a 3.7 and G-town a 4.0 which is just about what people in the area think. Those internship opportunities will be competitive but then again there just are so many. </p>

<p>Now going deeper. HEre are the rankings by gourman provided by collegehelp in this thread <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=171420&page=6&pp=15%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=171420&page=6&pp=15&lt;/a> look at posts 70 and 71 and see that UWisc is MUCH, MUCH higher. Its peer assessment by USNEWS is a 4.2 ranking it 20th by that standard. Just because GW is called George Washington doesn't mean it is going to be amazing at politics. Both UMD and G-town have ranked higher both in Gourman and by the NRC, but that ranking can't be seen now, in PS. UMD if I remember was 27 G-town was 36 adn GW was like 48 or something but I could be wrong about the numbers but i am 99% sure of the order. UW was TOP 10 in that NRC ranking for political science. THere is competition and GW is not on top is all i am saying in this area. For international stuff it goes G-town, GW, UMD, American.</p>

<p>THis is the ranking for International Biz <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=163323&page=3&pp=15%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=163323&page=3&pp=15&lt;/a> post number 35.</p>

<p>UW is higher again. UW is a better school by far in my honest opinion. I have lived here forever and while GW was considered good i never thought of it as amazing. UW is not a political black hole though. It is the capital of a state and is stuck with students from one school, UW, though there are more of them. Madison is a great liberal american town. Smart people andgood opportunities. You are not going to get an international type of internship like you will in DC but it is better than GW.</p>

<p>If you are really into the internship stuff you can get one over the summer in DC from Wisconsin adn I really think Wisconsin would hold a strong name. At GW you wouldn't have to move away during the summer but you can't stay at the university either, can you? UW I think is a better school and is better regarded and can give you opportunites in Madison but not focused internationally but you can get that over the summer in DC anyways. </p>

<p>Both are good schools, congrats.</p>

14

<p>chi you asked for economics and here is what alaxandre said in a different thread. He has been helpful for all things business for me so i really respect his opinion on this stuff but remember it is just a single person's opinion. He ranked it in groups. I'll post the entire post in quotes</p>

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<p>IT came from this thread if you are interested in the discussion. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=184292&page=1&pp=15%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=184292&page=1&pp=15&lt;/a> </p>

<p>ON page 2 you will find the post. </p>

<p>good luck</p>

15

<p>Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I'll post here once I make my decision early this week.</p>

16

<p>I've made my decision and I decided I'm going to Madison. Thanks for all of your help. It was a tough decision, but UW-Mad will be the better school for me.</p>