<p>Help!? My D is waitlisted at U of Richmond and admitted to George Washington. She is dying to go to Richmond. Does anyone have an opinion of these 2 schools? She has no idea what she wants to do in life.</p>
<p>that's bizarre, i thought gw was far harder to get into than u-richmond. hmm.<br>
well, while i really like the city of richmond, gw's environment is much more urban and bustling (which is something i prefer). gw also has more of a national reputation.</p>
<p>I got into both of these schools and I can't decide between these two and another one. </p>
<p>Richmond is in a really nice suburban section of the city. 92% of the kids live on campus which I really like. Dorms are single-sex but no parietal hours. Most dorms have AC anad all the ones I saw have 2 rooms sharing a bathroom. The dining hall is really nice. It's a good place for internships because Richmond is the state capital. It has a high Greek life percentage but no Greek houses that are residential. The campus itself is gorgeous.</p>
<p>UR just made the switch of categories this year on the USNWR rankings.
They used to be under Masters- Southern #1
Now they are in the 30s in the national liberal arts colleges.</p>
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<p>GW is in the heart of DC, blocks from the State Dept AND the White House and Metro stops away to the US Capitol. Internships galore at this school across all the schools! There is the big Foggy Bottom campus and also the Mount Vernon campus with a free shuttle that runs all day and a good part of the night. The MV dorms are really nice but it's harder to socialize. All of the freshman FB dorms are gross although bathrooms are also only shared with 2 rooms. There are no traditional dining halls at either campus but there are food courts.</p>
<p>USNWR ranks GW in the low 50s in National Universities.</p>
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<p>Between these two and the other one, I have some serious decisions to make!</p>
<p>Actually, Richmond is generally the more difficult school to get into. They have roughly the same acceptance rate, but Richmonds SAT range and Average GPA are slightly higher. Campus feel is much different at these two campuses (location, Greek participation, diversity, etc.) I'd strongly suggest an overnight visit at both. If Richmond hadn't drastically increased their tuition this year, I'd say Richmond would be a better choice (unless you are looking to major in those areas where GW's reputation is sterling -- public policy for one). But now the cost is more or less identical.</p>
<p>Actually Richmond is cheaper by about $6K</p>
<p>Sometimes it's hard to tell which year the universities are referring to. But according to the Institutional Research files, for the year 2005 - 2006, the statistics for U of Richmond are:<br>
25-75%: 1240 - 1390, with 58% of the class in the top 10% of their hs class</p>
<p>For GW, the stats were (using the same IR database)
25-75%: 1260 - 1410, with 65% of the class in the top 10% of their hs class</p>
<p>So it appears that GW actually has slightly higher statistics, for what it's worth. I'm not saying it's a better school, I'm just listing the stats. They're totally different schools - not sure how the two can even be compared, really.</p>
<p>I guess my D can get a great education at either school. Since she doesn't know what she wants to do it will probably be GW! Thanks to all.</p>
<p>Kimbee, What school did she get accepted to within GW? That might help her decision.</p>
<p>BTW, Our GC said for my child, that Richmond was a pretty sure and GW was safety. It could be because of the area.</p>
<p>She got accepted into the Columbian School of Arts & Sciences. She literally has no idea what she wants to do... She is still agressively persuning the wait list at University of Richmond. I think she should stey put. She was also admitted into Tulane, UVA, Syracuse and Boston University.</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm in a hurry. I really do know how to spell!</p>
<p>Boy, those are all good schools. I understand that UR is her dream school -- if that's true, I don't think you're going to convince her to stop persuning :) UR off of the wait list. I'm less surprised at getting waitlisted at UR and in to GWU than I am that she got into UVA as on OOS. If she's in love with the UR atmosphere, UVA sounds like a better fit than GWU.</p>
<p>Kimbee, I pm'ed you.</p>
<p>She can still put a deposit down on GW and if she gets into UR, revisit and make the decision. Of course you lose the deposit.</p>
<p>Kimbee, If prestige is a factor, UVA and Emory are far and away more prestigeous than Richmond.</p>
<p>The atmosphere at GW and Richmond are totally different. Richmond is a big drinking/greek scene sort of a school. At GW you have the chance to be a lot more independent of that sort of insular social scene. I also think GW has much more national name recognition.</p>
<p>Iderochi, I am a dope. My D is in UVM...not UVA big difference huh? I wouldn't have all these concerns if she had gotten in to UVA!!</p>
<p>NOt a dope, just as good a typist as most of the rest of us here. Still good colleges, but it does explain why it came down to GW and UR.</p>
<p>Richmond has a higher %age of students involved w/ Greek Life, but none of the chapters are housed. Women meet in the Student Center, guys have non-resident lodges on the edge of campus. GW has both housed and unhoused chapters.</p>
<p>In the South and especially around the DC area (DC, MD and VA), Richmond carries more clout than GW in terms of name recognition.</p>
<p>I'm surprised.......general opinion here is that GW is much better than UR. However, I am only telling you what I hear so don't know if it's true or not. My d was admitted to UR with hefty aid but we are leaning away from it. It is no doubt a good school, and VERY beautiful, but after several visits there, we felt like we were in a "bubble". Hard to describe-- but not very diverse at all, somewhat small, and after a while, everyone started to look alike! She is now leaning towards a big university. I myself, am torn, but leaving it up to her. I do think you miss out being exposed to people of all different backgrounds, religions, races, etc when you go to such a insulated environment. Although the city of Richmond is nearby, unless you have a car, I don't think you would be there that often. I think at GW, you would have the best of both worlds. As with anything, there are pros and cons to each.</p>
<p>I'm from the DC area and I concur with Marylandgirl.</p>
<p>acinva- did you visit? Did you get the same impression? Because some people say it is great, but I think a lot of it is the intoxicating beauty. I went to a small school like that and when I went back to look at it, I couldn't believe I spent four years of my life there. Very isolated.
It's funny, but my d went to an elite small private middle school-- and left it to go to a big diverse high school that had many more AP options. People were aghast. She loved it. I feel like it is the same sceanerio on the college level. The small private schools seem lilly white. What's up with that? No diversity. I don't think it is healthy.</p>