<p>HelloImChelsea- The posters are right, academia and DC might be quite different from your small town, but there is a simple answer. Be true to yourself, and know that while it is good to keep an open mind and respect others choices, it does not mean you need to change your beliefs and fervently embrace what you do not feel comfortable with. Good luck wherever you decide.</p>
<p>NJMom: Thank you. I’ll remember that. :)</p>
<p>Informative: I’m starting to think so too. I like that GW has multiple campuses.</p>
<p>NYU2013: No, I completely understand. I have an idea of what to expect. It would be very cool to meet all different types of people. </p>
<p>I do think that GW is better than American, in terms of what I want. I know that neither school will meet 100 percent of the student’s demonstrated financial aid, but would you say that GW has better financial aid?</p>
<p>You know, Chelsea, you seem to like them both. You could apply to both and see which one turns out to be more affordable for you.</p>
<p>That way you can stop trying to figure out which one gives better aid, and just go to the one that seems to give YOU better aid or a better value.</p>
<p>A word of advice though: if you do this, you might end up happier if you stop trying to decide which one is better, or which one you like more, and wait to see how it all shakes out before you pick one.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>Sikorsky: I do like both, so I will try that! Thanks!</p>
<p>I said this recently in another thread, but I spent a lot of time trying to push my daughter to have a “first choice.” She just didn’t have one. She liked most of the universities she visited. Finally, she asked me outright, “Can’t I just like them all and decide later?” It worked well for her. She’s a smart girl.</p>
<p>In addition to having a better program in this particular field, GWU and especially Georgetown have the perks of being much better and better-endowed universities overall. GWU and Georgetown are probably both first tier in terms of how nice and easy the college makes your life for you. American is definitely a full step below that, as it seems from my friends at American. Their professors aren’t as good, and the classes are much bigger in their fields (don’t know about overall). The dorms are definitely not so nice. GW and Georgetown are both in wonderful areas of DC…American not quite so much. American also makes it much more difficult for them to take the classes they want to take, and often they just don’t have the classes they want to take. In one case, they didn’t have an entire *department<a href=“a%20common%20one%20at%20other%20universities”>/i</a> that one of my friends had hoped to take at least some classes in. One thing that was very helpful for me in picking colleges (although I agree that you should apply to all of them) was to look at the course catalogs both in my major field and in a couple majors I’d hope to take electives in. In my case, those were East Asian Studies and English. English, especially, helped me narrow down my list of where I should apply to.</p>
<p>^^^ The location of AU isn’t any less wonderful than GWU or G-town, it’s just different. I work in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and for some reason GWU is ripping up their big central parking facility and other construction is going on. What’s wonderful about that?</p>
<p>I disagree with a lot of exultationsy’s evaluation of American.</p>
<p>It’s true that AU is less selective than GW; similarly, it’s true that at both AU and GW the division that does international relations (AU’s School of International Service and GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs) tends to have the undergraduates with the highest objective statistics (high school GPA, SATs, etc.).</p>
<p>It’s true that GW has a reputation for really nice living quarters; I’ve never been inside. I have been inside the dorms at AU. Not palatial, but hardly a dump. Nicer than some other colleges I’ve visited.</p>
<p>I actually think AU has put a whole lot of effort into making students’ lives easy, and I think they’ve generally done a good job. Of course, it’s not perfect; no large institution will be–especially if it’s run by people.</p>
<p>I think GW is somewhat more prestigious than AU; I think Georgetown probably has a fancier reputation and more name recognition than GW and AU put together. I don’t think the Elliott School is so much more prestigious than American’s SIS that it makes a huge difference where you go as an undergraduate. Rather, I think what you make of your opportunities at either university will ultimately matter more than which one you attend.</p>
<p>GW is in a bustling area of DC–right downtown in Foggy Bottom. It’s in the same neighborhood as the IMF and the State Department. If you want an urban feel, you’ll prefer GW to AU. (But it is true, as dudedad said, that the area around GW is currently all torn up by construction that doesn’t show any signs of finishing soon.) American is in a much quieter area of DC, near many embassies. It’s about 3/4 mile to the Red Line on the Metro; Metro will take you almost anyplace in Washington (except, notably, Georgetown). If you want a quieter, more suburban feel, you’ll prefer AU’s location to GW’s.</p>
<p>The campuses feel very different, not only because of their locations, but also because GW students and AU students just give off a different vibe. To say more, I’d have to indulge in stereotyping, but I do think the student populations are just qualitatively different. YMMV.</p>
<p>I will disclose that I have a daughter who will be going to American; she chose it over GW (and some other universities). So I do have a bit of an agenda here. While I don’t dispute that GW has somewhat more name recognition and somewhat more prestige than AU, I want to stick up for American a little bit and say that I think some posts in this thread overstate those differences. If I were picking a college for myself, I probably would have chosen GW, but I have no question that my daughter made a better choice for herself. </p>
<p>And I’d advise anybody looking at these two universities not to rely on other people’s opinions (including mine), but rather to investigate them herself and make her own decision.</p>
<p>Sikorsky: I’m kind of the same way, but I definitely love Brown the most. I would be thrilled to go to any of the colleges on my list, but Brown is so much better, in my opinion. :)</p>
<p>What is your daughter going to major in? Why, if you don’t mind me asking, did she choose American over GW?</p>
<p>Both locations sound good, so I’ll have to really read the schools’ websites. I guess I’ll choose whichever one has more character.</p>
<p>If I can, I’ll apply to both. :)</p>
<p>exultationsy: I’m definitely applying to Georgetown, but I wanted to improve my chances of going to a school in D.C., so I want to apply to GW or American - maybe both. </p>
<p>I think I would get more out of GW, but American is a little easier to get into.</p>
<p>american’s yield rate is extremely low (15%) and they don’t offer much financial aid. the endowment is only $418 million compared to well over 1 billion at GW. just some things to consider. i’d apply to both, but you may well find GW has the resources to offer you a better financial aid + merit package.</p>
<p>and yes, they are tearing down the parking garage, to builld a new $250 million science and engineering hall. while ugly in the meantime it should be worth it. </p>
<p>(i am obviously biased. i went to gw for undergrad, loved it, and am now in grad school there)</p>
<p>GWAlum07: That definitely will influence my decision! Thanks! FA is a huge concern.</p>