@hdsing first of all, congrats! Welcome to the Hoya family.
Georgetown definitely isn't perfect in terms of protecting free speech but in general it won't affect your daily life. What those articles are generally referring to is things like the student group Hoyas For Choice isn't recognized by the school because they're pro-abortion and provide contraceptives to the student body and Georgetown is a Catholic school. Those groups are still allowed to table in "free speech zones" like Red Square, they're still a very influential presence on campus, and honestly, for the vast majority of people, free speech isn't really a problem.
Probably the number one internship here is to intern with a congressperson on Capitol Hill. Because there's a lot less competition during the year, many students do it then, but a congresspeople also like Georgetown students and the name carries quite a bit of weight. It's also popular to intern with NGOs, think tanks, transnational organizations like the OAS, embassies, the State Department, DOJ, etc. There's definitely no shortage of opportunities since you're in Washington.
So Greek life isn't really a thing here. There are unofficial frats and sororities that aren't recognized by the school but they make up a tiny fraction of the social life. Your social life more revolves around clubs which are the ones that throw parties, have outings, host events, etc. You absolutely don't need to party or drink to have a social life here. I have friends who don't drink but go to parties and nobody cares. I have friends who just don't like partying so we go out into DC or grab dinner or see a movie, whatever. You can make lots of friends and still have a social life, even if you're not a huge partier.
Average class size, especially your first couple years will be a mix. My first semester I had a 300 person introduction to microeconomics class and a 12 person freshman seminar. In general, seminars and language classes will be smaller (10-20) people and as you're in the SFS, you're guaranteed to have at least a couple of those. Your history, IR, philosophy classes will be bigger lecture classes (~100-150) people but you will have a TA and a recitation section once a week again with a max of 20 people. And then your biggest classes will be your intro economics lecture classes with (~300) people but you will once again have a TA and a weekly recitation. Classes are very rarely taught by TAs with the exception of their weekly recitation/discussion sections. All professors host office hours and they tend to be pretty accessible and interested in talking with students. Obviously some more than others but I remember after the election I went to my proseminar professor and we just talked about the election for a solid 45 min. Had nothing to do with his class but he just really wanted to be a resource for his students.
There are a ton of study abroad opportunities. Apparently about 70% of the SFS goes abroad. There are a ton of different options to choose from although you should be aware that as an SFS student, if you have not completed proficiency by the time you go abroad, you have to go abroad to a country that speaks the language that you are studying. The Office of Global Education is pretty good though about finding programs that are interesting to you and if you find one that you like but Georgetown doesn't offer, a lot of the time you can get it approved by them and go anyways.
My favorite part about Georgetown is just how global and political this place is. As an SFS politics nerd, this is my heaven. Many of your professors have worked in the government and have personal experience as advisors or diplomats. There are so many speakers, like for example, today Hillary Clinton is coming to campus. There are so many internship opportunities and your classmates are some of the most worldly people I've ever met. And then there's just experiences that you won't get anywhere else but Georgetown. For example, my freshman proseminar was about the people and politics of Australia and New Zealand. Since my professor knew the ambassadors of both countries, we had the New Zealand ambassador come into class and speak to us and we got to go over to the Australian ambassador's house for dinner and a personalized conversation. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
Hi, I was deferred EA and then waitlisted RD, and still plan to put myself on the waitlist with the hope of going. It might be a bit late for me to be asking these questions but I’d love to hear your opinions:
Is the overall area (Georgetown neighborhood) cost of living high/higher than average? I've heard a lot that Georgetown, being an upper class college town, tends to be pricey in terms of food, shopping, etc that is nearby. I certainly got the impression that there were upper end stores in the downtown area but would you say overall it's affordable?
I've heard through a mutual acquaintance that people who aren't in anything politics-related as a major aren't very happy there. What I've seen of Georgetown's biology department seems very strong, but would you say that people who are in the sciences at Georgetown are unhappier and find it less successful than students who take part in SFS/economics/international relations/etc?
Georgetown is of course known for having many application-only clubs, but are there any which are not so exclusive to join? I know the Blue and Grey, the Hoya, etc are all hard to be accepted to, but my personal interest lies much more in community service clubs and environmental groups. Are those more accessible and do they also use the same application process as the more exclusive clubs? Or would I be able to join easily?
That’s all I have for now, I think. Thank you very much!
Hello! I was admitted RD and will most likely be attending. I have a question about the food–is it true that there is only one dining hall, and the food isn’t good at that dining hall, and as a freshmen you’re forced to buy a 14 meal per week meal plan? If I go to Georgetown, I’ll be turning down UCB and UCLA which both apparently have great dining hall food…so I’ll be a bit sad if this is the case. Also, is there any good asian food in that area? I’m currently living in Shanghai so asian food will be something I miss next year since I eat it every day
Another question–do you know anyone doing work study while at Georgetown? And how is that working out for them?
@hoyabluegray Thank you so much for that incredibly elaborate answer! It’s really exciting to see how passionate Georgetown students are about their school (you too @badyork).
I have some other questions to ask, this time a bit more on the academic side.
What would you say is the best class you've been in and who is the best professor you've studied under in your time at Georgetown?
Do you come across people at SFS who may have realized that they aren't as interested in IR as they used to be? What happens to them? I'm currently pretty into IR, but I don't know if I want to commit fully - I have concurrent interests in education and public policy and law. Would you suggest that I still go ahead with SFS?
Does going to Georgetown affect one's chances of getting into the Foreign Service/Department of State? In what ways? What sort of jobs do SFS alumni do if they don't go into the Department of State/Congress?
Hello all. Just sent off my deposit and signed and sent off my honor code pledge. I am so excited and feel honored to have been accepted. I have a zillion questions and I’m sure when I visit that beautiful campus at the end of May my Hoya pride will not be contained.
I’ m undeclared as far as major, but I’m very interested in neuroscience. What is the reputation of Georgetowns neuroscience dept. And science in general. Also interested in constitutional law. If I do neuroscience as an undergraduate degree how will that affect my chances at law school admission. I’ve heard conflicting opinions.Some say they value degrees outside of the usual and some say they just look at GPA and not the degree. Any advice?
@badyork I just have a question about the premed program. I know that there is a premed track of 120 kids every year. My DD may have an interest in medical school down the road (she goes back and forth on this issue) although she will most likely double major in a humanities subject and a science (probably bio or neuroscience). Would she be able to avail herself of premed advising if she is not technically on the premed “track”.
On a different topic, DD is in the College but is interested in possibly taking a couple of courses in SFS. Is this possible and are these courses difficult to sign up for? Thanks.
@ibananamonkey Yeah there is only one dining hall, Leo’s, and currently the food isn’t that great. You are forced to have a meal plan if you don’t have a kitchen (e.g. if you’re a freshman or a sophomore) because it’s basically their way of guaranteeing that you are eating. That being said, they’ve completely redone the dining contract for next year and they’re changing the structure of the dining hall a lot. The top level will be basically a bunch of different “store fronts” which you can get meal exchanges from and the bottom will remain all you can eat. They’re also adding a Chik-fil-A and a bunch of different other restaurants on campus which you can also do meal exchanges at. So right now it’s not fantastic but hopefully next year it will be a lot better.
I’m from the Bay Area and I’m also half Asian so having good Asian food is definitely important to me too haha. There’s a lot of good Asian options nearby, ranging from Thai to Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, etc. DC has a lot of great restaurants and there are also just a lot of Asian restaurants in the Georgetown/Rosslyn area to choose from. Don’t worry!
I know a lot of people doing work study at Georgetown. It’s pretty normal, a lot of people do it and there’s a lot of choice as to what you can do. I have friends working as student guards, in admissions, in the library, with little kids in DC elementary schools. It works fine and it’s usually pretty flexible and easy to manage on top of school.
My favorite class so far has been my freshman proseminar for the SFS. They're each on very specific topics ranging from Global Pathways to Water. They're highly individualized and you get to know the people in your prosem and your professor really well. The professors do a really good job in that class of helping ease the transition to the SFS and the topics are something that they're passionate about so the class is usually super engaging. Mine had a lot of really amazing and influential guest speakers and trips. They're a really great aspect of the Georgetown SFS experience. Most professors are good, just look at Rate My Professor (but take it with a grain of salt) when choosing classes.
I would still go ahead with the SFS just because it's not like every single thing you do in the SFS will be international relations related. I mean within the International Politics major there are law specializations and policy specializations. The SFS is really what you make of it. While of course there is a heavy international focus, you can absolutely focus on things like law, education, and public policy within the SFS and many, many, many people do. You will study all those things within SFS classes anyways and getting a degree from the SFS doesn't lock you into a career as a diplomat or anything like that. Many SFS grads go on to be lawyers, policy makers, teachers, etc. I would say the SFS is actually probably the best school at Georgetown if you want to study those things just because they figure so prominently in our study of IR. But if you really decide that the SFS isn't the place for you, you can also always transfer within Georgetown to the College.
So Georgetown is the number one feeder school to the Foreign Service and many Hoyas do complete internships in the Department of State or go onto to work for the State Department after they graduate. You do have an advantage simply because you're in DC, you go to one of the best undergraduate IR schools in the world, and Georgetown (and the SFS in particular) has a certain "brand name" within IR circles. That being said, State Department/Foreign Service is not what the majority of SFS grads do by any means. Many go on to law school, masters degrees, academia, or business school. About a third will become consultants directly out of college. Others work for NGOs, lobbying groups, transnational organizations (such as the UN or NATO), the White House, Congress (as congressional aides or even potentially congresspeople), politicians, entrepreneurs, law firms, teaching, DOJ, FBI, CIA, etc, etc, etc. SFS grads do everything and there is no one typical path. Because the SFS teaches you to think and see the world with an international perspective, SFS grads are in demand from almost every sector. The only limit really is what you want to do.
@londondad So I’ll let @badyork answer the premed questions since he seems to have much more experience on with premed than I do but as for the SFS courses, the short answer is yes she can although it might be tricky. Essentially, there are very few classes which are truly meant for SFS students alone (e.g. Map of the Modern World and some language classes). With language classes, there’s no need to really be in an SFS class because the only difference would be that the SFS version is more focused on preparing students to pass the mandatory proficiency exam that College students don’t have to take. She could take a regular language class and be totally fine. With regards to courses like Map of the Modern World it sort of depends on the professor. I have a few friends who are not in the SFS and taking Map of the Modern World for fun right now but they had to go to their deans and the professor and ask to be let into the course. Most of the time the professor and the deans will say yes but it might require a little fighting on your daughter’s side. Again though, there really aren’t that many classes that are closed to non-SFS students so she should be fine and if she really wants to be in one and fights for it, most of the time she’ll be able to do so.
@snicks1234 Congrats on being accepted and an early welcome to the Hilltop!
So @badyork can probably tell you more about the sciences but Georgetown has a strong science department in general and it’s definitely well respected. As for doing an undergraduate neuroscience degree with law school., I would say that while I don’t think it will hurt you I also don’t think it will help you. I think admissions committees, if anything, might think it’s unusual but to be honest, your grades, your interests, etc will probably matter just as much if not more than your major. It will also depend on the law school. The thing about law school admissions is that there isn’t really an official pre-law track in the same sense that there’s a premed track. There are pre-law clubs here on campus and the Career Center has a pre-law advisor but there aren’t required courses for law school admission the way there are for med school admission.
@hoyabluegray Thank you for the welcome. I figured that might be the case. I do believe that I will be decided early enough to set my path to one or the other. I’m very excited to begin my journey . I know that the opportunities that will be there for me to explore are so plentiful that I will have no trouble in the choosing. Thank you for your helpful reply.
@hoyabluegray it’s nice to know that there will be more options next year! Thanks for the response. Also, before I moved to Shanghai, I lived in the Bay Area too and I’m also half-asian! The world is a small place.
One other question. Can you provide more info about freshman housing? When I did the tour (which was almost 4 years ago when my son was looking), I recall the tour guide saying that there was a kind of friendly rivalry between the freshman dorms but I got the impression that the frosh dorms were all similar quality and location (the campus is after all fairly small) the dorm assignments were assigned randomly and everybody was in a double room. Also, I assume that the dorms are all single sex (or am I confusing GU with ND)? Thanks.
@londondad So basically housing is randomly assigned your freshman year. There are four freshman dorms and although they’re mostly very similar, there are small “quirks” to each one. For New South, it has sinks in each room which is super nice because it means you don’t have to go to the bathroom to get a glass of water, brush your teeth, or wash your face. It’s a coed dorm. Harbin has a cluster style system where four rooms (eight people) all share a bathroom in a sort of enclave off the main hall. As a result, people get super close to their clusters. The clusters are single sex but the dorm itself and the floors are generally not. I think there might be one all girls floor? Darnall is the farthest dorm although it’s still relatively close because like you said, the campus is small. Its “quirk” is that it has a 24/7 restaurant on its bottom floor called Epi. It’s also coed. And finally Village C West (VCW) have their own bathrooms in every dorm room although the rooms are generally pretty small as a result and they have to clean their own bathrooms! They’re also coed although I think there’s one all guys floor? Everybody lives in a double except for some very rare exceptions (usually medical or otherwise). There’s a bit of a friendly rivalry because everybody likes to think that their freshman dorm is the best but they’re basically all very similar.
Daughter is currently a Junior and after an extensive college visit schedule over spring break (looked at 8 schools in 1 week) has decided she wants to attend GT Fall '18 as a nursing student. Far and away her #1 choice after looking at UVA, UNC CH, Emory, and Duke (no traditional BSN). She took the ACT in December and didn’t do as well as she had hoped (I should mention she had mono at the time but schools won’t know that) and was intending to take it again this Saturday with hopes of raising her score (highly likely). We learned during the info session that GT requires all scores be submitted and suggested to DD that she wait until the fall and spend the summer test prepping as well in an effort to raise her score even higher. Would you agree this is the best approach for testing? A college planner I follow on-line suggested students take the ACT as many times as possible as exposure to it will more than likely improve their score. I am afraid that approach would dilute any improvement in the eyes of an admissions counselor. Thoughts? Does GT prefer the SAT over the ACT? Daughter prefers the ACT and feels she does better on that type of test.
@maresc Georgetown really doesn’t have a preference SAT over ACT. I took the SAT but most of my friends took the ACT. It really depends on what you’re comfortable with. Most schools do require all scores to be submitted and Georgetown is no exception but they usually expect you to take it multiple times anyways. I would generally advise not taking the ACT more than 3 times though so it’s really up to you and your daughter to decide how you think those attempts would be best distributed. I don’t think more studying can really hurt though so I would be inclined to suggest you wait a little bit and have her study more before trying again. Don’t forget Georgetown also requires 3 subject tests so she should also start thinking about how she wants to do those!
