My daughter is looking at applying to Georgetown’s College of Arts and Sciences. We are looking for a very academic and intellectually rigorous school. We are looking at several LACs, but we think that she would be happier at a bigger school in an urban area, so focusing mainly on schools in the 4,000 - 10,000 range. We are also avoiding overly preprofessional schools such as (no offense intended), Northeastern, Miami, Villanova, George Washington.
I have heard that Georgetown has become more preprofessional in its focus over the recent few years. I know that this is partly due the post Great Recession anxiety that many students now have, which is understandable. I have always thought of GU as an intellectual powerhouse and a school with a strong Liberal Arts tradition. Now, I hear that the Business School is becoming more dominant at the school, with the MSB kids wearing suits to class and all planning to work at Goldman Sachs. Is this all true or is it somewhat of an exaggeration. Thanks.
My student goes to a different business school (undergrad), but they have so many networking opps and alumni events and speakers, that they are encouraged to dress up with business attire on a more routine basis. The first week of classes, my daughter panicked and called asking to send all her professional attire she had left home in her closet. That being said, GU does appear to be focusing on churning out pre-professionals. One of its advantages is that you can apply to its medical and law school at end of Sophomore Year (?)/Junior Year ? and know whether your guaranteed a spot in their professional programs. It helps to ratchet down a lot of the anxiety.
Hi there, I am a current undergrad in the college at Georgetown. To answer your question candidly, yes, Georgetown has become a very pre-professional school. While the university itself may claim to value the merits of a liberal arts education, the student body itself does not. If your daughter hopes to attend a school with a strong liberal arts tradition, I personally would NOT recommend Georgetown.
@londondad Hi I am a current student in the college at Georgetown. I would say that the college, which is georgetown’s largest undergraduate school, is definitely not preprofessional. Obviously the other schools have more of this leaning. The core curriculum of the college I believe helps to discourage any preprofessional mindset. My friends and I talk way more about intellectual matters than we do about our future professions. MSB and NHS (tiny) or much more preprofessional than the SFS. MSB students only wear suits to recruiting events. To class they wear normal clothes. I don’t know where this myth came form. I am extremely happy here at Georgetown. Let me know if you have any questions
In my personal opinion, Georgetown definitely has a pre-professional bent, yes. However, I’d push back on the idea that there is some sort of binary between “intellectual” schools and “pre-professional” schools. Georgetown students are anything but anti-intellectual–but yes, they tend to gravitate toward prestigious, and I’d argue, impactful, opportunities after they graduate, much like students from other elite universities.
@rkw0211 The seeking employment rate for the business school is 8%. Does that seem really high to anyone else? Especially for business, which usually has better placement than average. Recent years it was only 3% for Georgetown so that is actually really high, but they have a higher knowledge rate this year too which makes the data more accurate. Any reason for such a high rate of those still seeking?
A little late to this thread but I think what you mention is an exaggeration. I’m in the College and have found it to be a nice mix of liberal arts and pre-professional. Georgetown’s administration and the deans of the College place a HUGE emphasis on taking a diverse set of courses and fulfilling the extensive liberal arts requirements. Being in DC (or any city for that matter) will lend itself to somewhat of a preprofessional atmosphere because of the availability of internships and opportunities to explore real-world applications of what you’re learning. For what it’s worth, I’ve found that to be much more beneficial than intimidating.