<p>We are going to tour GW tomorrow. As everyone knows, GW is very expensive. If my son likes it, I am thinking of sending him to the local community college and then apply as a transfer student if this can be worked out with GW. Is GW $43,000. price tag for just the tuition worth the money? Any thoughts about GW undergrad Business or Accounting program?</p>
<p>It is ranked 38th for best undergrad business by US News and World Report.</p>
<p>Bloomberg rates it 51st.
[Top</a> Undergraduate Business Programs 2010 - BusinessWeek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Not sure how the accounting program in particular is though.</p>
<p>What are your other choices? If money is an issue, perhaps GW is not the best choice. It’s one of the most expensive schools in the country…55K per year when you count room, board and fees.</p>
<p>yes but they also have a great endowment and give great merit aide. something to think about!!!</p>
<p>I told my son one option is to attend the local community college, figure out what he wants to study (kids do change their minds), and then consider GW for the last 2 years for Business school (Accounting). He would have to live at home all 4 years to come up with most of the tuition bills from savings. I don’t think these schools give merit scholarships to transfer students. I cannot afford to pay over $50,000 X 4 years.</p>
<p>mdcissp, I would encourage you to not rule out GW or anything else for your son at this point based on financial considerations. Your son should certainly apply to at least one financial safety (a school that does not have a hypercompetitive admissions scene, where your son would be almost certain to be admitted, where he would be happy attending, and where you can pay the full sticker price for tuition/room and board/fees without any aid), and doing so may well mean that he needs to warm up to your local CC, depending on what your budget is.</p>
<p>But you also never know what will happen with financial aid or merit scholarships. I don’t know how familiar you are with the way those work (probably very familiar if you’re a seasoned College Confidential poster), but you may well qualify for need-based financial aid and there’s a good chance that there is a college out there that would love to give your son a merit-based scholarship, and GW is such a school for many students. GW gives very generous merit scholarships compared to its peers (the BU/NYU/USC crowd) and from what I’ve seen, is usually quite generous with finaid as well and is often willing to hear an appeal of a package if you don’t think that what is initially offered is adequate.</p>
<p>Merit and need-based scholarships can be used towards room and board and fees as well as tuition, so hopefully you and your son will be able to find something that will enable him to have the experience of living on-campus.</p>
<p>Finally, be careful about banking on your son’s opportunity to transfer to GW if he goes to CC for 2 years. It may well be a possibility, but there are many variables involved. Your son may not be accepted to transfer–GW is becoming more competitive with every year. He may no longer want to go to GW in 2 years. His CC credits may not all transfer and meet GW core requirements, forcing you or him to pay for 3 years at GW and thus wipe out some of the savings from going to CC for 2 years. GW may have very few transfer spots available in the year he applies, or none at all. You never know. I know that not everyone agrees with this advice, but I think that you should try and get things right the first time so that you can have a cohesive 4 year experience and not be in a position where you have to transfer.</p>
<p>Your advice is right on, valuable and correct. Thanks so much. My son wants a 4 year school. He does not want to go the local community college, but will consider it. Our difficulty will be having 2 children in college at the same time. It is a lot of bills to pay and I don’t know how understanding GW is of that situation. Perhaps it would be best, if my son likes GW, to apply and see what happens (acceptance and financial aid), before trying the transfer route.</p>
<p>I actually like Salisbury U. very much. The academic programs are right and I thought the staff were wonderful-very nice, positive and a small enough school that my son can develop good relationships with his professors. However, we don’t like the location-a very long drive from our house and not on Amtrak.</p>
<p>Towson is another possibility, but also competitive to get accepted.</p>
<p>I noticed few kids from our local high school going to GW. Most are going to in state schools.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay that much for an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Many kids from my D’s school go there, she loves it. and they give good merit not just needs aid to good students. and they are getting more competative.</p>
<p>I think paying full-freight to GW for any undergrad degree is not worth it. But, if your son loves it, he should apply and he may get enough grants to get that price down. If he looks at the business schools of other private or out-of-state publics, he will find tuition/room and board much, much less than GW.</p>
<p>I feel your pain, cha-ching!! I have one in grad school, one taking a break from cc, but will be back in fall '11, one going to school in fall '11 who will study engineering and has the grades to deserve a great education, and the ‘baby’ who will head out in fall '14. Sooo, three in college and one in grad school on one salary that the gov’t says should cover it all. HA!</p>
<p>We are heavy in the search for engineering schools right now. Our best advise has been 'don’t go broke on your undergrad!. Stay at in state tuition unless you can get merit aid.
If your son has good stats, cast your net wide, see where the acceptance letters come in, and finally who is going to give the best financial aid package. Be up front with your son about what you will pay so he knows what not to get his heart set on (sounds like you are doing this).<br>
The biggest thing is to have a safety that he can really see himself at and enjoying. Love thy safety! You don’t want to feel like you are breaking his heart if everything comes back next April and it’s just too high. If he has picked a ‘financial safety’ that he’s happy with he will not feel so bad. Make sure he visits and is really at peace with it. Too often kids pick a safety and don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. When it comes down to attending because admissions were really tough or aid didn’t come through they panic and wish they had chosen another school. I’m driving my son NUTS right now about a safety.</p>
<p>I hope you have an absolutely awesome visit at GW and hear some great things about promising merit/financial aid!! (hopefully this will make up for the crummy experience at the other school you visited 
).
Best of luck!</p>
<p>No. (ten characters)</p>
<p>I told my D she could not apply to GW. The price tag was too high for their ranking, in my opinion. There are plenty of other choices.</p>
<p>FWIW, tuition at GW is capped at the freshman year rate and does not increase after that. Over four years the cost is not more than at other expensive privates. Financial aid and merit aid can be excellent for some.</p>
<p>roshke is right. there is also no harm in applying and see what happens with the understanding, no merit/FA no GWU</p>
<p>When my DS applied, he applied to many schools very similar to GW, including GW. He got into most of them and got financial aid from all of them. He is my second kid in college right now. </p>
<p>GW had the most generous financial aid by far. It ended up being very reasonably priced and cheaper than the comparable schools. </p>
<p>Many of DS’s friends have even better financial aid packages than DS. Now he wonders why he didn’t get more also. Maybe I could have asked for more but at the time, it was a great offer and I was very happy with it. </p>
<p>So don’t disregard GW. As many other posters have said, you never know what they will offer you.</p>