I’ve gotten into other schools including the University of Florida on a full ride. Is GW worth it if I’m looking to go into something related to law/politics/policy?
I’d say it depends on what you’ll have to pay to go to GW. I ended up paying about $30K for all 4 years at GW and think that was the most I should have paid. GW carries a heavy price tag, and unless you’re going into a career path where you’ll be making a lot of money within a few years, a lot of student loans just aren’t worth it. Depending what career you find yourself in, you might only be making $50-60K to start. If you stay in the D.C. area, that’s not a lot of money. Tack on $350-700/mo in student loan payments, you’ll be feeling the pinch.
it depends on how much you are paying at GWU. if you know for fact that you want to do law/politics/policy, then GW absolutely blows U of F out of the water. you will have a noticeable head-start over your peers competing in similar fields because of the internships and professional opportunities available to you in DC.
if GW did throw you a little something something, and you don’t have to take on too much debt, i would say GW would be worth the extra initial investment. however, if GW didn’t give you any money, and you’re not from the richie rich family, then i would have a serious talk with mom and dad about whether they are willing to support the cost of your undergrad education.
I agree with NHuffer, I’ma GWU grad and I love GWU, but it’s not worth going into heavy debt for a name brand school if you have a full ride elsewhere. College is what you make of it and you’ll have lots of good opportunities at any good college. My son went to the least expensive undergrad college he got into and now he’s got a full ride to a top grad school. Zoidberg has a point too, in that internship opportunities abound in DC, but you can probably get some of those in the summer anyway if you keep a good eye out and apply for internships often and early. Good luck.
UF is higher ranking than GWU. Take the scholarship and do an exchange semester Washington.
GW is not worth it imho if your debt is above a low threshold. If you want a Washington internship then start looking now. It’s not that hard Someone from Florida is working in DC and you can network in. OR! Get into the government of Florida and see if you can network into DC that way.
GW is notorious for how it played the USN&WR rankings–and built itself on the backs of its student debt. It’s not that you can’t get anything from GW (or Northeastern, which also played this game and a lot of other schools like Chicago and Vanderbilti in different iterations but basically the same thing) but you will have debt. This is how GW structures it’s game. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/education/edlife/how-to-raise-a-universitys-profile-pricing-and-packaging.html?_r=0
DC’s major industries are government, military, and think-tanks. You start looking Day 1 from your not-so-expensive perch in Florida to find that first internship. Say hello to the career office and alumni network databases. No worries, you will get one. Start the networking now. Hi! May I have an informational interview? I just need ten minutes. Thank you so much ( and don’t forget your thank you notes – hand written). At interview: where do you see someone like me in government? I’m qualified in Xyz. They tell you two or three of their friends who are doing XYZ in DC. you say: oh, do you think it would be okay for me to contact them? Etc. until you get your job. keep a roladex or list on your phone about whom you’ve met. Keep contact with them. This is how you will rise in politics and any other position. Whenever you can, see them for lunch or coffee or just send an email.
For law, you can major in ANYTHNG. And then go on to a law degree. 1) excellent grades. 2) excellent LSATS; 2) some sort of expertise, which you build from your interest, whether that’s arts or prisoner’s rights–medicine, engineering, Japanese studies. It doesn’t matter. You build that expertise and have the other stats, you can gain entrance to a great law school.
For what major?
Is GWU within budget for your parents (they can pay for it without loans)?
@collegegirl61 My daughter received more money from a few other schools but was accepted to her #1 pick, GW-Elliott (University Honors Program). She did receive the Presidential Academic Scholarship which was a little less than the others but enough. The value of the DC location (and my being able to use my 401K for college without having to pay the 10% penalty) was a huge deciding factor (I’ll retire with a government pension and no debt in less than two years).
@collegegirl16, @HappyFace2018, my son also rec’d more money from other schools, but decided on GW because of the location and his interest in International Relations. I agree he could get an excellent education elsewhere for less money, but not sure I agree it would be a comparable experience, as @Zoidberg93 says. Many would argue that it’s not worth borrowing money for college. In our case, we’ve lived frugally for many years while our neighbors drive cars equal to GW tuition and send their kids to state schools. It has to be a personal choice.
Gainesville is an excellent university. Historically it has been well funded, has good resources and attracts excellent students. GW puts a lot of resources into moving up the ratings but the chance in ratings may not be reflected in an improved university. But even so, Gainesville’s ratings across most different rating systems are higher.
@efinand Absolutely agree!! I made the same comment on another thread. I’ve watched kids emotionally disintegrate upon learning that they can not attend a school they’ve worked so hard to gain admission to. Gut wrenching 
@lostaccount You are correct regarding UF academics (my dear friend and her husband are graduates and they have two sons attending) with one exception…UF does not offer a degree in International Affairs. UF offers a degree in International Studies. While IR and IA are interchangeable terms they are very different from International Studies. “Inside the Ivory Tower” is a ranking of the top university graduate and undergraduate programs in IR. The ranking is produced by TRIP at the College of William and Mary and published by the magazine Foreign Policy. GW is consistently ranked in the top ten (As is American University) for the undergrad and master’s programs. The Ph.D program was ranked #19 in 2014. University of Florida did not make the list…
@HappyFace2018, I know it’s not always a popular opinion, and the media seems to be really latching onto the idea that good schools are not that great. Everyday it seems I read an article implying we’re making a huge mistake by encouraging and now allowing our son to go to an expensive school in an expensive city. I have to disagree and am very glad he took it upon himself to work hard and try his best to attain this dream and get a fantastic scholarship. Yes, it will still be expensive, but he understands that and really, really wants it. I am confident he will continue his hard work. Had he been told that all his hard work in HS was pretty much a waste and he was going to a school that was ‘good enough’ I’m not convinced he would be entering college with the same attitude he now has. This boosts his confidence, gives him a goal (get a good job to pay off the loans!!), energizes him, and lots of other intangibles. Is he spoiled? Maybe, but we’ve never spoiled him with possessions, just with education, so when I hear we’re ‘doing it wrong’, I get mildly annoyed.
Are you planning to attend CI? Which session?
@efinand I realize your son already made his decision so what I’m about to say isn’t intended to change his mind. I will say it for others that are reading this now or will in the future. You said your son said, “Yes, it will still be expensive, but he understands that and really, really wants it.” I don’t think that 18 year olds are capable of truly understanding the impact and burden of student loan debt post graduation. They think “in the now” and want to get what they want. Me? I had the same problem as a 23 year old. All I knew was that I wanted to go to GW- at any cost. At first, I was willing (if a bank allowed me) to take out loans for the entire tuition amount (it was $53K/year at the time). I can tell you that if I would have done that, I don’t think I’d survive in the real world. That’s just way too much debt.
Now, with that said, what can be done to help students realize the impact of debt is to make them write a post-graduation budget. You can estimate how much debt you’ll be in after learning of your first year’s financial aid package. With that total debt you can find calculators online to say how much monthly payments will be. THEN, figure take-home pay from an average salary (assuming D.C. for this example) of $55K/year (depending on taxes, should be around $1,550 every two weeks). Take away the amount for the loans (HAVE to pay those no matter what), cell phone bill (everyone has a cell phone), food (be realistic in what they’ll spend), transportation, health insurance, clothes, entertainment (Netflix, going out with friends, etc)… and after all the little ones are all added up, see what he/she will have left to spend on rent. As an adult, parents can tell their students what to expect (or look it up on rent.com or a similar site). Point being: depending on how much debt a student accrues, they are doing themselves a HUGE disservice if they can’t even afford the basics after graduation. Sure, 4 years at a dream school sounds awesome, but what about the rest of your life when you have to live with roommates because you can’t afford rent, can’t go out with your friends as much as they do, and can’t put away money for savings?
Again, I only wanted to point this out because it seems no one stops to think what the true cost of education is. They only think about what they want and will do whatever they have to to get it. I’m incredibly thankful that one of my personal loans fell through, forcing me to find help elsewhere (I received more aid from GW) otherwise I would have gone into way more debt than I would have been comfortable with later on.
@efinand We have received the “finger wagging” from many of our friends because our daughter did not apply to the flagship state school. Most of the students from our school who applied receive close to if not a full ride. Here’s the thing, GW’s ESIA, internship opportunities (#1) and location can’t be beat. The first thing we get is “oh who that’s a pretty penny” because they instantly believe that everyone will be paying loans until the skin falls off their bones. We’ve been driving one car, maxing out our 401K contributions and living credit card debt free for a long time to make this happen. I even got the old “you are crazy…I’d make her go to the state school no matter what her major is…she’ll just have to figure it out”. Really?
We will not be able to attend any of the CI’s because she will be working at an out of town Christian summer camp from the day after graduation until the end of July. She’s already met with her University Honors Program advisor (via Skype) regarding her schedule and 4-year plan. She also got her six together (5 roommates including her). She’s chosen Foggy Bottom instead of The Vern for her Honors housing. She is so excited and we are so proud of her!
@NHuffer, I totally get that. As I’ve mentioned, we are frugal people. Like @HappyFace2018, we do not incur credit card debt, we max out our 401ks and my car is a 2003. We do not take on debt lightly, but I agree many, many do and your words are very wise and we agree.
“… Had he been told that all his hard work in HS was pretty much a waste” Hard work in high school is never a waste. The goal of that hard work ought to be to learn well for life so you grow into the educated adult that you have the potential to become; Not to get into a certain college.
@lostaccount, you’re right, my words were too strong. I was really expressing his 18-yr old thoughts, not my own opinions. And not saying they’re appropriate. Believe me, this isn’t all about getting into the right college. That’s sort of my whole point–that we’re trying to look beyond college to the opportunities that living 4 yrs in DC might provide.
just to clarify, i wasn’t saying that it’s impossible for someone from florida to get a DC internship. however, i do want to emphasize that students at GW have a significant advantage in attaining good internships, particularly during the fall and spring semesters. given its location, GW students are really only competing against students from georgetown, umd, american, etc. for top internships…that’s a relatively small pool to compete against. compare that to the summer internship window, where you are competing with everyone from every single university from the ivy leagues right down to east kentucky state. that’s a massive pool to compete against, especially for what are typically unpaid internships that do NOT usually offer housing accommodation. that’s not something GW/DC students have to worry about, since they’re already living in DC. (regardless, the DC advantage seems to rub off on the summer too; for example, GW will have the largest intern cohort of any university at the White House in summer 2016.) of course, i have come across SEVERAL students from non-DC universities interning during the academic school year…but these students must take the equivalent of a “semester abroad” or even take a semester off in order to intern in washington. also, this is purely anecdotal, but exactly zero of the non-DC students i’ve encountered interning in the fall/spring cycle have attended universities that weren’t ivy league or top 25.
if you are fortunate as a UF student, you probably will graduate with a solid degree and have 1, maybe 2 solid summer internships under your belt. that’s nice and all, but if your goal is to work in government or something related, you will be competing against DC students who will have (1) similar academic credentials, (2) upwards of 4 or 5 quality internships in some cases (some of my Elliott colleagues substantially exceed that), (3) a plethora of DC connections through professors, employers, and other students/alumni who predominantly work in similar fields, and (4) the advantage of having played the dc “professional game” for 3-4 years and knowing how to navigate available opportunities.
my point is this: it is more than feasible to lock down a solid DC internship from florida. many people have done it. however, objectively speaking, GW is unambiguously superior to UF for bolstering your resume with professional internship experience (from a financial, ease of access, and overall feasibility perspective). it is up to you and your parents to decide whether these benefits are worth the cost. i don’t know what type of aid package you got, but these opportunities are certainly not worth going into 6 figure debt if you didnt get any aid. however, if we are talking about a full ride vs a manageable amount of debt, i would say it is worth strongly considering taking on that bit of debt for the return on investment you would get. good luck