My advice as an undergrad: do NOT come to georgetown

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
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Hi all, I just wanted to get my word out there because there are a lot of ugly sides about Georgetown that the tour guides and admissions reps do a good job of hiding. I think it is important and fair before any student decides to commit to this school and start dropping seventy grand per year to attend.

For one, your quality of life as an undergraduate student–especially your freshman and sophomore years–will be pretty bad to be honest. So many kids come here and become severely depressed within their first few months. The dining here is terrible; the food at our one dining hall isn’t very good and the on-campus restaurants are very poorly managed so it takes forever to get your food (sometimes hours). Not to mention that you’re basically forced to have an overpriced meal plan your first two years. On top of that, the freshman dorms are pretty uncomfortable buildings to live in. Whereas you may enjoy suite or apartment style living your freshman year at many other schools, Georgetown freshman dorms are cramped and old. Just about everyone I knew had rodents in their room for an extended period of time freshman year, and the building interiors are gross in general. We even had a facilities worker who had to take medical leave and eventually quit because she became ill due to mold in the buildings.

On top of concrete items like housing or dining, there are more abstract traits of Georgetown that make it a miserable place. In particular, I would argue that for the most part neither the faculty nor the administration care about the mental health of students. We do have a Counseling And Psychiatric Service (CAPS) office that provides mental health services, but it can take weeks to get an appointment. Students are also very competitive with one another–despite what some may say–and the school feels like a pressure cooker as you struggle to stay afloat in the demanding classes.

Another really important issue is that frankly, the administration doesn’t care about its students. It cares about money and PR. Students have practically no streamlined mode of communication with administration, and each year administration places stricter and stricter policies on students, only adding to the pressure cooker environment.

Finally, and this may seem superficial for such a “prestigious” school as Georgetown, but the social life is garbage. There is no university-recognized Greek life, although fraternities with national affiliations exist on campus and serve as a good social outlet. In place of Greek life, there are a couple large organizations that are known for being social outlets. However, these organizations are extremely selective (think >10% acceptance rates, harder than getting into Georgetown), and they’ve come under fire recently for having a complete lack of diversity, to the point of blatantly discriminating against students of color or religious minority groups. If you do like to go to parties, which many kids do at Georgetown, don’t get your hopes up because the cranky neighbors or tryhard RAs are always eager to shut down any gathering whose noise levels exceed a normal inside voice.

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Agree 100%

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Everyone’s experiences with colleges are different. Someone’s dream school may be another student’s worst nightmare. From my friends currently at Georgetown, and from my experiences visiting/staying with those friends, I’ll offer a few counterpoints:

“For one, your quality of life as an undergraduate student–especially your freshman and sophomore years–will be pretty bad to be honest.”

I’ve heard people who have had this experience, but many others who have not. It depends on what you get involved with, and honestly, how much you make of the experience. Georgetown is an environment for people who are outgoing and initiative in their pursuits- opportunities won’t fall in your lap.

“The dining here is terrible; the food at our one dining hall isn’t very good and the on-campus restaurants are very poorly managed so it takes forever to get your food (sometimes hours).”
Many of my friends would agree with you on this- however, they are re-vamping Leo’s for next year, and the sushi at Epi is really good (and quick too- I got an order in 8 minutes).

“On top of that, the freshman dorms are pretty uncomfortable buildings to live in. Whereas you may enjoy suite or apartment style living your freshman year at many other schools, Georgetown freshman dorms are cramped and old. Just about everyone I knew had rodents in their room for an extended period of time freshman year, and the building interiors are gross in general. We even had a facilities worker who had to take medical leave and eventually quit because she became ill due to mold in the buildings.”
Well, if that story is true, that’s a little gross but all the rooms I have been in on visits (and those weren’t just sponsored dorm tours) actually seemed pretty nice. It’s all personal opinion- if you are concerned about dorms, get in touch with a current student and ask them to show you around.

“In particular, I would argue that for the most part neither the faculty nor the administration care about the mental health of students. We do have a Counseling And Psychiatric Service (CAPS) office that provides mental health services, but it can take weeks to get an appointment. Students are also very competitive with one another–despite what some may say–and the school feels like a pressure cooker as you struggle to stay afloat in the demanding classes.”
Never got this vibe from the students I talked to. To give a personal example- a professor gave a faculty showcase at Admitted Students weekend. I emailed her after, asking for help with a presentation I was giving on a similar topic. Not only did she send me the presentation powerpoint, but offered her help with any more questions I might have.

“Finally, and this may seem superficial for such a “prestigious” school as Georgetown, but the social life is garbage. There is no university-recognized Greek life, although fraternities with national affiliations exist on campus and serve as a good social outlet. In place of Greek life, there are a couple large organizations that are known for being social outlets. However, these organizations are extremely selective (think >10% acceptance rates, harder than getting into Georgetown), and they’ve come under fire recently for having a complete lack of diversity, to the point of blatantly discriminating against students of color or religious minority groups. If you do like to go to parties, which many kids do at Georgetown, don’t get your hopes up because the cranky neighbors or tryhard RAs are always eager to shut down any gathering whose noise levels exceed a normal inside voice.”
This really sounds like you just had some bad experiences. I think the club life can work for some people, but not others.

I’m not trying to invalidate your points here- I’m just offering a different perspective to encourage any new/prospective students to do their own research and form their own opinions. If I had listened to CC, I would never have committed to Georgetown, but I’m so happy I did.

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Thanks for sharing. this is good for prospective students to know what it is really like. So many fall for the guided tour presentation and never get to truly know what it is really like.

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Just to say, as a father of a student who absolutely loves it at Georgetown, I hope people take the OP’s views for what they are – one person’s take as someone for whom Georgetown was obviously not a good fit. Yes, some of the facilities need updating – but the dorms actually seem nicer to me than at many other schools we have visited, and the new buildings are hugely impressive. It is sometimes obvious they don’t have as much money to spend as some of their peers, but the students (some, at least) take a perverse pride with that (“We’re a Jesuit university, of course we’re poor!”), and the school has a very strong administration which has focused hard on fund raising in recent years. (It wasn’t something they focused on historically, and as a feeder for people in governmental jobs also didn’t have an alumni base as rich as some of the banker-heavy institutions out there.). Frankly, modern Universities have tipped so far in the direction of coddling their students with virtually hotel-like experiences, that I think where Georgetown comes out is not bad at all. Academically, we couldn’t be happier – he’s incredibly interested in his classes, challenged, and happy with (almost) all of the professors he’s had. Finally, his social life is great – he’s not in one of the super-competitive clubs, but has loads of friends from the ones he is in, as well as friends from his freshman dorm and elsewhere. It seems to be a much more varied social life than one he would have at a frat-heavy school, with plenty of parties on campus mixed together with dinners in town and even a concert or play. Any school won’t be a good fit for all, but for this kid at least it’s a great fit and a special place.

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My heart goes out to the OP and bsadasiva16. It’s no fun to attend a university that’s not a good fit. And no university or college is a good fit for everyone even if it has a 96 percent freshman retention rate as Georgetown does.* Like others on this thread, I do not doubt the sincerity of the OP or question the value of the OP’s comments. I would just gently remind readers of this thread to avoid making what my old logic professor called hasty generalizations or inductive conclusions on the basis of the insufficient evidence any individual poster including myself provides.

We are, after all, the product of our individual experiences. As those individual experiences vary, so too, will the opinions expressed on this thread. My child, for example, believes that the Jesuit ethos of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, is a lived reality, not a platitude, at Georgetown. In fact, she would tell you that she has never had a professor or administrator there who did not treat her with genuine care and respect. My spouse would add that our daughter’s experiences in this regard are more typical of a small liberal arts college than a medium-sized university.

The food at Georgetown could be better, but college food is hardly ever a culinary delight. As another poster observes, improvements are being made to Leos, the campus dining hall. Plus, there’s something like eighteen places where you can buy a meal or snacks on campus beyond Leos.* Then, of course, there are scores of restaurants a short walk or a brief Uber ride from campus. While freshman and sophomores do have to purchase dining plans, my daughter opted for a less expensive plan that offers 14 meals a week, I believe.****

My daughter’s freshman dorm room was not a suite at the Ritz Carlton, but it was as nice as the dorms I visited at Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, etc. And when she put up her favorite posters and added her personal touches, her room looked just fine. Truth be told, the aesthetics of a dorm room pale in significance to the friendships first-year students make with the people on their dorm floor. Dorms get better sophomore and junior year, and seniors typically enjoy living off campus. My daughter has thankfully never had a problem with rodents at least of the four-legged variety.

The Georgetown my daughter describes is collegial, not cut-throat. For example, in many of her classes, a portion of her grade derives from projects she does with classmates. Students compete, but it’s mostly against themselves, according to my daughter. My daughter also enjoys the social life at Georgetown. She likes how Georgetown is not as dominated by the Greek system as Dartmouth and Penn are. The university does not recognize fraternities, but several exist and even thrive. People make friends in all the clubs, not just the most competitive ones.

Depression, of course, is a serious problem, especially at elite universities and colleges. William Deresiewicz, a former Yale professor, observes how high-achieving students at top universities sometimes experience a profound tension between self-worth and depression. Having striven “to do everything perfectly” in high school, these students gain admission to top universities. Yet, this very drive for success can lead to stress that, in turn, may result in depression for individuals when the perfect becomes the enemy of the good in their collegiate lives. It appears that Georgetown takes this problem seriously as it should.*****

Georgetown is not a perfect university, but my daughter is very happy there. Her perspective is one of many possible viewpoints about Georgetown. In fact, I would imagine there are as many perspectives about Georgetown as there are students there. Amidst this subjectivity, however, the objective data point of Georgetown’s high freshman retention rate suggests that the vast majority of Georgetown students find much to enjoy about their lives at Georgetown. Those of you considering Georgetown will have your own perspectives about it. In the final analysis, your point of view matters most.

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Perhaps some of the issues the OP raised have to do with G’town being an urban campus. There is an adage that more access a school has to outside the dining, the worse the food on campus is! So a school like Bowdoin, with not a lot of outside options has great food, G’town a school with hundreds of options nearby has so-so food. GW got rid of its dining hall altogether.

The speed of access to health services at schools, can be related to number of students, so yes at a smaller school an appointment can be got much quicker than at a mid-size to large size school. I know a few G’town students who resort to the local CVS for medical services.

At most urban schools, the community aspect takes longer to build because after all you are in a city and a big part of social life takes place off campus. I know many G’town kids who liked but did not love G’town freshman year because of this slow build, but by the upper class years were very happy and then really appreciated all the city had to offer.

Yes - clubs are competitive at G’town - this can be seen as a drawback, especially for high achieving kids who aren’t used to getting rejected.

There are pros and cons for every school and for urban vs rural vs suburban. It can be hard to figure out exactly what you want before you commit, but it’s important to try to determine which attributes are most important to you and then choose accordingly.

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Hopefully the OP plans on transferring.

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Thank you to everyone who has contributed their replies thus far, I appreciate the friendly feedback. That being said, I would like to gently point out to prospective students who happen upon this thread that of those who contributed to the thread, only two are actually current students at Georgetown (myself and another replying CC member). Additionally, and perhaps not coincidentally, those two are also the individuals on this thread who have largely negative sentiments toward the University; only the family/friends who replied had positive things to say.

While I would in no way intend to discredit the replies made by family/friends on this thread, I think it is perhaps a compelling reflection of the manner in which the University paints a picture of being a happy and vibrant place for those who visit but don’t attend (including parents or friends of students).

Thank you again to the readers/contributors of this thread.

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@guthway makes a fantastic point. And for any prospective students who chance upon this thread, please refer to my thread as well.

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^^This GU economics major would also like to point out that this is a ridiculously small and selective sample. Students displeased with Georgetown are also more likely to bum around on college confidential than actually spend time enjoying what the university has to offer. Perhaps that’s a somewhat ironic thing to say, but as a junior at Georgetown and a person with siblings at other colleges, I will say that your complaints are either overblown or not exactly Georgetown specific. The housing is not perfect but tolerable, the food is fine (and improving), and the things that you will most value about your college experience Georgetown will have in abundance. Georgetown stands out for its dedication to service and for its international focus. We have a few elitist clubs, but the majority of them (and I will argue, the best of them) are open to anyone willing to dedicate themselves to their mission. At Georgetown I have had no issue finding professors and members of the administration willing to hear me out and who have taken genuine care in me as a person. Is Georgetown perfect? No. However, for most students the experience here is what you make of it. I’m sorry you haven’t had the experience you want @bsadasiva16 and I wish you the best of luck going forward, but you do not speak for all of us.

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@guTA I find that most people who post on CC are very “pro” their particular university, though I agree with you that the “sample size” in any case is very small and not at all representative. While I find some people like to bash a particular university, it is good to have a divergence of opinion (which is possibly not always the case on CC).

The real issue is that no two students have the same experience. One may love a particular university, another hate it. Georgetown is interesting. Some students complain about its “religious” orientation and yet I have friends in the Jesuits who complain that it has lost its Jesuit bearings and is now a Jesuit institution only in name. To each his own.

Far better that students have a balanced view than to arrive and be disappointed. This is a problem at all the highly competitive universities.

@guthway Excellent points. Parents can be even more “rah-rah” than their children. As for alumni, fondness grows with distance and time!

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OP - “There is no university-recognized Greek life, although fraternities with national affiliations exist on campus and serve as a good social outlet” This is a good thing!

This is one thing that my DD likes about GU (she is an accepted student). Don’t you realise how toxic and exclusive (based primarily on looks and family money) some frats and sororities in large state Unis are? Also, it is important in the interests of full disclosure that pretty much all of the most exclusive “clubs” at GU are actually paid jobs (tour guides, credit union and Coop) so much of the exclusivity is based on budgets and supply/demand for these jobs. If you can’t join one of these, one could always just join another club such as College Democrats/Republicans or just hang out with your dorm neighbours (I saw all 4 frosh dorms and they are fine by the way compared at what I have seen at similarly ranked schools)

I’m not sure what this big deal is with “club exclusivity” is at GU and neither can my DD. She will most likely join a couple of clubs but otherwise make friends in the dorm and her classes. Working in a campus coffee shop will neither break or make her University experience.

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Honestly, in college, you’re going to meet people with a variety of viewpoints, but nothing would have prepared me for some of the people I would meet at Georgetown. Making friends requires effort. I looked on your previous thread, and it’s not right to accuse someone of being paid off by GAAP and the Blue and Gray Tour Guide Society. Also, with respect to what you said about clubs taking pride in rejecting people, I respectfully disagree with this statement. As awful as your undergraduate experience has been, it’s unfair to label Georgetown as a whole as an awful school. It’s unfortunate that you feel this way, and I wish you well wherever your educational journey may take you.

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As a Georgetown student I couldn’t disagree more with @guthway and @bsadasiva16 . While I’m sorry that they’ve not had pleasant experiences at Georgetown, they certainly don’t speak for all or even the vast majority of students. No, Georgetown isn’t perfect. But I’ve had an incredible time here, taken amazing classes, and made fantastic friends. I’ve joined some fun clubs (not including Blue and Grey or the Corp) and never felt like the administration didn’t care about me. Could the food be better? Yes (although they’re redoing it) and the housing is perfectly fine. Don’t let two disgruntled students completely ruin your perception of the school. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience here.

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Your username is HoyaBlueGray but you claim not to be a member of the Blue and Gray tour guides association? Lol

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I’m not a member of the tour guides. Blue and Gray are school colors and I thought of them when making my username that’s all. You can believe I’m lying if you want but I have no incentive to mislead anybody. I’m only one student, sharing my opinion as my Georgetown experience has differed highly from your experiences.

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I want to push back against some of this, as an alum and as someone that had my own share of difficulties and problems at Georgetown. I’ll address each point with my own 2cents and then I’ll throw in ways we can work through these difficulties.

  1. Georgetown is really expensive and oftentimes it does not seem like you are getting what you paid for. I happen to agree with this 100%. Georgetown is extremely expensive and profligate with your money. You shouldn't be happy about this state of affairs and you should try and fight back against it. A Georgetown degree nevertheless can be worth quite a lot (I'm on track to pay back my student loans with just another year), but it requires planning and some knowledge of what you want to do with the main resources Georgetown provides. So many people are not happy at Georgetown because they were somewhat aimless and didn't really know what they wanted to do. I happened to fall into this boat. It's fine not to know what you want to do at Georgetown, but I would suggest just doing something to as many things as possible at the beginning. I was rejected from about 50 clubs my freshman year. I know the feelings of inadequacy only too well. You just have to persevere and find out what you are interested in. With some hustle, you'll find a way to make it work in DC.
  2. The food. It really isn't that bad and is getting better. From someone that came from a home where hearty food wasn't always a given, I have always found a lot of complaints about Leos food completely overblown. Can you demand more for your money? Yes, but you all are getting a Chik Fil A next year. The admin is listening to you guys. The Freshman dorms do kinda suck, that is true. Housing gets much better afterwards though.
  3. Mental Health is a big issue. Keeping positive when your classmates seem to be doing so much better than you and getting accepted to more clubs and getting better grades and having more fun on the weekends sucks. I've been there. I know the university tries with CAPS, but it is woefully funded and I can;t speak to any experiences with them because I never went, but know that there are other people on campus who will lend an ear if you reach out. If you try and find a passion or get involved in the city, I think things will get better. Taking time to relax, focus on yourself, and understand that what other people do really should not matter to you helped me a lot.
  4. Yeah the admin is a black box that is totally unresponsive to students. I'm not sure if this is really different at other colleges, and in general, it never really affected my studies, and I can only hope it'll be the same for everyone else. I'm aware that might not be possible though.
  5. The social life at Georgetown really is not that bad. Fraternities are awful in my opinion and the rise of sororities on campus I saw is contributing to the breakdown of equitable social life on campus, so actively fighting their pernicious influence is something Gtown must do a better job of. That being said, there are about 300 different clubs on campus, and only about 12 of them have anything resembling competitive admissions. You will find something if you put yourself out there and trying again and again is not a bad thing. The President of Hilltop Consultants a few years ago only joined spring sophomore year and was rejected a few times. The head of the Model UN team was rejected from every conference his Freshman year. While the Credit Union and the Corp have awful hiring practices, not all clubs are like them, which I know for a fact, and if you look hard, I know you will find something you like.

If you truly are not happy at Georgetown, you should look to transfer and find a place that will make you happier and more successful in the long run. But I think Georgetown has a lot to offer if you look for it and know that there are people who do care at the school. I’m not convinced the issues Georgetown has are endemic to Georgetown itself.

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My son goes to Georgetown and had the grades after his first year to transfer if he wanted. My wife and I “politely suggested” it but he would have none of it. He loves Georgetown. And he is the shy, quiet type. He has made some very strong friendships but has also burned through friendships. Because Georgetown doesn’t have fraternities, I think the friendships come from clubs where students share similar interests. Where he has made friends in dorms or classes, etc., he loses touch each year. But friends made in clubs are his closest. He certainly complains about Leo’s but is excited that Chick-fil-a is coming. And he gets a little jealous when he sees pictures of his high school friends’ dorms at the state schools with their huge rooms and water parks, but I think it is like Las Vegas–you aren’t spending that much time in your room anyways. (And yes, he says there is a rodent problem). My son has lots of personal interaction with professors. Even after the spring session ended, he has had professors texting him at home this summer recommending documentaries to watch or just asking what he was up to and wishing him well. He has had fantastic work opportunities where he has made incredible connections that I don’t think he could have gotten anywhere else. Like others have said, it is what you make of it. But also, it costs a buttload of money and so if you aren’t happy there, or if you aren’t sure it would be good fit, definitely look elsewhere.

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“My son goes to Georgetown and had the grades after his first year to transfer if he wanted. My wife and I “politely suggested” it but he would have none of it.”

I’m curious, why did you suggest that he transfer? Thanks.

“And he gets a little jealous when he sees pictures of his high school friends’ dorms at the state schools with their huge rooms and water parks”

I am sure that you realise, however, that those amazing dorms at State U. are for freshmen only and by Thanksgiving these kids are scrambling around to rent a decent house for sophomore year in Hicksville!