My take on Gtown's campus

JasonHoya · February 25, 2005, 12:02pm

I've seen that many people here see Gtown's campus as not that great, and many that think it's decent. Here's a little evaluation for those that aren't able to visit or are planning to go to the april open houses.

In my opinion, Gtown's campus is decent. You can't really compare it to rural campuses like Cornell, which have tons of space, grass, waterfalls, etc. As far as urban campuses go, I'd say it's third after Penn and Columbia, simply because they have more grass, etc. I remember when I went for my interview last year, and my interviewer said he remembered when Gtown had much more grass, and it was so much better.

The actual buildings of Gtown are in general good(at least inside). Healy, White Gravenor, and Copley are of course the best buildings on campus. You might have a few classes in Healy, and many administrative offices are in Healy, as well as Gaston Hall, where various performances are held. It's really nice when you walk in the right most doors facing Healy to go to Gaston. There are chandeliers, paintings, etc. Really nice.

White Gravenor is an academic building, and it also has the admissions office. The classrooms in WG are pretty good. In general they are kind of big, but not set up as lectures(with tiered seating). If you're taking any psych classes, you'll definitely be in WG.

Copley is an upperclass dorm, and it seems that a lot of freshman request it. It seems pretty nice(i haven't been in any rooms), and Copley formal lounge is really nice(gothic, oxford-ish look).

Harbin(where i live) is the best freshman dorm. Each floor is organized into clusters. Each cluster shares a bathroom and shower room. Each floor has a lounge with a tv/dvd, stove, fridge, sink, etc. The rooms are fairly large. You can bunk the beds and you get even more space.

New South is in the traditional dorm setting, with long hallways, etc. They have lounges as well, with kitchens. Rooms are smaller than harbin, but decent.

Village C is...ok. It is the worst freshman dorm, but it's livable. The rooms are the smallest, however you get a private bathroom(interpret that however you want). Village C floors don't have kitchens.

The Southwest Quad has the three newest dorms. You can live there as a freshman if you apply for special interest housing. SW Quad also has Leo O'Donovan's Dining Hall. It's a pretty large dining hall, with two floors, and rooms for dinners with professors, meetings, etc. There is also a dining hall in Darnall, which is smaller, and only open for lunch and dinner during the week. Some say Darnall has better food. They also play music in Darnall(seems like 90s r&b, at least when we go,lol).

Yates Field House is the gym, and i'd say it's pretty good, though not as good as it can be. It has the track, pool, basketball courts, tons of free weights, machines, and various cardiovascular machines. It's included in the cost you pay(and you can't take that off, it's just part of what you have to pay, just like the phone line), so you should take advantage of it.

The athletic facilities for teams...are not good. You might as well take your high school football field and put it at Georgetown. It's really bad. There are three fields I think, as well as McDonough Gymnasium, where the women's basketball team plays. McDonough is ok i guess. That's where you'll have your Convocation during orientation, as well as where you meet your Orientation group during a pep rally during orientation week. There are also tennis courts outside and i think inside Yates(but I think they put the varsity weight area there in Yates). The men's basketball team plays at the MCI Center, so, it's not that bad(shuttle buses take you to games), and it's kind of cool to go downtown for games, but it still would be good if they could play right on campus. Gtown is looking to build a multi-sport facility, so hopefully that'll be started soon.

Lauinger Library is good. The outside kind of doesn't match with healy, copley and WG, but it's not that bad, as it kind of grows on you after a while.

St. Mary's Hall is where you'll be if you're in the School of Nursing and Health Studies. It has some lecture style classrooms, as well as smaller classrooms where you can arrange the desks in a rectangle for a more intimate class environment. Also, University Information Services is headquartered there. I work for UIS, and that's where you'll go if you have computer problems, need help buying a computer, iPod, printer, etc., to borrow software, to reset your NetID password, pick up a media adapter for certain dorms, and much more.

Intercultural Center(ICC) is where a lot of the language classes are held, as well as history and other "cultural" classes. There's also ICC Auditorium, as well as administrative offices. ICC is pretty nice inside, and it's REALLY easy to get lost(it's one large maze). They have various exhibit type displays, such as Torah scrolls, statues, etc.

Walsh Building is the furthest building. Many theology classes are held there, as well as other departments. The Walsh Black Box is also there, where various theatrical performances are held.

Poulton Hall is where most Mask and Bauble performances are held, at least for now. Gtown is currently building a new Performing Arts Center, which will open this fall.

Reiss Building is where you'll be if you're a bio/chem/comp sci/physics, etc. major, or just taking classes. The science facilities are adequate. There's also the Science Library in there.

The Leavey Center is the student union on campus, as well as holding various offices. It has Sellinger Lounge, where you can go to relax, study, etc., Uncommon Grounds, one of the coffee shops, the bookstore, Vittle Vittles, one of the convenience stores, Hoya Court, which has various fast food eateries(run by marriott), two restaurants(Hoyas and Faculty Club i think), the hotel, the Athletic Hall of Fame, Starbucks, and other facilities i'm forgetting,lol.

There's more, so I'll continue later on. If you have any questions about the campus, freshman life, etc., let me know!

cavalier302 · February 25, 2005, 12:39pm

That's a pretty detailed write-up, jason. I actually really like Georgetown's campus, even though I prefer more suburban/rural campuses. I love the architecture and the surrounding area...honestly, I don't see much to complain about.

babybird87 · February 25, 2005, 12:56pm

Thanks, Jason...

I don't know why people are so down on Gtown's campus though. That was what made me fall in love with it when I visited last year.

citygirlsmom · February 25, 2005, 3:45pm

My D wants to go to an urban school, living out in the 'burbs is not for her. Thanks so much for the imput. We are visting Georgetown at the end of March. We can't wait. One questions, do you have any say as a freshman about dorms...ie, can you beg not to get in village C...or bribe someone....

JasonHoya · February 25, 2005, 4:23pm

thanks guys. yeah, I don't understand why so many people don't like the campus, when for a while on these boards, whenever someone would ask which school has the best urban campus, Gtown would always come up. I think that when the "middle campus" construction is completed, there will be more grass and more to love. They need to finish the performing arts center, and I believe that they are also building a new building to house the business school where the "parking lot"/storage space is by Harbin.

OK, back to my campus overview,lol.

Dahlgren Quad is in the center of Healy(buildings such as New North, Old North, etc., are technically connected to Healy, so I just call it all Healy, lol). It's pretty nice. There's a fountain in the center, trees, a gazebo thing, benches, and Dahlgren Chapel. That's the main campus church. There's also Copley Crypt Chapel.

Village B/Alumni Square is one of a few buildings outside the main gates. It's also an upperclass dorm, and many people want it because a lot of parties happen there. It's not too far(like LXR) but not in the middle of campus.

Village A is also another sought after spot. Although it might not look that great from the outside, it's set up pretty nicely inside, and tons of parties happen there. Just go up to the Village A rooftops on a weekend night, and you'll see lots of people hanging out(and you'll get a nice view of Rosslyn).

Also I forgot to say that behind White Gravenor(or next to, i forgot) is a little pond, and on the other side is a bench with a statue of someone playing chess(forgot who). It's pretty cool, and would make a cool pic if you're sitting there,lol(kind of like the Ben Franklin bench at Penn).

That's about it i think for the major buildings that you'll encounter if you come to Gtown. The campus isn't that difficult to get around, at least after a week. It'll take about >5 mins to go from Yates to Walsh, so it's not too small, but not large. Some people have bikes if they want to get around faster.

So, once again, if anyone has any specific questions about freshman life, feel free to ask me. Maybe later i'll post about life, etc.

JasonHoya · February 25, 2005, 4:27pm

citygirlsmom, unless you have specific health reasons, you cannot request a specific dorm. However, there are ways around it. If you sign up for the Living Well program, then you are basically guaranteed to live in Harbin(though you'll have to sign something that says you agree not to use alcohol, etc. on and off campus, but we all know how strict that is...lol)(no offense to the program or those that actually adhere to it). If you sign up for one of the Living, Learning Communities, you have a pretty good chance of living in the SW Quad which has great rooms, however you'll be one of a handful of freshman in the Quad. So in general, you'll have to pray that you get the dorm that you want.

Dadaist2 · February 25, 2005, 9:16pm

I did not like the campus.
1) Airplanes go over the campus many times an hour.
2) Lots of construction. Yes, its only temporary, and yes, its ugly.
3) Grass is only sort of grass.
4) Christian stuff everywhere. I am NOT saying there is something wrong with that, but it is a constant reminder of the school's heritage for those who are going to the school for non-religious reasons. They play down the religion aspect in their literature, but once you go there its everywhere. Jesuit cemetaries, nativity scenes, you name it. I felt very uncomfortable during my visit. Made me regret applying.
5) The campus is not beautiful. It does have a kind of run down charm.

fiesta_pagana87 · February 25, 2005, 9:49pm

sounds like my kinda of place actually. i would never feel homesick :)

JasonHoya · February 26, 2005, 2:43am

-You don't really notice the planes flying overhead unless you're specifically looking up. Most people have other things on their mind. I didn't even notice the planes until recently, and I was here two summers ago for the summer college. 
-construction is found at many colleges. It's simply something you have to deal with. Not every college has everything it needs, and Georgetown is building new buildings that are needed to better its status in academia
-I agree with you in that I wish there was more grass on campus. However, when the construction is completed, the campus will have more of a "complete" feel, with more grass, walkways, etc.
-Georgetown is a Catholic/Jesuit University. It was founded on Catholic principles, and continues to uphold its Catholic history and background. Look around the website, and you'll always see some statement beginning with "Because Georgetown is founded on Jesuit ideals and principles..." or something to that effect. Over half of the students are Catholic as well, and it holds a major place in American and worldwide Catholicism. Yes, a large number of students aren't Catholic, but that doesn't mean that the University should hide its status by displacing crucifixes, doing away with the Jesuit burial grounds(when many of our professors and past Presidents were Jesuits). Catholicism is important to Georgetown, but it isn't as pervasive as many people think. There are SO many opportunities to get involved in your own religious background, or non-religion. 
-the campus is great in terms of urban colleges. Because there is a large amount of construction going on now, obviously it's not that great around that area, as well as the large amount of storage, trailers, etc. that are needed to carry out this construction. Once this is completed, Gtown will once again look the way it did before. I was here two summers ago before the construction, and the campus was simply amazing, and still is.

JasonHoya · February 26, 2005, 3:06am

Tonyap23 · February 26, 2005, 10:03am

woah wait a second Dadaist2, u have to remember, this is an amazing school built in a city. This is not Cornell, which is in the middle of nowhere, and grass has been growing untouched for years. Why do you think everyone wants to be at gtown? because of its and academics and location. And also, NYU gets 33,000 applications a year,why? because its in the city and the city is where the oppurtunities are.

Secondly, why are you knocking the christian influence? Lets remember that gtown was built because Catholics were not being admitted to the ivy league schools because they were not extremely wealthy and protestant. This is not a public school either, they can do whatever they want. If they want to put a jesuit cementary in the middle of campus, they do it. And if you want to go there then u deal with it.

Tonyap23 · February 26, 2005, 10:05am

I agree with Jason, that campus is amazing

Dadaist2 · February 26, 2005, 2:13pm

Jason and Tonya,

I dont disagree with either of you. Really.
All I'm saying is that certain factors, such as gtown's campus problems and Catholic past are facts of life.
The campus is not stunning, and I agree that its unfair to compare it to rural colleges. But the bottom line is, many campuses are nicer. Gtown loses a point in the campus esthetics department, and gains one for its great location. Thats all I'm saying.
As for the Catholic influence, I never suggested that Jesuits should be ripped from their graves. Once again, I'm only pointing out a fact of life. There ARE applicants who want NOTHING to do with Catholicism or anything of the sort. I think its fair that they know that there will be frequent reminders while on campus. Not to mention the core religion/philosophy classes. Not to mention the Jesuits who live in dorms. Not to mention the section of the students that came for (at least in part), Catholic reasons.
It is played down in their literature and their site, though it is acknowledged.

JasonHoya · February 26, 2005, 3:21pm

Ok.
Yes, I agree that the campus is not stunningly beautiful. However, it has been the case many times(on this website, others, and offline) that Georgetown has been seen as having one of the best urban campuses in the country. The pictures above prove that. 
I don't understand how someone could apply to Georgetown and not expect to be surrounded by Catholicism, whether it be crucifixes in every classroom, the Mass of the Holy Spirit to begin the school year, chapels around campus, graveyards, statues, etc. I don't think I'm understanding what you're trying to say. Georgetown is a Catholic institution, and therefore the everyday life and physical nature of the University reflects that. It is illogical to ask the University to deny part of its history because there are people that want to come here and not find Catholicism all over the place.
However, I just want to make it clear that the Catholicism at Gtown is not nearly as pervasive as many people think, nor is it as pervasive as at other schools, like Notre Dame, etc. However, it is a Catholic institution, and will reflect that. Bluntly put, if you don't want anything to do with Catholicism, don't apply to Georgetown, a Catholic/Jesuit University.
<a href="http://communications.georgetown.edu/facts/jesuitidentity.html%5B/url%5D">http://communications.georgetown.edu/facts/jesuitidentity.html</a>
<a href="http://www.georgetown.edu/home/spirituality.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.georgetown.edu/home/spirituality.html</a>
<a href="http://president.georgetown.edu/welcome.html%5B/url%5D">http://president.georgetown.edu/welcome.html</a>

Dadaist2 · February 26, 2005, 4:28pm

Jason,

Glad we agree on so much.
And you're exactly right, its difficult to understand why someone would apply to Gtown and not expect to be surrounded by Catholicism.

But, people do. Many people do. People interested in politics. People interested in a good education for law school. The list goes on. I was just such a person. And, its not impossible for someone sitting in Nebraska, reading Gtown's literature, to get a slightly innacurate picture of the university.

JasonHoya · February 26, 2005, 4:58pm

yeah i understand what you're saying.(sorry if it seems like i'm a little aggressive, i just like to defend what's mine,lol).

So yeah, definitely there are tons of people that apply for politics, IR, law, health studies, nursing, and other strong points of Georgetown. However, I hope people understand that although this is a Catholic university, and there are elements of Catholicism everywhere, if you aren't Catholic, you won't feel pressured to do things that you don't want to do, participate in Catholic rituals, etc. Many non-Catholics have said that that's one of the great strengths of Gtown as opposed to other Catholic schools. Its Jesuit background also emphasizes the belief that you should learn about many differing beliefs, practices, theories, etc., which is why you can learn about many different types of religions besides Catholicism at Gtown(even to fulfill the philosophy and theology requirements).

calidan · February 26, 2005, 5:53pm

When I visited, the campus/student body seemed very secular to me.

JasonHoya · February 26, 2005, 6:10pm

exactly my point. There are crucifixes, statues, chapels, etc everywhere. We have various special Masses throughout the year(Mass of the Holy Spirit on Healy Lawn to begin the academic year, Masses in Spanish, French, etc.). Vatican officials and other people related to Catholicism speak on campus. However, as I said before, it isn't as pervasive on campus as people think. You literally could go through the year without doing a single Catholic thing. You'll see the crucifixes in the classrooms, etc., but you do not have to participate in any Catholic activities.

zantedeschia · February 26, 2005, 10:18pm

I liked the campus. The cemetary was a bit creepy but the grassy lawns and pretty buildings were nice. And the town is very cute, lots of shopping...

babybird87 · February 27, 2005, 12:53am

The cemetary was the funniest part of my visit. My mom and I were like...whoa...I guess the alumni are really involved...so involved they get buried here too....:)

Also, I am very non religious. But I don't mind religion around me, I'm not so sensitive that I freak when I see a cross.

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