<p>hi; i'm a high school junior looking for colleges, and i'm trying to figure out of georgetown is right for me. i'm interested in a poly sci or IR major, so being in DC would be fantastic. the main thing i'm concerned about is the religious affiliation since i'm not exactly religious (i'm spiritual but there are no religions that really share my beliefs, though they're close to buddhism) and i'm quite liberal (i identify as a hippy and a democratic socialist, if that gives you an idea). i'm looking for a relatively liberal atmosphere, so would georgetown be too conservative for me?</p>
<p>the other colleges i'm looking at are:
swarthmore
pomona
oberlin
grinnell
macalester</p>
<p>how would you say georgetown's atmosphere is, in relation to these schools? do you think it would be a good fit for me? </p>
<p>You would not be out of place at Georgetown, by any strecth. The students there really do run the gamut. A kid from my school who went there was a raging liberal/borderline socialist, and he’s happy as a clam. However, the administration is not as welcoming of alternative perspectives on matters as the student body is in general. Much of the administration still feels it is a strongly Jesuit school and should be treated as such, not for an education. However, the required Theology classes do not, from my understanding, tilt your ideas about religion towards any one faith more than any other, unless you use them to do so, which is entirely within your right as a student. However, by no stretch is it of the same caliber of Swarthmore (or Brown and Reed which were both mysteriously off your list) and are famous for their highly liberal, laissez-faire attitudes.</p>
<p>ok thanks- and actually i do really like brown and reed but neither of them offer arabic, which is really important to me (just realized i forgot to check if gtown does…i’ll check that out now)</p>
<p>Not to push Brown, but it does offer courses in Arabic, just not a full fledged major (though you might be able to design one, in the New Curriculum, funky stuff like that happens rather frequently as I understand it). I mean, you’ll be happy at Georgetown, which does offer an Arabic Major, but it may not be as liberal as you would hope to find.</p>
<p>Georgetown is not going to be too conservative for you. The impact of religion is minimal, and in practical terms is limited to a few reproductive health issues. Looking at your list of schools, and the absence of truly radical schools (e.g., Reed), I think you’d do fine at GU. College Dems are the second largest club on campus (after Hoya Blue, the school spirit organization that you’re essentially a member of by default) and many people identify as socialists/atheists/etc. including a large number of faculty.</p>