<p>does the sfs have a higher name recognition amongst employers and grad schools than the college. also, is it noticeably harder to get in?</p>
<p>Yes, SFS is more prestigious than the college, and though it may have a similar acceptance rate as the college, the applicant pools is more self-selective.</p>
<p>I would say SFS is more prestigious for being the best of its kind and what Georgetown is known for... for everything else, not really... self-selective is objective... I'd say the college is self-selective as well... as far as SFS being more "self-selective," is like the difference between a 770 and an 800 on the SATs...</p>
<p>it's not about which one is better...
SFS is kind of like Slytherin and the College is more like Gryffendor.
maybe i'm biased.
goankit, you're really looking at this the wrong way... it's more about want to do or what you know you want to do. if you want to go into international relations, it's a no brainer - go to the school of foreign service. if you're not sure what you want to do and want a more diversified course load - go to the college. no matter what school you're in you're going to have a serious workload and get a great education. i would talk to someone in each school during the tour. the main point is georgetown is an awesome school no matter what school you're in. they're both difficult schools and odds are you won't get perfect grades. if you're already looking towards grad school and employment, schools and employers look at your GPA as well as the name of the school on your diploma. figure out your interests and work hard no matter what school you're in and you'll probably end up in the same position. if you have a huge doubt, apply to the college. they tell you that it's difficult to transfer into SFS but it's not as hard as it sounds. take an IR course and show an interest and talk to your dean about it.</p>
<p>i definitely want to apply to georgetown, but i dunno which school to apply to. is it better to apply to the college and transfer in to sfs later, or vice versa? im not completley sure of what i want to major in, but as of right now im really interested in international affairs so i was leaning towards the sfs. i just dont really understand the difference.. why do you say its like slytherin haha that doesnt sound too good</p>
<p>It's funny you guys mention the Harry Potter houses, because the Georgetown 2011 Facebook group came up with that... apply to SFS and you can always transfer out if you want to... the other way around may be harder due to different requirements and what-not...</p>
<p>Ravenclaw: SFS (they're the smartest)
Gryffindor: COL
Hufflepuff: NHS
Slytherin: MSB (the misc. category, i don't really know where they belong, but definitely not the other ones)</p>
<p>First off, SFSers are not the smartest!!! There are plenty of other Georgetown students, especially in the College, who are, if not smarter, on the same level as students in the SFS. Students in SFS and in the College simply have different interest - namely students in the SFS have an interest in international issues, whereas, students in the College don't. If you guys took a minute to think, you would realize that the majors in the SFS are essentially the same as the College majors - they just have an international twist. </p>
<p>Moreover, the acceptance rates of the SFS and the College are very close - look at the stats on the admissions website. Likewise, I'm tired of people saying that the SFS is soooo much more selective than the College, when, in reality, the College is more selective than the SFS. Think about it, more kids apply to the College with a large variety of interests. Whereas, the SFS applicant pool is smaller and in every essay an applicant articulates how he/she went on a trip to X country or he/she is interested in international stuff, or the bs about wanting to be a dictator. Therefore, the committee has to be more selective when they are deciding on an applicant to the College. </p>
<p>Additionally, how the heck does studying international issues make you smarter than someone that studies the liberal arts and is an English/Sociology/Biology major??? I mean, no one says that a student from Harvard with a degree in English is not smart, right? So, what makes a student majoring in English at Georgetown is dumber than an IPOL major? And, I don't want to hear any crap like "the SFS requirements are so much more intense and they have a much more difficult workload, hence, SFS students are smarter" because that is such an asinine statement. Students in the SFS choose to be in the SFS and they know what the requirements are, so you know what, they have to deal with it. Likewise, the requirements are “requirements” because if these students want to learn about international issues they need to be knowledgeable in economics, be able to speak on a country, and be proficient in a language. Lastly, the SFS isn't even regarded as one of the top schools in the field of international affair.</p>
<p>okay thanks for all that info.. i applied to the sfs because i think i want to do more internationally related stuff. just another curious question.. if i decided i didnt want to do that after all, and thought the college would be a better fit, can i change that on my application? or do i have to first be accepted and then transfer into the college once i decide thats where i want to go ?</p>
<p>Of Course! You can easily contact the admissions office and notify them that you would like your application to be evaluated for admission to a different school within the university than the one you originally applied for.</p>
<p>okay thank you soo much!</p>
<p>Lastly, the SFS isn't even regarded as one of the top schools in the field of international affair</p>
<p>Um, no. See the latest Foreign Policy rankings (subscriber only) at <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3299%5B/url%5D">http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3299</a></p>
<p>From the press release about it:
<a href="http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=22838%5B/url%5D">http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=22838</a></p>
<p>"Scholars were also asked for the first time to identify the best places for undergraduates interested in studying international relations. Georgetown earned the fourth highest number of votes in this area, above Columbia and Yale universities. Harvard, Princeton and Stanford universities placed first, second and third respectively"</p>
<p>Okay, that's nice and all, but it still doesn't say much when a school entirely devoted to international affairs still isn't one of the top three school in that field! International relations is only an undergraduate major within the colleges at two of the universities that outranked SFS.</p>
<p>That's correct, but one of the things about Undergrad programs and especially rankings like these is that it is nearly impossible to judge the quality of a specific major at a college. For most schools, a major represents 1/4 to 1/2 of the courses taken during a degree program. Not only that, but programs like international relations span multiple departments like history, language, economics, and political science.</p>
<p>Those undergrad rankings are really a judgment of the quality of a university as a whole which are well-known in the IR field. The fact that Georgetown competes with HPS should tell you what you need to know. </p>
<p>As a side note, I'm going to Stanford for IR instead of Georgetown. Is Georgetown better in this area? Probably. The SFS certainly has the most varied international major options that I have seen. At the end of the day, degrees from any of those top schools are going to go a long way.</p>
<p>Okay, that's nice and all, but it still doesn't say much when a school entirely devoted to international affairs still isn't one of the top three school in that field! International relations is only an undergraduate major within the colleges at two of the universities that outranked SFS.</p>
<p>Georgetown isn't entirely devoted to international affairs. The SFS is, but that's not the comparison being made - it's Georgetown vs. other schools, not the SFS as a unit vs. the international relations majors at other schools taken individually. The quality of an IR education depends on the school as a whole, not just the disciplinary subunit.</p>
<p>What I think this really shows is that the SFS has done an amazing job with resources that are orders of magnitude more limited than what Harvard, Princeton, or Stanford have at their disposal. Comparing the endowments alone is enough to make one realize the huge gap there.</p>
<p>Uhhh, yahh it is about the SFS vs. other the international relations majors at other schools. If you were paying attention, this whole thread was started because people were comparing the SFS to the college and asserting that SFS students are soo much more intelligent than college students. Furthermore, the original point that I made, that you attemped to respond to, was the fact that the SFS, or shall i say "Georgetown," since that's the "comparison being made," is not one of the best schools in the field of international relations. Plus, isn't it you SFSers that believe that you all are a seperate entity and feel the need to let everyone know that you are in Goergetown SFS??? Hence, this is about SFS vs. other international relations majors!</p>
<h1>4 isn't "one of the best"? Man, you have some pretty exacting standards. In my book, #4 out of all the schools that offer an international relations education is, in fact, "one of the best"</h1>
<p>SFS may be a separate entity, but the SFS education and experience cannot be separated from Georgetown as a whole. Similarly, the Harvard/Stanford/Princeton experience cannot be separated from those institutions as a whole. The SFS definitely has a bigger budget, much larger enrollment, more faculty, more everything than the IR departments or majors at other schools. As well it should, since it is a full-fledged school and academic unit. If that's what was being compared, the SFS would win out hands down by virtue of having so much dedicated just to IR.</p>
<p>That's not how it works, though. Education doesn't happen in a vacuum, and the sum experience that Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton offer, especially the enormous resources and name brand power, are enough to put them over the top (at least in the opinion of Foreign Affairs magazine).</p>
<p>In my opinion, the SFS does more with far less in terms of educating its students than do the IR tracks at the top 3 schools at the list. But it absolutely has to be taken into account that they are working with less: it's not all the resources of the SFS vs. just a major or specialized program at the other schools, it's the overall IR education at the schools as a whole. The same would be true when comparing any other academic concentration.</p>
<p>Either the current(Philippines, Jordan), future (Spain) or recent past(USA) Heads of state of four of the one hundred and three of the thirty most populous nations in the world, as well as the current head of the European Commission, the current first Lady of the Ukraine, and the President of Bosnia are SFS alumni. The Majority Whip of the US Senate, and the Solicitor General of the US are alumni as well. The SFS entering class has SATS on a par with the finest American colleges. These facts are stubborn things. At some point, those who question the quality and preeminence of the SFS, versus any other institution, begin to look like complete fools.</p>
<p>Add the connection to Georgetown as a whole, the Washington environment and the excitement of Big Time basketball and the SFS experience cannot be beat.</p>
<p>what about majoring in political science? I want to go into politics, and I guess that requires some knowledge with international relations, but would the college be better suited for domestic politics than the SFS?</p>
<p>It makes no difference. The College would be as good as SFS.</p>