SFS vs. College

<p>Is SFS really that much more selective than the college. Everyone says don't apply SFS because it is SO hard. However, if you look at the admission rate for 2011 the college has a slightly lower acceptance #. So, I don't get it.</p>

<p>selectivity and admission rate are not the same thing just so you know. many colleges are self selecting, like UChicago for example, in which case the applicant pool is smaller but more competitive, and therefore the admissions rate looks higher. im not sure how selective SFS is compared to the college, although their admissions rates are usually about equal after RD is over</p>

<p>Apply to whichever school you see yourself going to or whichever has the major you want. I don't think I've heard anyone say "don't apply to SFS." Why apply to the College just because you "might" get in over SFS if that's not what you want.</p>

<p>I just said that because that is what I heard, not because I listened to it.</p>

<p>I was already accepted EA to the college, and was just wondering about the supposedly different selectivity.</p>

<p>Thats all.</p>

<p>When I talked with an admissions officer there, she said a lot of people apply to the college rather than SFS because they think it will be easier to get in. I know the reputation is that SFS is harder to get into, and I think it's largely due to the fact that the SFS pool of applicants is more self selecting than the college. SFS admissions also looks for different activities than the college looks for.</p>

<p>Self-selective is subjective. There is no study done that's shown that the SFS (or UChicago for that matter) is more self-selective than COL. You can look at the stats posted on the undergraduate admission website. SFS has what a 20 pts more on SATs of the middle 50 percentile and around a 1% higher high school average.</p>

<p>SFS does not have a separate admission office; the SFS dean's office sends a rep. to be part of the entire committee.</p>

<p>I personally have not heard anyone SFSers seriously bragging about being in the SFS. But too be honest, DC is a great place to be if your interests lie in politics/foreign affairs... loads of opportunties... and the SFS program here is one of the best in the country...</p>

<p>What do you mean by opportunities? Being a full time undergraduate means most of your time is studying; the only real option I see is doing an internship 4days a week on capitol hill. While this is good for the resume it is not really great work (When I did one it was answering phones for Obama). I am just curious what other things you are talking about.</p>

<p>VAZ</p>

<p>Mario, I will try to answer your question as best as I can, but since I'm not in the SFS, what I know regarding SFS internships as from what I hear and see. I'll give some examples regarding the MSB.</p>

<p>You are correct in saying that full-time students dedicate most of their time to study, but only in theory. I would say most students, esp MSB and SFS, intern while taking on 15+ credits each semester. Frankly, if you spend 4 yrs at in SFS and MSB and all you do is study, are you both missing out on great opportunities and probably won't get a great job - seeing both the fields of foreign service/politics and business values highly experience.</p>

<p>As for opportunities, I know many of my SFS friends intern on the Hill - some may just answer phones for the reps of their state, but most do substantial work - I have not heard anyone complain about their work as being boring. Some intern in the State Department, Treasury Department, and various other non-profits. The government and many organizations are very eager to recruit Georgetown kids. Some are paid, while others aren't. But most kids go for the experience.</p>

<p>As for the MSB, for those that are interested. Many banks/financial services have branches over in DC for Asset Management (ie Merrill Lynch Private Client) and quite a few MSB kids intern at places like that. Various government departments also recruit students to work with their finance departments (ie SEC, Treasury Dept.)</p>

<p>Once you get here, you will get access to Hoya Career Connect, which is a internship database. And your tenure here you will get numerous emails from your deans regarding internships. Contacting alumni is another great way to find internships.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>