I am a current student at Georgetown University school of foreign service and I am very very unhappy over here. I picked Georgetown because I thought that being interested in International relations and politics, Georgetown’s politically inclined atmosphere would be a good fit for me.
However, upon arriving, I have come to feel very stifled. Georgetown is one of the few schools in the country that makes you APPLY to join clubs, which limits you from doing what you enjoy the most. Furthermore, the campus culture is very closed-off and there is this ‘glorification’ of being busy. People are constantly running in a million different directions and do not take the time to get to know others. As such, making friends has become very difficult around here- a far cry from my days in high school. Finally, the school’s political nature means that you are not entitled to have your own views on current events, and people who go against the popular opinion are ostracized and isolated from the rest of the student population
I am considering whether I should transfer out to a school that has a more open environment and a school with more opportunities to be involved outside the classroom but it is difficult because Georgetown has one of the best programs for International Politics and a transfer out would essentially be a ‘downgrade’ from this specialized program. Furthermore, there is a chance that many of my credits might not transfer in other colleges due to the great degree of specificity of some of the classes I am taking here at Georgetown (e.g. Terrorism and Insurgency in Africa or Map of the Modern World)
Looking for some helpful advice! 
this scared me
Thank you for sharing. You are not the first to have expressed these concerns about the social aspect of Georgetown. There are definitely trade-offs with every program and school. Yes, it’s a great IR program, but other schools also have strong IR programs. The undergrad experience should be fun and you should thrive. Have you explored all the clubs that are of interest to you yet? The social piece of college is an important one. Be sure though, that you have given yourself enough time to make an informed decision as to whether there may be groups of students who feel the same as you do. I suspect that there are. Find them.
I have heard that Georgetown does not do a great job of fostering community during freshman year and that a lot of kids feel this way. Add to that, being in DC which can be a great positive, but for freshman trying to forge friendships and bonds, it can also be a distraction as lots of activities and socializing take place off campus. It leads to less cohesiveness. But I have also heard that as upperclassmen, it is great to have the city as a resource and that off campus social activities are preferred among those students. So while it can start off slow, students do come to like the experience there. Of course only you can decide what your ideal experience is, but perhaps it would be useful to talk to a few sophomores or juniors to get there perspective.
@momoftwins2017 Thanks for the advice. I have definitely tried my best to explore all the clubs that are of interest to me. However, as I mentioned in my initial post, many of these clubs require ‘applications’ to join and you are not necessarily going to get in. For example, I love Model UN and represented my high school in various competitions but right now, I have not been able to get selected to represent Georgetown at any conference. Added to that, many of the clubs take pride in rejecting kids to lower their ‘acceptance rate’. It is just very difficult to get involved outside the classroom as a result. About the social aspect, I have also been doing just that. This is even more tricky, because everyone here seems to fit in and be settling in so well, unlike me! 
My roommate feels the same way and we have been able to get along very well as a result. However, because he is in the Nursing school and I am in the SFS, we have very different schedules and it is difficult to find common time between both of us. I have already commenced transfer applications to other schools but will remain at Georgetown until the end of this school year before making an informed decision.
@wisteria100 I definitely agree. A lot of the people I have talked to (including some of the upperclassmen) have reassured me that for the most part, things get better as you progress from a freshman to an upperclassman. However, that being said, I might have to make this course correction right now because as you may already know, many colleges do not accept transfers if you have already completed 2 years of college education. Even if they do, your chances of getting in are very very low compared to if you were to apply as a rising sophomore. DC is a great resource for off campus internships. But the social aspect of the school is very bad, and the lack of opportunity to get involved outside the classroom, despite being in a very dynamic city, has made the experience very underwhelming overall.
Lol.
What’s the verdict?
@Robinyoursoul Taking no options off the table. I have sent in transfer applications to other places and will be at Georgetown until the end of this school year. Depending on which schools accept me and how my credits transfer, I will decide from there
@bsadasiva16 - sorry to hear that you are not enjoying your time in Georgetown. My child also is a freshman there and has absolutely loved the experience thus far. Didn’t make it to a couple of the exclusive clubs (as expected!), but found others to join. A couple of them were interests from high school, one was completely new. Has several groups of friends - one from each EC, one from a pre-orientation program, one from the floot etc. So, this is truly a case of personal “fit”. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
@arisamp good to see you! I’m glad to hear that your ds is enjoying his time there. I’m going to PM you!
@arisamp Good to know that your son/daughter is doing well- I am sure he/she will do great at Georgetown.
If you are unhappy at Georgetown, you should really transfer to another school, although Georgetown has one of the top IR programs in the country.
However, you should really visit your potential schools before you make the final decision. Most, if not all, of the US prestigious schools are similair in some ways, and you have to be sure its the right fit.
Look luck and let us know your final decision.
@houseofcats absolutely. I have set aside the last 2 weeks of May to tour the schools that accept me in this transfer campaign and I will make a decision from there. I will admit that when picking Georgetown, I visited the school only after committing, which was a big, fat, mistake. I will only make a final choice after touring all the schools that accept me this time. I appreciate your well wishes!
No other schools will e as good as SFS and more conservative than G’Town. However, look into TAMU, Washington and Lee, SMU, UOklahoma honors?..
@MYOS1634 What about the Ivies, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Tufts and Duke (These are the ones I am looking at)
They’ll all be more liberal than G’Town or with less wide of a spectrum.
Duke maybe but your use of the term 'swampy ’ makes me think you’ll be in the same situation as at Georgetown.
@MYOS1634 Vanderbilt (located in deep red Tennessee) is more liberal than G’Town? Strange!
For a university, the state where it’s located is of zero significance as to whether they’re conservative or liberal. The university’s its own ecosystem.
Also, you didn’t ask about “liberal”, but rather whether you’d fit in better with fellow conservatives, as you found the Georgetown conservative students difficult to live with. My goal is to help you ascertain where you’ll find conservatives that may help you fit in better. Your disagreements with fellow G’Town conservatives and unique use of the word “swampy” indicate you belong to a minority branch of the Republican party, not Establishment nor Evangelical nor Libertarian, the three major branches. (I’ve heard “swampy” but rarely by college students; it’s a highly connoted term).
Vanderbilt conservatives are “typical”, so a mix of Establishment, Christian, Libertarian, but with an added dash (laddlefull) of Southern Aristocratic that Georgetown doesn’t have, so percentage-wise I’m not sure the Populist wing would be larger there than at G’Town. Cottillion, DAR, etc. 95% Southern Swampy if you will. Vanderbilt is more conservative overall than most universities, perhaps a tad more than Georgetown even, but have you reached out to their Young Republicans or YAF groups?
Thinking of your issue, you may have better luck at BC, Holy Cross, and Notre Dame. All Catholic so all under the umbrella of Social Justice issues, but definitely higher likelihood of finding non-swampish-prone conservatives than at Georgetown.