Extremely pricey
I mean, “extremely pricey” can hardly be used against any school at this point as they’re all ridiculously expensive, but as an anecdotal rebuttal - I’m about to be a senior and I currently have about 10k in loans, likely 13-15k when I graduate. In comparison, my friends who go to in-state public schools have close to 100k.
I declined SFS. The FA was not nearly as good as those of other universities. But what really got me was the prettiness and snobbishness over clubs. My sibling at Columbia conversely feels that the university has bent over backwards to ensure that there is little or no distinction between wealthy and poorer students.
I don’t mean to stereotype. but I met a lot of well to do Ivy rejects at Georgetown. Only Boston College came close.
It’s difficult to draw general conclusions about financial aid on the basis of individual aid awards. Universities often utilize different formulas when determining financial aid. Hence, one student might find the financial aid at Georgetown to be excellent while another might deem it to be deficient.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the top-five most competitive clubs at Georgetown. Some see them as offering unparalleled opportunities. Others may feel the temporary sting of rejection if they apply to and are rejected from one or more of these clubs.
In my view, however, it is a mistake to characterize these most competitive clubs as somehow being bastions of wealth and privilege. The simple truth is that they are equally open to all students through a competitive selection process based on merit, not wealth.
While these clubs are prestigious, they hardly represent “prettiness (sic) or snobbishness.” There’s nothing snobby about working entry-level positions as a barista for the Corp or as a bank teller for the Credit Union. And there’s nothing petty about providing valuable services to the Georgetown community.
This is a stressful time for college seniors who are RD applicants. For months, their college admission status was hypothetical. Now it has become real. Instead of focusing on the past, these admitted students should concentrate on the exciting opportunities that await them. Their future is there for the taking.
I just committed to Georgetown, but after reading this I am having second thoughts… Are there any clubs that aren’t like the ones mentioned above? I really want to get involved, but this makes me nervous. Also, I love an environment where everyone is motivated and driven, but hyper-competitive? Not so much. There’s a reason why I didn’t apply to Harvard lol.
Side note… I actually found the financial aid to be very generous. I am pretty middle of the road middle class (around $150,000 income in a rural state with moderate cost of living) and while I got almost no aid from my state university ($500!) and not very much from GW, Georgetown pretty much gave me everything but room and board (with no loans since I got a John Carroll scholarship). Columbia gave me about the same. I was very surprised, given their reputation for being stingy with FA. Georgetown is actually cheaper than attending any of my state schools for me.
There are lots of ways to get involved. Think intramurals. Not every club is hyper-competitive. I think the student body is focused but not necessarily competitive. Ds’s best friends are from his freshman dorm floor. You’ll find a place.
Agreed that the FA for ds was quite generous.
@fhgirl16 Hey there! OP here. Since posting this, I have also committed to Georgetown, so I’ll see you there next fall! 
A couple things. First, remember that when I posted this, I explicitly asked people to focus on the negatives of Georgetown, not the positives. There are tons of things that outweigh these negatives if you’re concerned about them! Second, I’ve actually talked to a few people I know at Georgetown about these issues. While they do say that a couple of the clubs (like The Corp and Blue & Gray) can be competitive, they qualify that, by and large, those just get a lot of attention while the vast majority are very inclusive. Additionally, I haven’t heard much about Georgetown being very cutthroat academically (unless you’re in the business school, where there’s a more competitive atmosphere but it’s not horrible). Sorry if the thread I started freaked you out about anything! That was never the intent - just me trying to make an informed decision, and I couldn’t be happier with mine.
I went with my son to GAAP Weekend last Friday, and in a session on choosing your extra-curricular activities wisely, they showed the first 5 minutes of this “You’ll Sleep When You’re Dead” video:
https://vimeo.com/79698528
I think the video was produced as a cautionary tale, but the session presented it more like a promotional video that explained campus activity climate. Ironically, one of the reasons I moved away from Washington 20 years ago was that every conversation started with “What do you do?” and your answer to that question dictated whether or not the person would then show any interest in you, or quickly move onto looking for another person who might be in a better position to advance their career. This video made it seem like Georgetown has internalized that DC mindset.
I can’t believe any college would show this - it’s enough to make students run away, screaming! That transfer student looks like she wishes she never left Michigan. Nobody seems happy - it’s awful. (and too much truth behind it to be funny)
“I judge people who sleep and, like, look healthy.” LOL. Wow.
Yikes.
Ugh. This is what the last few years of high school have felt like just trying to get into this freakin school. And now you’re telling me it’s only going to get worse? 
That video is a recruitment video??? Yikes!!!
I was so surprised and put off by the showing of the video at the GAAP Weekend session on extra-curriculars that I did some more research on it this week. Turns out it’s not a recruitment video. It was a video that a group of students produced 3 years ago to comment upon and perhaps inspire change surrounding the Georgetown climate. It seems to have helped initiate some valuable discussions within the community.
But it certainly leaves me wondering who made the decision to show it to prospective students. I know GAAP is a student-run event, so perhaps this was an instance where the guiding hand of the Admissions Office would have been beneficial.
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Are you serious that they played this for admitted students? I guess in some respect that is good because you would know what you’re getting into. But wow! That would turn me off.
Since it was GAAP (and not the actual Admissions Office), maybe it was less of a recruitment tool and more of a "this is what it’s going to be like, and we want students who can handle this ". In other words, maybe the idea was that if the video puts you off, you’re not the kind of student they want?? Still, very strange, especially since I thought the purpose of the GAAP weekend was to entice students. Not to mention, I can’t imagine there are any prospective students who WOULD’NT be turned off by the video. I’m all for a driven environment that motivates students to excel and suceed, and to be honest it is one of the reasons I chose GTown. I want to be surrounded with students who share the same aspirations and have the same desire to accomplish their goals, and I think a little competition is a good thing. But it all seems to be a bit much. I want to enjoy my college experience too.
Well this thread has certainly picked up steam over the last few days! Deep breaths, everyone. Like I said, I was specifically trying to learn about what wasn’t good about Georgetown from this thread because everything else seems so great. Of course, every school has its faults, and if everyone is consistently turning to only one fault of Georgetown, then it’s probably a good sign that most other things are good about the school! Club competitiveness might be an issue, but there’s bound to be some competitiveness at ANY school of this caliber. Hoya Saxa everyone!
2016senior2020,
Congrats on your decision to attend Georgetown! Welcome to the Georgetown family.
There’s an intriguing irony at work here. First, people complained that Georgetown did not provide enough club opportunities. When that urban myth was exploded, others are now concerned that Georgetown students take advantage of too many club opportunities.
Many Georgetown students supplement their studies with enriching activities. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. It helps explain why Georgetown has such a high first-year retention rate. It helps reveals why Georgetown has such high student satisfaction rates.
Students for whom sleep is optional populate the campuses of universities throughout the country. They distinguish themselves in high school. And they often excel in college. Some overburden themselves. Most just enjoy being active, as they make the most of their precious years in college.
Some context on the video, which was indeed created as a critique of some aspects of Georgetown’s culture and has stimulated lots of discussion. Hey, isn’t it a good thing that they aren’t just giving you the Potemkin Village experience at GAAP and are instead trying to prepare you early for the challenges that may await and how to navigate them (and, if you buy the critique, how you can help move the culture in a healthier direction)?
https://blog.provost.georgetown.edu/unconnected-events-coming-together/
“…the video was academic work produced by students in Georgetown’s Film and Media Studies Program. Juniors Carolyn Lehman, Evan Sterrett, and Jimmy Ramirez produced “Sleep When Your Dead” as a short documentary project in Prof Roberto Bocci’s ARTS-181: Intro To Filmmaking Studio course”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sydney-jean-gottfried/is-sleep-when-youre-dead-_b_8917488.html
Isn’t club competitiveness only for things like tour guides? Is it also competitive for “normal” clubs like club/intramural sports, business clubs, etc?