<p>I was recently accepted to both George Washington University and UVA, however only offered an academic scholarship to GW that covers the cost of EVERYTHING. I am a little stuck because I have had my mind set on UVA as I was not expecting this academic scholarship from George Washington University. UVA has offered me a scholarship through their access UVA program but it does not cover all expenses. Would it be a good decision to go to GW for undergrad and maybe UVA for law school? Or should I stick it out with UVA? What are you guys thoughts?</p>
<p>Wow…congrats. Are you saying that GWU offered you a scholarship that covers all your costs? I didn’t know that GWU had those. What is the name of it? </p>
<p>Anyway…how would you pay for the costs that UVA isn’t covering? How much is that? What are your parents saying?</p>
<p>Please do not go to UVA. I myself made it into UVA, and know tons of people (like 50- literally) who go there. All but like 3 say that the college is horrible. From what I’ve heard, 90% of people there are obnoxious, preppy, mean. On top of that, these guys are actually smart, and there is absolutely no grade deflation at UVA, making the academic pressure pretty cutthroat. I mean, this is the college that redirected “UVArejects.com” to the VTech homepage. I feel like thats enough evidence to assume that they’re full of obnoxious, self-entitled students. They also don’t evaluate holistically (They say they do. They don’t. They look almost solely and gpa and sat, and there is a gpa cutoff, even though they deny it). Not only do they lie about their admissions process, The kind of people that they accept are 90% nolife nerds who just study ALL DAY. Thats why their academic standards are so high- they accept high gpa-sat individiuals in order to boost their prestige, but they don’t have any diversity, which results in a bad academic environment. UVA admissions may as well be luck, since they have no consistency in their process at all. My friends all tell me that the professors don’t pay attention to individual learning, and that the school places very little emphasis on undergraduate education. Many of them feel like its just high school away from home, since they’re so busy memorizing and studying for tests. I know I sound like I’m being a little harsh, vindictive maybe, but I am firmly convinced that UVA is one of the most overrated and worst academic environment out there. GW on the other hand, is an excellent college, and I only hear about good things from the 4 people I know who go there. Guess what my recommendation is? :)</p>
<p>*Just to back up my point, my friend who has a 2100 sat and a 4.2 GPA (TOP 5 %) got accepted with literally almost no extracurriculars. He volunteered for 50 hours and was in 2 honor societies, hes one of those guys that never did anything after school or engaged in any clubs whatsoever (No offense, hes still a good friend). On the other hand, my close buddy who attends a magnet program and placed in intel science fairs for his whole high school career and did work on quantum physics as well as fusion research who had a 4.1 GPA (because his magnet school program is very difficult) and a 2360 SAT got waitlisted. 2360 SAT. WAITLISTED. And he also placed in multiple science olympiads, math competitions, is a star hockey player, volunteered for over 500 hours for special education-related events, president of 2 clubs, started his own physics club. Friend A had no leadership positions.</p>
<p>Yes, it is true that UVA gives importance to GPA and SAT score(not so much holistic) so its full of rich Virginia kids whose parents could afford best private schools and best SAT tutoring programs but UVA has some very good programs. That should not be a reason to turn it down. </p>
<p>George Washington has very very little land area so its much smaller than UVA. What state do you currently live in because UVA has ridiculously high out of state tuition. How much loans will you have to take out ? The stats are kind of same but UVA is ranked high.</p>
<p>“I know I sound like I’m being a little harsh, vindictive maybe, but I am firmly convinced that UVA is one of the most overrated and worst academic environment out there.”</p>
<p>GWU is a very good school, though I would choose UVA over it for engineering. For most other things, a free ride at GWU would be a great deal! And the location is awesome for someone interested in politics and law.</p>
<p>The scholarship I was awarded is called the Trachtenberg Scholarship and it covers all costs. It is awarded to 8 DC Public School students every year. </p>
<p>If I were to go to UVA I would have to pay about 8k in student loans each year.</p>
<p>Free is better than $32k of debt (were you offered Perkins loans as well as the regular federal/Stafford loans?). Dies that GW scholarship cover your housing and meals as well, or do they expect you to commute from home?</p>
<p>You must like GW at least a little bit, or you wouldn’t have applied. Pay another visit to the campus and try to imagine yourself there. They must really like you to have offered this kind of money!</p>
<p>Please for the love of god do not go to UVA. One day, I’ll be visiting my friends at UVA, and Ill see a girl crying in the corner screaming “Why didn’t I listen to Schlaag, why did I ever come to this hell?!” And I will quietly cry on the inside. And rjkofnovi- SHHHHH ;)</p>
<p>@happymomof1 The GW Scholarship covers everything tuition, room and board, meal plan, books etc. Its worth is about $240,000 total over the course of 4 years. Yes I was offered perkins loan and Subsidized & Unsubsidized loans for UVA. </p>
<p>@Charliejeanette I just read about that scholarship being awarded in an e-mail GW sent me today. I go to GWU and if I had gotten into UVA I would have gone there. GW Administration does not give a crap about its students. I think the ONLY reason people come here is for the city or if they’re interested in politics or journalism. Go to UVA.</p>
<p>GWU is pretty well respected. It might not be as famous as UVa, but considering that the education quality is similar at the two schools, GWU may be a better choice.</p>
<p>@schlaag…Bitter much? My daughter goes to UVA (OOS) and LOVES it! She turned down Northwestern and others for UVA and has never once regretted it. Although UVA does focus highly on SAT and GPA, they’re looking for the superstar, well-rounded kids who’ve done EVERYTHING in high school. The traditions, IMO, and spirit at UVA is unlike most others. (With Jefferson as its founder, you’re going to have cool traditions unique to UVA.) USNWR has consistently ranked UVA as the second best public in America (behind Cal) for a reason – it’s selective in its admissions and caters to the brightest (especially difficult for OOS), has INCREDIBLE programs, and, unlike Cal, UCLA, and Mich, is small enough to provide a liberal arts education that focuses more intimately on the undergraduate. (The others are great schools as well; their strengths are simply different.) You are right about grade deflation…it’s hard to get a high GPA, but it’s certainly possible; you simply have to be willing to work your butt off. Our daughter, for instance, is a year-round athlete (20+ hours/week), in a sorority, volunteers once a week at a rehabilitation center, does research, and is a double major pre-med student (one of the majors is distinguished). MANY, if not most, UVA kids are type-A, high achievers with a work hard-play hard philosophy. She has yet to make anything below an A- (rising 4th year). I’m not trying to boast but rather disprove your point…it can indeed be done and is done all the time – she’s not an anomaly. Furthermore, she has yet to encounter one person at UVA who has not been happy with the school. (And unlike you, she is an actual student.) Cavaliers are always Cavaliers…it’s a school whose alums are some of the most devoted and active around. (Ex: Did you watch Katie Couric and Tina Fey this past week reminisce fondly about their time there?) In sum, while you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, I disagree wholeheartedly. Wahoowa!</p>