<p>I am an international student. Now, as the deadline approaches, I have narrowed my choices down to 2 schools: Villanova and George Washington. I'm planning to major in business, but still I think I'll figure out later if I should change majors or not. In addition, I really like basketball, but don't know whether it should be a factor in my school choice. Since both schools offered some aid, the tuition and fee cost are not really different from each other. I am having a hard time deciding where to attend, so any advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Villanova
pros:
- highly ranked business program
- great athletics
- school spirit
- campus
cons:
- lack student body diversity
- suburban environment (guess we can count it as a con this time)</p>
<p>GWU
pros:
- in the middle of DC
- internship
- cultural surrounding
- national university
- nice dorms
- NBA team stadium right around the corner
cons:
- ranked slightly lower than Villanova in business
- lack of school spirit/athletics
- rich kids school</p>
<p>Both Villanova and George Washington are “rich kids schools.” Villanova has mostly Catholics (Augustinian Order runs the School), and George Washington is either non-sectarian or a lot of Jewish Students…but mostly kids who didnt get into Georgetown .<br>
Neither of those descriptions is meant to be offensive to anyone or should cause alarm for anyone. Its a matter of which environment you prefer to be in. </p>
<p>George Washington has no football team, but does play in all sports in the Atlantic10 conference including basketball. There are fierce rivalries in the A10.</p>
<p>Villanova is in a suburb of Philadelphia. GWU is at Foggy Bottom. Villanova has almost no presence/interest in government service types, while GWU is mostly government service types. </p>
<p>For business or any major not related to government service, I would favor Villanova. If you have a strong interest in government service (including any foreign governments) then GWU would be your choice. </p>
<p>Villanova also has a very highly respected engineering school. Villanova has a classic college campus feel to it, whereas GWU is very much the urban feel…buildings on busy streets downtown.</p>
<p>They are both very good schools so you can’t make a bad choice. I think you outlined the pros and cons of each school very well. The only major difference that you did not state is that Villanova is a Catholic school and GW is non-sectarian. I’m not sure if this matters to you at all or not. You can check, but I wonder if as a Catholic school Villanova may have a larger number of required core classes as compared to GW which may or may not bother you – look at the schools respective course catalogs online and see.</p>
<p>Other than that, go with the school whose attributes excite you the most…urban v suburban campus, city life v big time basketball etc. The schools are pretty equivalent so choose what will make you happy. I know people who loved attending both of these schools.</p>