<p>i called them today. the whole starting april 17th thing is only for ppl who applied early one or two. for those of us who applied regular, it really doesnt matter because we have last choice anyways. (early dec. 1 and 2 get first dibs) </p>
<p>i dont really know how i feel about it, because i am not abuot to drop 50k and live somplce i dont want to live.</p>
<p>To the defense of housing, GW has some of the best dorms in the country and no other school could compare for freshman dorms. The Vern campus gets a bad rap for it's location, but in reality is a wonderful place to live and access to it is never cut off during the school year. As an RD student you could still live in Foggy Bottom as Lafayette and Fulbright will still be available and that's if all of the 1250 ED acceptees choose to stay in Foggy, while most will, certain programs like the Woman's Leadership Program and most athletics all live on the vern.</p>
<p>Agreed! The Vern is a nice, cute, homey place to live. There are a lot of students that enjoy living there. It's really a small treasure!</p>
<p>Compare GW housing to housing at other schools. Where else can you have to opportunity to have your own kitchen AND bathroom in your freshmen room? That 50K is definitely going somewhere.</p>
<p>there's a kitchen in each room too???</p>
<p>nycsenorita:
Only in certain houses/rooms, but the chance to have those amenities at the freshman level is certainly calculated into the price somewhere. </p>
<p>Personally, I'm leaning towards either Lafayette or Fulbright. I don't want a "party dorm". I guess I don't have to worry about getting stuck somewhere I don't want to live; judging from other posts, these seem to be the places people get "stuck" in the first place.</p>
<p>I was just there for the Open House today and toured every dorm avail. to freshmen except the one being built. My child was horrified, as were my spouse and I and Child 1's younger sibling. Unfortunately, even the new dorm Potomac? is going to have quads and more. </p>
<p>The Mt Vernon dorms are MUCH nicer but then you have the little shuttle commute which can get fairly dicey during Washington rush hour if you have an 8 am class. Unfortunately all of the FB dorms are horrendous, shabby, and old. The rooms are very cramped.</p>
<p>What I also didn't like was the fact that GW has no real cafeterias but just food courts. That's why so many people cook in their rooms. Quite frankly for the $11,000 R/B price, my family expected to see a lot better.</p>
<p>How long does it take the shuttle to go from Mt. Vernon to FB?</p>
<p>In the middle of the day 10-20 minutes. During Rush Hour (which really is horrendous in greater DC) who knows? I asked this question of the students and of the bus drivers. The drivers said 30 minutes is not unusual. The kids promoting the school were a little more vague.</p>
<p>It usually takes 7-10 minutes for me. Just be smart and don't schedule your class near rush hour.</p>
<p><em>I am not a current student, so any of you that happen to know better than I, please feel free to correct.</em></p>
<p>My impression on the meal plan was that it could be used not only on campus, but at partner restaurants, grocery stores, and general pharmacies (CVS, etc.) around D.C. This means that your child would not be limited to what can be found on campus for her meals,etc. In theory, this would encourage students to venture beyond campus, but again, I don't know the extent to which that really happens.</p>
<p>Also, correct me if I am wrong, but I always considered GW to have some of the best rooming conditions around. Sure, the buildings are old, but it is relatively difficult to buy out real estate and build in a city environment. I was under the impression that some GW dorms were originally hotels and apartment buildings, something you're unlikely to find at most "campus" universities. It's pretty hard to find a community bathroom at GW, in my book, that's a big plus.</p>
<p>I don't know....I think I'd rather have a spacious double with a end-of-hall bathroom than a dinky double sharing a bathroom w/ another dinky double. I attended a school in a city (not DC) and we did NOT have dorms like this. Actually the upper-class dorms are much nicer.</p>
<p>The GW Smart Card will quickly be eaten up if the student is going out to restaurants all the time. I took a look at the prices at the market next to the bookstore in Marvin and was absolutely appalled! My health-nut child was concerned about the out-of-shape appearances of many of the students on campus compared to other schools we have visited. I, as a mom, was wondering if this is partly due to unhealthy choices made too often because of a lack of pyramid knowledge (and motivation).</p>
<p>The GWorld card has $3,000 for freshmen per year and that's broken down to $1,500 per semester. In my experience, I didn't run out of money freshmen year - I had extra which rolled over. I come from small town america where the prices were definitely cheaper than DC. Where are you from motherdear? The prices at the market, for me, were expensive relative to the prices I was used to at home. </p>
<p>I think GW has some of the nicer housing compared to other schools. Have you toured GW? Take a look and decide for yourself. Only you know what will be comfortable for you.</p>
<p>Actually I'm from the greater DC area so I was really surprised to see the prices of the "Market" and even the local Safeway.</p>
<p>It's really a shame about the freshmen dorms. This is a major negative for us.</p>
<p>To each their own.</p>
<p>Motherdear, I definitely feel you! My mom always complains about G-World cash. It doesn't teach kids to save and ecomonize. It's like a really, really bad credit card. You just spend, spend, spend on local places who jack up their prices to make even more money. Worst of all, the cash gets lower as you enter another year. I mean, I'm from the area, so I'm able to get food so I can cook from home. I've been doing it recently because I want to eat healthier. I'm quite tired of eating out and it's not good for me. Anyhoo, our gym (HellWell) is very good. We have a pool, tons of machines everywhere, yoga and cardio classes, etc. Did ya'll see it during your visit? </p>
<p>At other schools, there are cafes and if the schools ya'll visited were traditional campuses, kids tend to be more involved intermual sports. One of my roommates, whose a BIG, BIG health nut always talks about the little GW girls with the huge beer bellies. And one of our own roomates gained a signficant amount of weight (like close to 20) in a sememster because she ate out every single day with her friends. I mean, again it's up to the student to live and eat healthily.</p>
<p>Hellobaby, I pm'ed you.</p>
<p>If you have a Safeway card, you save a lot of money on groceries. I eat A LOT of food (i ran out of points wayyyy before finals freshman year), so when I finally moved off-campus, I bought my own groceries. I spent less than $35 a week on groceries at Safeway (I'd buy the usual... bottled water, spaghetti, veggies, cheese, self-bake pizza, etc.). It really isn't that expensive. </p>
<p>During freshman year, my roommates were as broke as me, so we never bought stuff at provisions or went to fancy restuarants; we made daily trips to safeway. It was kind of fun, actually!</p>
<p>question....im an elliot school internatonal affairs major but im choosing GW because i will be in less debt and its a better school BUT i want a "grass, trees, flowers, squirrells" kinds campus. would it make sense to live in Somers at Mount Vernon and commute to my classes?????????????????? please help, this is the deciding factor.</p>
<p>Yes. The commute isn't so bad if you schedule your classes at the right times (not during rush hour). The shuttle actually has a pick up/drop off stop at the corner of the Elliott School. Also, the shuttle ride is a good time to catch a short nap or rest. And most times, you'll be riding the shuttle with the same people, so you'll get to make a few friends that way. The community on MVC is very very close and tight. I heard one of my friends say, "Do you want to know 400 other students by name on MVC or 4000 students by face on FB." If you want more grass and green, MVC's the right choice.</p>