<p>I am extremely interested in American politics. I realize that the cohort most closely relating to my interests is the International Politics cohort. WLP sounds like an amazing opportunity. Should I apply even though my focus is more on American than international?</p>
<p>If you are referring to the housing themes, they do not matter at all. I do not know much about WLP, but it is an actual program as opposed to just a theme, so I would go with that.</p>
<p>I applied to 8 schools, including GW and to the WLP program. I’m big into american politics aswell, so I’d go with the WLP one. I had to make the same decision haha =D</p>
<p>hey girls-
as a current wlp student i thought i’d let you know a little about it. it really is a great opportunity if not for the symposium for the small teacher:student ratio. i’m in the economics cohort and i adore my teacher. that being said as a warning don’t get sucked into the advertising they do of “networking” at symposium. we get some really great speakers and get to go on some interesting field trips but being in women’s leadership program does not automatically mean networking and meeting with other women leaders. that being said it really is a unique experience. you’ll become very close with your cohort, all the professors are great, and you definitely get a lot of personalized attention and explanation in the classes.</p>
<p>as to what cohort you should do what is your major? political science? the international politics cohort really does focus on international politics but i think fulfills several required courses for the political science major. most of the girls are in the elliott school and the two main classes are both intro level international affairs classes. </p>
<p>let me know if you have any other questions! i’d be happy to answer any about wlp or gw in general</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t find the honors program, themed housing, symposiums, etc. as worthwhile. Sure, conferences and guest speakers are nice, but some of the above require more of a time commitment than I’m interested in. If you like/want a sense of themed community, it might be for you. Otherwise, I suggest picking one major, no themed housing, no Greek, and no ECs in college, and finding opportunities in the city (NGOs, companies, etc.).</p>
Hey! You’ve probably long graduated but as a freshman applicant to GW I had a couple questions about WLP that I hope you could answer. My main concern is being left out on things happening at Foggy Bottom and in D.C. in general if I live at Vernon. Did you ever feel like you were less involved or less in the loop of D.C by being at Vernon? Also, did you spend the majority of your time and classes at Vernon or Foggy Bottom?
Last question: do you get greater access to internships by being in WLP?
Thanks!
@QueenOfNight It’s quite possible the original posters won’t respond given this thread is 6 years old. With that said, I can give input with respect to the Mount Vernon campus since that was my home for freshman year.
Did I ever feel left out of the loop? Yes, but to a lesser extent. I knew that most of the freshman parties and other events were at Foggy, but I wasn’t a big partier. There were still social events on the Vern, but the important thing was that most of my friends were on the Vern, too.
In WLP, I assume that you’ll make friends with a lot of the other ladies since you’ll be together so much. If nothing else, that’s a huge bonus to WLP: the ease at making friends. Even living on the Vern will make it easy to make friends, believe it or not. You’ll spend plenty of time on the Vern Express (the shuttle between campuses) and that’s a chance to chat with a lot of other students. Not only that, but living on the Vern seems to help students open up a bit more as there is a strong community “feel.”
As far as how much time you spend on campus, according to the WLP site you’ll have two classes and one seminar per semester. That means you’ll have three other classes that can be either on the Vern or Foggy. There are plenty of general requirements that have classes on the Vern, so if you wanted to, you could spend most of your time on the Vern. It seems like that’s not your intention, so you’d probably be looking at 3 classes on Foggy, which is plenty. Just try to have your classes somewhat close together so you don’t have to go back and forth between campuses.
I can’t speak for internships with any certainty, but I assume you’d have greater access. I say this because you’ll have access to all internships you would while not in WLP, but WLP should provide networking opportunities that would lead to internships.
In the end, it looks like the program is only one year, and then you’d be on Foggy with everyone else. Besides, and a freshman there’s a chance you’ll end-up on the Vern regardless.
Good luck with whatever you decide!