<p>I’ve done a lot of reading lately, and I’ve concluded that a better question would be, “Would I be insane to choose Harvard/Yale/Princeton over Georgetown just because they are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton?”</p>
<p>I might be left with this decision come early April. But it will be a tough one, and I’m actually leaning to Georgetown based on personal evaluation and a ton of reading about experiences at both schools, and life both during and after college (job prospects, etc.) If I have concluded anything, no one school is best for all people or sometimes even most people.</p>
<p>BPD123: I agree somewhat, but it’s good to prepare in advance. I wouldn’t describe it as a “total” crap shoot, but to an extent, yes, it is highly contingent on precarious factors.</p>
<p>You wouldn’t be the first. But, don’t choose Georgetown just because you would like to continue your involvement in politics. There are many, many very successful political operatives that have gone to state schools as well (James Carville). You can get into a campaign and rise quickly based on your dedication, availability and attention to details. Georgetown is great and you can do a lot in Washington, but there are plenty of young political operatives from all over the place - the best opertunities in Washington for young folks are those that come in with the wave after a winning campaign.</p>
<p>If it gives you any comfort, it is not unique in the least to turn down an Ivy acceptance for a spot at Georgetown. As you can see from the previous posts, there are many of us who decided that Georgetown was simply a better fit. I turned down Columbia, my roommate turned down Stanford (due to selectivity and prestige might as well be an Ivy) and a friend a floor up turned down Harvard. We chose Georgetown because it held/holds a certain je na sais quoi that lured us to the Hilltop and there was also one common denominator we LOVE politics. And, Georgetown is a place where political junkies thrive. </p>
<p>There are also fiscal realities that can make Georgetown infinitely more attractive than an Ivy. A good friend of mine, who is quite brilliant and talented, turned down Brown to come to Georgetown. She is in the (SFS) planning to major in STIA and is also heavily involved in theater and performing arts. Brown offered her nothing more than $5,500 in loans & certificate of congratulations for being accepted. Georgetowns financial aid package was much, much more generous. There is something very appealing about a university that offers you a nice financial aid package with scholarship money to entice you to attend. She couldnt be happier at Georgetown, even though Brown was initially her #1. At Georgetown you are surrounded by people who turned down outstanding schools in the US and abroad to take advantage of all the incredible opportunities the Hilltop and DC have to offer. </p>
<p>BTW, although not nearly as academically gifted in the arena of science and technology as my friend, my financial aid package to Georgetown was also quite generous and rather unexpected given what my parents anticipated (based their income/FAFSA/CSS). </p>
<p>At the end of the day, there could be worse problems than having to choose between some outstanding universities.</p>
<p>You are getting excellent advice here. I’d just add that a friend of the family’s S graduated from Georgetown a year ago, interned for a prominent politian in our state and is now doing doctoral work at Oxford - his interests are in international politics and policy. FWIW, he turned down Ivies to go to GT.</p>
<p>Georgetown is a fine school, many European politicians have studied there (PhD/MBA etc.) or taught there. </p>
<p>Still, as a European student, I valued the connections, that the Ivies give you over Georgetown. The odds of meeting future notables in a wide variety of fields is just too good to surpass. On top of that, I’m not too fond of the DC culture (that is why I’m also applying to Stanford, I’d really like to study under Prof. Fishkin!! And the Stanford culture has always been one of my secret passions)</p>
<p>I guess, if you want to go for the establishment, Georgetown is as good as Harvard or Yale, but if you want to develop new concepts and take on the academic side of politics, I think, that Georgetown might be a tad too close to DC.</p>
<p>Trust me you’re not crazy. I graduated from Georgetown SFS recently and I have almost a dozen friends who chose Georgetown over Harvard, Columbia, and Yale. I also have friends who were valedictorians of their high schools that only applied to one school: Georgetown. After they got in early admission, they didnt even bother applying to other colleges because they knew Georgetown was it for them. </p>
<p>For me personally, I turned down full-rides at other similarly ranked (non-ivy) schools and paid full tuition at georgetown because I knew it was worth it. </p>
<p>The phenomenal core curriculum aside, the fact that you’re in Washington DC makes a world of difference. I was able to do part time internships at Embassies, think tanks, and the UN since my freshman year. Also, every time I did a research paper, I was able to conduct personal interviews with experts in the field because pretty much every major organization has an office in Washington DC that’s probably only a short metro ride away! Top notch professors help you make contacts and in the cases where you do need to cold call, the fact that your email says @georgetown.edu, makes a big difference. </p>
<p>Georgetown does put you in a really great position for a political or diplomatic career, but that’s not all it does. In case you ever want to do banking, finance, or consulting, Georgetown SFS is surprisingly good at helping you land those jobs too. Of my graduating SFS class, I can easily name 2 dozen people that went into that career path. If grad school is your choice, then the SFS is excellent for that too. After Georgetown, I got a full scholarship to get my masters at Cambridge.</p>
<p>If you want Georgetown, attend Georgetown. But your mere question here illustrates reluctance. Georgetown is a great school, but to choose it over HYP??? Honestly, I would find that to be fairly “crazy.”</p>
<p>There are many of us that chose Georgetown over the Ivies and similar schools (Stanford, MIT, Amherst, Williams, etc). The combination of undergraduate emphasis with university resources, incredible faculty with real-world experience, diversity, beautiful campus, fantastic college town, phenomenal resources of Washington, DC, tremendous traditions, incredible school spirit, cura personalis, service for others, prestige (both academic and social), and a powerful alumni network–most schools, including the Ivies, cannot compare.</p>
<p>I’m glad you chose Georgetown, medman. However, I would have preferred Yale in a heartbeat and I’m willing to venture that a vast majority of HYP admits with the ability to afford any institution would take HYP instantaneously. I’m not an angry GU alum, just a realist. We both know that the Hoya endowment is inferior as well as the infrastructure situation. Just head into Lauinger and you get the idea. I love Georgetown but you have to understand that the resources at HYP (save sfs) are vastly superior to those offered by Georgetown. I’ve experienced this gap first-hand through school and work at said institutions.</p>
<p>^I understand your points, but I hold on to the notion that for UNDERGRADUATE education and experience, Georgetown is unique and provides an incredible experience on all fronts, in ways that most schools, including those mentioned, do not or tend not to. I can attest to the power of resources–I am at Hopkins Med, and the institution is now opening a 1 billion dollar hospital addition–it is incredible and will have a huge impact on patient care and medical education. Undergraduates also benefit from excellent facilities and resources, and Georgetown has those AS IT RELATES TO UNDERGRADUATES (and law students). The Georgetown community, culture, and focus on the whole person–the undergraduate–is something that most universities, including Yale, do not. I am now in an institution which has representation from all of the premier colleges and universities in the country. Did many of them have better biochemistry labs than I did when I was at Georgetown–absolutely (and thankfully that problem is now solved at Georgetown). Are they better prepared than I am because of it? Absolutely not. Did they have the same quality of experience as I did at Georgetown–academically, culturally, socially–most did not–many don’t even know what we talk about when we discuss this type of thing. It’s not that they aren’t smart and accomplished–these are Hopkins medical students mind you–but you talk about community, service, connection, faith/spirituality, personal development during your undergraduate years, and they respond with envy or empty looks. </p>
<p>There is a financial gap between Georgetown and these other institutions. But I would challenge you to think about ways that that gap truly affected your undergraduate experience. Sure, Lauinger is not the most attractive building on campus, but have you been there lately–it certainly is more modernly equipped than Eisenhower Library at Hopkins or Perkins Library at Duke. Georgetown has also taken the approach of incorporating all of the resources of Washington, DC in to the experience of its students, and these resources can have a profound effect on your academic, social, cultural, and professional life.</p>
<p>It is clear that HYP are the preferred option for most students, relative to any other colleges in the country. I know and interact with a lot of alums of those fine schools. And for many students, HYP are the best options–however, there is a different type of experience that they are likely not getting–cura personalis–even though they may not know it while they sit in those big, impressive buildings.</p>
<p>I understand your ideas medman, all I’m saying is that GU needs to work on GU and stop comparing itself to schools like Penn and Princeton that have top programs in nearly every academic discipline on earth. Georgetown is more of a poli-sci/law 2 trick pony. I loved the hilltop but it’s not ivy-caliber in my opinion and I would argue that schools such as Princeton/Amherst/Williams offer the far superior undergrad experience in terms of the care shown to undergrads. Nevertheless, Hoya Saxa, enjoy Hopkins.</p>
<p>There you go, goldenboy8784 (what a name, by the way)–can’t stand the fact that people would and do chose Georgetown over other schools. Remember, I did–and I had experience with Duke first-hand. You are the one who is delusional. And in fact, when we look at COFHE data, Duke and Georgetown are head-to-head in winning students, and Georgetown routinely beats Chicago. Oh, and by the way, Georgetown under-emphasizes standardized test scores in its admissions process (you should familiarize yourself with the process if you are going to be critical of the place) relative to the schools listed, and the admissions office does not actively recruit NMSF nor does it sponsor them.</p>
<p>For all readers of CC, please be aware that goldenboy8784 has something against me and Georgetown–he can’t stand the fact that I (and other people) have any criticism about Duke, and it is clear that Georgetown has offended him in some way (rejection?). In any case, in his profile, he describes his interest as “women,” which should tell us everything we need to know about him…and perhaps Duke.</p>
<p>In my experience it common to meet students who choose Georgetown over Duke, Penn, Cornell, and Williams. It is not as common to meet students that choose Georgetown over Harvard, Yale , and Princeton.</p>
<p>^^^^^^
not a bad site. Assuming the data is accurate. (that confidence interval is pretty wide) the site indicates there is very clear preference for Georgetown over Berkeley, northwestern, Chicago, and Hopkins.</p>
<p>With regard to the ivies indeed Georgetown has the toughest time attracting students away from Harvard and princeton, but clearly it happens 9and 15% of the time. I would not say
This is rather impressive given the relatively small size Georgetown’s endowment.</p>
<p>Harvard 9%
Princeton 15%
Penn 17%
yale 20%
dartmouth 27%
Columbia 37%
Brown 42%
Cornell 43%</p>
<p>Daughter was admitted to Penn, Yale, and Georgetown. Valedictorian of her high school class of 300 students. Was recruited golfer for all three schools. No golf scholarship at any of these three schools. She chose Georgetown for class of 2016.</p>