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Posts: 458
Britty-
GW requires 9 semesters of an approved language (German, French, Spanish, Italian, or I'm not sure what else). You take the language placement exam to determine which class you start with. If you place into second year Spanish or French, then you'll take another 2 semesters of classes after that. If you start a new language (or don't place high enough to skip levels), you take 9 semesters of classes. Most meet every day. They're difficult, so do this early on.
Location: Any advice given should be evaluted, researched, and taken "at your own risk."
Posts: 458
What's the best thing about GW?
- The city. Hands down. Events, world and industry leaders, historical sites/landmarks.
- The professors- some are fantastic. Some are retired generals or ambassadors or politicians. Some are newbies. Class sizes start out big for required classes, but get smaller as you move up in the class levels.
- The facilities. GW has impressive buildings (at least the new ones are).
- Strong number of local connections, helps with local job searching.
- GW knows how to put on a show. Seriously, go to their events. They're outstanding.
- Best of all, where you graduate. Graduation on the Capital grounds or NM, depending on year. If you love politics, there's nothing like graduating in front of the WH. It's outdoors, with the city as your backdrop. Pretty damn awesome.
Location: Any advice given should be evaluted, researched, and taken "at your own risk."
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Saf
Saf-
I’m glad it helped, and good luck to your dauther.
Let me tell you that 3 years to graduate isn’t realistic. Sure, academically, you can do it. But, if you want a normal college experience (4 years) to study abroad or meet people or get an internship/job or anything, it’s not likely. Many people come in saying “oh, sure, I’ll graduate in 3 or less years and save money. Easy.” Yeah, no. 99% of the time, they’re not ready for advanced classes that early on, or they get a job/internship, or classes fill up and they can’t get in, or they otherwise can’t do the plan. It’s not likely. Possible, but most people don’t do it. You come to GW to experience DC and life in the city, and that can’t happen in 3 years… barely can happen in 4.
Plan on 4 years. There’s no sense in rushing the kid, and 4 years is realistic. If 3 years ends up happening, good.. if not, you’re in the same 4 year (plus) boat as everyone else. I came in with a TON more AP credits, and took summer school. Did 3 or less years happen? No. Not all AP or summer school (elsewhere) classes can count for GW/ESIA requirements.
The 5 year BA/MA programs aren’t all that popular, it seems. I guess it’s because 17/18 year olds either don’t know what they want or don’t want to commit to that many years of school. I’d skip it. If she’s going to law school, focus on the 4 year BA, not a master’s you’ve never use. With a JD, my opinion is that an MA isn’t necessary. And I say that with so many credits that I could have 1-2 MA’s right now. My personal opinion is that Poli Sci is only a good degree line if you plan to work for government, and are absolutely sure of it. Some would disagree, but it’s not applicable to most entry level jobs. (Then again, some say.. what major is?) The BA/MA programs are good for some: solid programs, and good if you want a BA/MA combo to teach the subject as a career (possibly with a Ph.D. added on later).
The law school is among the top in the country, and pretty much lives up to the name. Financial aid is again hit or miss. I don’t know anyone who’s here on a full ride, but I’m sure there are some people who are (maybe?). Keep the undergrad GPA up, and plan on 4 years of a BA. Start studying for the LSATs sophomore year. Talk to professors (legitimately, not kissing up) with course-related classes throughout college, and eventually ask them for recommendation letters. Social life? Not much. City? Yes. Good connections for jobs, clerkships, etc. LOCALLY? Yes. (GW connections help getting jobs here, or in the region, not in some small town across the country, usually.) Most friends I know who graduated in the past year or two popped out with reasonably good jobs. They’re not banking it, but are decent. One of them is struggling to pay back all the loans they took to go to law school here. Too many people expect to go here and magically be rolling in income after they graduate- that ain't gonna happen. The first few years out of law school you may very well be a paper peddler/pusher.
Long-term is the goal of going to school here. With the degree name, and working through the menial entry level, better job opportunities open up later.
Personally, without a substantial scholarship, I recommend people go to cheaper state schools for the BA. Get a good GPA and GMAT/GRE scores. Then, go to a top tier school for your MA or Ph.D. or JD., or whichever the highest level of education you plan to get. That's not to say that there aren't cool experiences to be had by going to a top tier undergrad, though.
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Should I bring a car?
Are you kidding? Traffic = nightmare. City parking = pricey. Street parking = not at ALL reasonable for long-term parking. You get tickets often, and they're expensive- moving your car every 2 hours is very unrealistic, and you can easily drive around 2-3 hours without finding ONE open spot.
Sure, a car would be convenient for groceries, suburban shopping, and weekend region trips. But, pay for parking. Compared to the rest of the school costs, parking isn't all that expensive on-campus for students who park with an annual parking contract.
Don't expect to be able to street park, it ain't gonna work. Don't expect to park in some corporate parking- it's $12-30 a day.
Location: Any advice given should be evaluted, researched, and taken "at your own risk."
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rokangl-
Yes, you should apply to GW. I'd say you have a chance.
The weakness is of course the ACT. 24 is weak for top tier schools. You still have time to retake it, so study for it and retake it as much as possible. A 4.0 GPA doesn't hold strong if the ACT/SAT scores are weak. Same with rank- being in the top 10% at a renowned private school is better than being in the top 1% at a weaker or average school with less rigor in academics. Take the SAT also, as some people fair better on one test instead of the other. And, it's another opportunity for a better score. For reference, my score was around 30+, I think, but I shined on subject scores-- I scored in the top 1-3% nationally in at least 2 of the subjects on the exam. On one subject, I missed only 2 questions. The first time I took the ACT I slept through half of it and scored in the mid-twenties. Oops. Take the test again- scores can and do raise. If your school offers a prep class for exams, do it. And, take the free practice tests online, as well as go get an ACT book and review it.. often.
Nice, keep up the good grades. Upward trends are good, and you have a nice variety of honors and AP. You have a nice variety of AP classes. Take the AP exams. In many subjects, GW only takes 4s, sometimes 5.
Arizon and Mexican- both very helpful. (A local sarcastic observation is that 99% of us are Jewish from New Jersey/New York. Clearly, not that many are,.. it just seems like it sometimes). Other states where fewer students apply from seem to help (like Alaska, Alabama). Bonus points go to anyone who isn't another rich NYer. (The school likes to see someone overcoming some sort of familial or socioeconomic challenge, making good grades, being a leader, being amazing... blah, blah.)
Color Guard, NHS, etc. both show leadership, which GW likes. Track and cheer.. GW has a cheer team. I believe they give scholarships for it. You should look into that. Do you have any unique hobbies or volunteer experiences or summer jobs? Don't try to make one up that's unique, as schools see through that.. but if you have something, show it.
Your college essays and recommendations will be very important, particularly with the weak ACT. The female/cultural background, being from Arizona, and being a leader in some of your clubs are strong points. Include in your college essays about any unique family cultural traditions/heritage and what you want to do in the future, and why exactly GW relates to what you want to do. Thing about why you're unique, and include that tastefully in the application.
I'd say you have a chance, just get the ACT scores up, keep the grades up, and have stellar college essays and recommendations.
Location: Any advice given should be evaluted, researched, and taken "at your own risk."
Posts: 458
What is the weather like?
It sucks. It's ridiculously hot in the summer, and freezing in the winter. The city used to be swampland... what do you expect, a tropical paradise? Yeah, no. It's muggy, hot and gross in the summer, making those business suits for your internship all the more fun to wear. In the winter, there is either an absurd amount of snow, or general frigidness. Why do you want to live here again?
Thanks for all the informative posting here - it's been really helpful.
Can you comment on the poli. sci. program at GW? I'm a rising senior and I'll likely be applying this fall.
Also try to chance me if you can :P.
IB Diploma Candidate (school is very heavy on IB compared to AP)
Cumulative GPA: 4.094
Weighted 5.011 (school doesn't have rank)
SAT: 1930 (taking again in fall)
M: 610
CR: 680
W:640
SAT II U.S. History: 730
Junior Classes, IB/APs
IB English 3
IB Pysch
IB/AP U.S. History 2
IB Latin 3
IB Envi. Sci.
All final grades were A or above.
Upcoming Senior classes:
IB European History (HL)
IB Discrete Math
IB Psychology (2nd year HL)
IB English 4 (HL)
IB Latin 4
AP Gov. and Politics.
Have moderate ECs (but no huge laundry list).
Officer in FBLA for 3 years (will likely be President if the club isn't eliminated this year due to budget cuts by the state). Lead editor of student directory, service club/latin club member for 2 years. Not a sports kid .
Have had same outside school job for 4 years. Also serve as the student liaison for the town council in my area.
I'm considering apply ED (though still not sure about this - financial aid is not the FIRST concern but it still is a moderate concern). I hear the admit rate for ED is much higher.
Of all the campuses I've visited, I liked GW the most (hated the traditional feel of Georgetown, and I mean hate). I'm a Caucasian guy from a middle class family in NJ, and I'm liberal.
The first time I took the ACT I slept through half of it and scored in the mid-twenties
That is exactly what I did.. Haha I couldn't sleep at all that night so when I was taking the test I was half asleep and half watching the clock. Without any study or sleep I'd say a 24 isn't too bad haha. Next time I will study and will sleep and I should definitely (hopefully) get a 27-28.
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