I’m hoping for sometime this week but it probably won’t happen…
@RBevan
They did say that the first wave would be released early June 
@RealLuchiano yeah, maybe that means the second wave will come soon? Idk tho
They released the first way about 2-3 weeks ago. We should’ve heard back by now.
American is just as bad, if not worse. AU and GW are the only private schools I applied to so I’m not sure if this is how private institutions operate but my goodness. (still haven’t received financial aid from either)
GWU is ridiculous. I emailed and they gave me such a non-answer, basically told me to go with the school I was already accepted to on June 1st - which just happens to be 51 spots ahead of GWU on US News and World Report. GWU is not handling this professionally at all.
@ablessinggg I believe they released the first wave on May 22nd, but yes I agree we should have heard by now. @mwkopfer I’m sorry to hear AU is similar. Maybe it is all private schools? Or DC private schools? Idk but that sucks
@definepossible I agree- if I didn’t think it would be a better school for me than my second choice then I would have given up by now
Just to put in a voice from someone who went to GW – this is how the administration handles everything. Almost nothing is done efficiently or to student satisfaction, especially in regard to the speed of decisionmaking. The financial aid office is particularly slow (which may be why some folks aren’t getting emails back). I also know that GW was looking to INCREASE the number of transfers to mitigate the underenrollment expected due to COVID. If they are having problems with overenrollment (which it appears they now are – they overenrolled the class of 2024 by 100 kids), that could be messing with things. However, I think those of you who are qualified and still waiting stand a good shot of acceptance. Just my 2 cents… I obviously can’t get into the AOs’ heads. But I will say this kind of flakiness and swerving questions is pretty traditional of the administration.
@balletkat thanks for the insight! sadly the school I am transferring from is very similar in that regard. If you don’t mind me asking, is that why you’re transferring out?
@RBevan It’s really only a small portion of why I’m leaving… I think most large universities are going to have a pretty apathetic administration, GW’s president is just the worst of them, really. If you look into GW’s history with divesting, it’s been a really big deal and a top priority for the students, but the administration hasn’t been prioritizing it. I’m leaving mostly because I prefer small-classroom learning and an environment where students actually care about learning. Most GW students (particularly in the IR and political science departments) really only care about getting internships and getting a job, while I care much more about the intellectual experience of college. If you care about learning, GW is Not It. Many professors are not as accessible as they claim (one made me go all the way to his office at the DOJ for office hours), and students are so caught up in internship culture that there’s no campus community or love of the school. That’s why it didn’t turn out to be a good fit for me, but for many of my friends, it’s the perfect option.
Yesterday they announced some of their fall plans. I think they are waiting to see what the melt might look like as well. Their intention was to increase transfer students. As a parent, i concur that the worse part of GW is the administration and the FinAid office in particular. As far as the educational aspect , we have been happy on that end. Also until Covid the opportunities in DC.
@balletkat thanks for the explanation! I totally get what you’re saying, and I think it’s so hard to tell what you want out of college, even when you’ve already been and are transferring. Good luck wherever you end up!
@mwkopfer its not all private schools. BU responded very promptly and was very well organized about it. Thank you @balletkat thank you for sharing!! I hope you’re happier in your next university. Is there anything else you think we should know?
@ablessinggg GW is a great school for many students, including many of my friends! I would say that as a transfer student, especially, you should know that GW does not have campus-wide community, but it’s really up to each individual to seek out friends in the groups they are passionate about. There are a lot of clubs, and most students are really dependent on those clubs to meet their friends. Especially in upper-level classes, students are looking to get in and out of class so they can go to their internship, job, etc. For me, that is what made it very difficult to learn – it felt like many students were just there because they had to be, and not because they loved what they were learning. Again, though, I am speaking as a political science student, which is a major that is highly competitive. I also really HATE the internship culture at GW. Some kids brag about how great it is, but it made me miserable and feel less-than. Many students are made to feel like if they don’t have an internship the first semester they arrive, then they aren’t doing enough and won’t be successful. While this isn’t necessarily true, it creates a toxic culture among many political science and international affairs students. If you are studying something else, the experience in the classroom could be completely different, but from a social standpoint, you should plan to be heavily reliant on joining clubs to make friends. For kids who are very goal-oriented, I think GW is a great option, it just didn’t provide me with the experiences I wanted.
At this point it’s come down to either William and Mary or UVA for me. American didn’t give me a decision til last week because they marked my spring grades as the wrong term,and they only noticed their error because I emailed them about not getting an update…so that was a big turn off. I sent GW a not so nice email a few days ago basically saying they are wasting my time and money and they said that they have been very busy, and that they elevated my FA account to a counselor for review. I’m not sure that would be a smart idea for people who haven’t gotten a decision yet, but it seems like it will speed up my process. Either way, I’m not impressed and I’m fully expecting to get the typical GW 20 cents financial aid package.
@mwkopfer I understand that! Both are great schools that you are looking into. I’m not sure of your major but I know AU is great in regard to political science and communication and other majors surrounding that.
@balletkat Thank you for that! I really appreciate the information and it will go into my consideration. Overall would you say that it was more difficult to make friends even in regard to orientation? And would you say the community is very closed/clique- y ? Any other insight would be really helpful. Again thank you so much!!
For everyone who has heard back, did you guys check your portal or receive it through your email? Also around what time did you receive it?
I got sent an email saying there was an update to my portal. I believe it was around 1pm ish.
I received an email that stated there was an update to my portal mid afternoon CST!!