<p>Are the academic programs at Georgetown overrated? I keep hearing about the academic programs there, except for stuff in International Relations and humanities, are mediocre. I’ve also heard the facilities aren’t up to par.</p>
<p>I have heard the same from several current students at Georgetown. Georgetown’s academics and facilities may be overrated, but it’s location is not.</p>
<p>for international relations/humanities it ranks right next to harvard, stanford, and princeton. can’t really say about the others though</p>
<p>Georgetown is the only University (except, perhaps, the Naval Academy) in America (out of 2200 four year institutions) to have a Rhodes, Marshall and Mitchell Scholars(s) this past Fall. Yeah, the place must be really overrated</p>
<p>^Nice one :D</p>
<p>I’m talking about its math/sciences</p>
<p>I applied to Georgetown as a Freshman, and this summer I did the summer program for high school juniors where you take georgetown classes for credit.</p>
<p>Honestly, I took Calculus 1 (AB Calc) and it was not very challenging. I got a B+ without trying, and we went through half of the book that our school goes through for AB. While this is a limited perspective, I would say that Gtown isn’t known for Math/sciences anyway, and my anecdote only serves to confirm this perception.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind (not sure whether this is true for Georgetown), some colleges summer program for high school kids are diluted versions of the undergraduate courses, despite their advertisements of the college experience.</p>
<p>I was one of two high school kids. The class had 5 or 6 Gtown undergrads, and a bunch of post-bacs (25 year olds trying to get into grad school who needed calc as a requirement) so no it wasn’t diluted.</p>
<p>And I recieved college credit for calculus, this was simply the high school juniors integrated into the summer courses for credit</p>
<p>I just looked up the background of the Georgetown Marshall Scholar last Fall. He was a Mathematics major!</p>
<p>I’m a Junior Biochemistry major in the Honors Program (most chem/biochem majors are in the department’s honors program). As part of the honors program, I get to join the lab of any professor in the department and undertake a 1.5-2 year long research project, write a thesis and present it orally to a faculty committee. My research takes place on both the main and medical campuses, which are adjacent to each other. Recently, I was given the opportunity to do research this coming summer in a lab at the NYU School of Medicine, one of the top 10 in the country, that also studies malaria treatment. My final thesis will incorporate the work I will have done at both Georgetown and NYU, under two leading scientists in the field.</p>
<p>My experience is not unusual. I hardly think Georgetown science is overrated. Whoever said calc 1 was a sinch (the subject is easy no matter where it’s taught), wait till you get to orgo. Georgetown orgo is one of the hardest versions of the course in the country.</p>
<p>to add to what jp26 said, I’m a senior Human Science major w/ minors in Psych and I-health. People always say “why are you at georgetown for science??”. These people either are not science majors, haven’t researched science at georgetown, or are elitist SFSers. Georgetown is a lot more than international relations and politics. As a Human Science major(basically Human Biology, in NHS), i’ve taken courses specifically targeting the natural sciences and health in relation to humans. I’ve taken human biology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, immunology, molecular and cellular fundamentals of disease, etc. etc. We share facilities with the rest of the medical center. I’ve done cancer research with one of our professors, and there are many other opportunities to do research with faculty. Our science facilities are better than the College’s science facilities, but the Chemistry facilities (those are the only one’s I’m familiar with) do what they need to do. </p>
<p>Calculus I is a joke class, please try taking higher level math courses and come back. Or try taking organic chemistry, or NHS pathophysiology. I too did the summer college for high school juniors and got an A- in general psychology. I didn’t get all As in the rest of my courses during my four years here.</p>
<p>look here for more about georgetown science:</p>
<p>[Learn</a> . Interact . Experience : Research News: Science](<a href=“http://college.georgetown.edu/research/]Learn”>Research | College of Arts & Sciences | Georgetown University)
[Georgetown</a> University Department of Human Science](<a href=“http://nhs.georgetown.edu/humanscience/dept.html]Georgetown”>http://nhs.georgetown.edu/humanscience/dept.html)</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore in the college- as a biology of global health major- and I can definitely vouch for the strength of the science programs here. As someone said earlier, organic chemistry at Georgetown is renowned as one of the hardest orgo courses in the country, and the potential for research here is limitless. The chem facilities may be a little old, but new labs were just completed and a new science building is on its way.
Take that, and add on really unique programs geared towards premed/science kids, (like GERMS, the 1st collegiate EMS program in the country), along with the significant expansion of the bio department in the form of 3 new majors (Biology of Global Health, Neurobiology, and Environmental/Ecological bio) and you’ll understand that the science program at Georgetown has always been solid, but is on the brink of becoming famous.</p>
<p>so are the lab benches like 50 years old and covered in rust and stuff?</p>
<p>yea make sure u don’t have any exposed skin… you could get tetanus. also be careful of the mold growing in the fume hoods.</p>
<p>Georgetown is generally considered underrated, not overrated, due in large part to its realtively small endowement.</p>
<p>But, I would say that while its science programs are good, they re better known for the liberal arts and humanities, SFS etc.</p>
<p>Regarding the Calculus I comment,</p>
<p>I’m a freshman in the NHS right now, taking Linear Algebra (fall semester, I took Multivariable Calculus). First of all, Calc I is a joke. I missed weeks of Calc I+II(1 yr course) in high school and still made a 5 on AP BC Calc w/o trying. However, while taking Multi-variable Calculus during fall of freshman year at GU, I atleast put some more effort into the course than I otherwise would have if it was in high school. Not to sound “preachy” but [most] individuals don’t come to college to just “get by,” they are here to learn.</p>
<p>On the portion of your comment regarding the B+, the matter of grade inflation at Georgetown, as I understand it, is being reviewed and changes are expected in the near future from the Deans and teaching faculty.</p>
<p>If you honestly didn’t even try in that Georgetown Summer class, this might not be the school for you. I can’t speak for you, but I know that if I absolutely loved the school, Which I do =D, I would at least put some effort into the summer version of the class (even if it was a joke).</p>
<p>Also, I agree with one of the posters above; Georgetown is widely considered UNDER-rated because of its modest endowment.</p>
<p>Some of the people on this discussion board need to seriously calm down. Here is what I said word for word:</p>
<p>Honestly, I took Calculus 1 (AB Calc) and it was not very challenging. I got a B+ without trying, and we went through half of the book that our school goes through for AB. While this is a limited perspective, I would say that Gtown isn’t known for Math/sciences anyway, and my anecdote only serves to confirm this perception.</p>
<p>I said that I had a limited perspective, and I didn’t try to trash Georgetown I only gave an honest account of my experience. I’m sure I wouldn’t coast through that higher math course (i hate math actually). I think the reason people are so defensive is because Georgetown simply is not known as a math/science school. For now, it is known as one of, if not the, best foreign service school, and this overshadows the math/science aspect of gtown. I know that gtown is trying to improve its facilities, but if you compare the Reiss building with some other science facilities, gtown doesn’t compare. I apologize if people think I hate gtown, the opposite is true, and I’m not going to respond anymore on this board because I’m sure people will find more problems with what I have just said.</p>
<p>And to the guy who got ticked that I was coasting and wasn’t learning for the sake of learning, that’s your opinion. It was summer in gtown and my class was from 430-645, I really didn’t want to be there and neither did any1 else. It was hot, all of my friends were out enjoying their summer while I was taking calculus and studying for the SAT, so when the class was easy I coasted because I was able to. Sue me. I’m not going to major in math, and really just wanted the credit. You’re a better person than I if you enjoy learning for the sake of learning in July, taking a course you only need to graduate.</p>