GWU campus that bad?

PoliSci007
Mon, 15 Jul 2013 01:44:08 +0000

I’m chiming in on this. Those who say that GW has no campus probably haven’t been on campus, because there is a very defined 4x5 block radius (these are huge city blocks) of campus with pretty much all GW Students walking around. You can get from Elliot (the furthest south part of campus) to the metro (northernmost part of campus) in about 10 minutes walking, the campus is really compact. Everywhere you look there are campus brownstones, residences halls, academic buildings and such. On the surrounding parts of campus, you will find the World Bank… IMF… State Department on big Avenues where it will seem like you are just one person in a big city but on campus, you don’t get that feeling. Most of the apartment buildings like the Ave on F Street, the places that surround GW’s campus are mostly upperclassmen living in off campus housing. Thurston and Potomac, two of the biggest freshmen dorms on campus are right across the street from each other. I stayed in Thurston during orientation and even then I could differentiate between campus and city. There were only like a few summer programs, students living summer housing for summer classes, and some summer interns. But everywhere I went I saw students everywhere.

I’m really excited to be heading off to Foggy Bottom this fall! Being a 5 minute walk to the White House, 10 Minute Walk to the Kennedy Center, 15 Minute walk to either Lincoln Memorial of the WW2 Memorial… and taking the Metro to the Monument or Capitol Hill is just as easy. There’s a saying that the city is our campus, but on campus there is a community there. I’ve been to NYU. GWU and NYU’s campuses are two worlds apart. It’s more comparable to BU’s campus but instead of Commonwealth Ave… between Pennsylvania and Virginia Ave is Colonial territory. Use the street view feature on Google Maps and just go around campus and see all of the GW flags on campus that mark campus buildings.

I’ve visited on a formal tour to American, and have no animosity to any of the fantastic institutions in DC. Georgetown can be secluding, and while the section named Georgetown is full of history and cool shops along the Canal… the closest Metro station to Georgetown is actually GWU’s metro stop. Getting out of the ‘bubble’ at Georgetown, getting into the city requires a hefty taxi cab fare or a 20 minute bike ride. Walking 2 miles for 45 minutes can also get you to the National Mall. But the difference is that GW is right there in the heart of everything.

If you have any other questions (anyone looking in on this thread) about GW, just PM me. I’m not a talks person or rep from the University, but a future Colonial who thinks that the assertion that GW has no campus is really outdated. The University is always expanding, so much so that tensions with the Foggy Bottom residential community are very high because GW is ALWAYS building something. Go Colonials!