haverford vs. georgetown.

platpeng
Mon, 11 May 2009 22:09:38 +0000

My experience, as a Gtown sophomore who just got his Haverford transfer acceptance:

Georgetown is great for some things. It’s great at government and anything with ‘international’ in front of it, for example. Foreign language programs are great. It’s likely solid prep for law school, foreign service, public policy and so on. However: do not expect to be challenged intellectually if you’re interested in liberal arts/social science/art. Georgetown absolutely attracts a certain ‘type’–overachievers, but not nerds. I’ve met too many people who have a 4.0 but never read outside of class. The party scene is big if you’re into that, and Gtown basketball is pretty exciting. You can also vie to be the next Secretary of State. But if you want a good liberal arts education, look elsewhere. Georgetown’s course list is very intro-heavy and the students are heavily career oriented.

Of course, I have to add that most Georgetown students love, love, love this place. So I could be wrong, or I could simply be a minority. If you find that what you care about is like what I care about, though, take this seriously.