<p>I have heard people on other threads refer to GW having “no campus” – can anyone explain to me what they’re talking about, or did I misunderstand?</p>
<p>When they talk about a campus, people usually mean a non-public, separate area enclosing all the school’s buildings/property. GW, on the other hand, is completely integrated into the city streets of DC. The classroom and administrative buildings and dorms front on public streets. Buildings that are not part of the school are scattered among them. When you walk from dorm to class or wherever, you pass non-GW people going about their daily business, as opposed to a campus school where you just see other people who attend or work at the school. Some people relish the sense of urban living that GW affords. Others dislike the lack of communal feeling and traditional college atmosphere. My son was unfortunately housed in a dorm (a former motel by the Watergate complex) that was a brisk 15 minute walk from most of his classes. There was no cafeteria anywhere nearby. He tended to eat street food on his way to class. He was too far from his dorm to go back during the day, so he had to hang out in the student center or library between classes, and once he was back at his dorm after dinner, he tended to stay there. Worse, the dorm had no common area. He felt like he was living in a city apartment, getting up to go to work everyday, then coming home for the night. He hated it and transferred after his freshman year to a school with a traditional campus. But tons of kids love it there. I think you have to be a real city mouse to appreciate an urban school with no campus. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>MommaJ-The interesting thing is that I attended a large Ivy League school in a rural location and I had the same complaints as your son and transferred from there to a city school. At my rural school my dorm was at one side of the campus about 15 minutes brisk walk from my classes and I had to climb a steep hill to get to class to top it off. There wasn’t enough time to go back to my dorm in between classes so I had to hang out at the library or student center. So I don’t think these issues have anything to do with city vs. traditional campus. I actually think GW’s city campus is a very easy one to manuever, quite compact and no hills.</p>