William and Mary or George Washington?

juicyboy
Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:11:37 +0000

Hi, my name is George and this question has been boggling my mind for the past few weeks. I’ve finally decided to make an account here and hear some wise opinions.

I was accepted into GW and W&M two weeks ago, and intend to major in economics/mathematics in college.

I guess the first thing people wonder about is the cost. The cost for these two colleges comes down to 15k (W&M) v. 11k(GW), after financial aid and scholarships of course. As you can see the little difference in cost contributes greatly to my indecision.

The second thing that I’ve thought about is the study environment. GW is in the heart of the capital while W&M is the exact opposite with a very quiet campus that is more soothing to my taste. But being in the middle of DC and right next to World Bank, which is my life-long goal, GW students probably get a lot more internship opportunities in DC than students from other colleges. So the decision between campus and internship opportunities is another hard one.

Thirdly, the undergraduate economic programs in both colleges are more or less the same. I will have a better chance of connecting with my professors in W&M because of its 11:1 faculty to student ratio. However, I will have the chances of taking more rigorous courses in GW (since GW has a graduate econ program and W&M doesn’t). So professor vs. courses is also debatable.

Finally, the reputation. GW definitely is more renowned than W&M world wide, while W&M is ranked 20 places higher in the US. I really don’t know what to think.

So my friends, I’d love to hear your opinions on this situation.
Thanks.

-George