WUSTL vs. Emory vs. Georgetown vs. Hopkins

keepitcoolidge
Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:20:30 +0000

Georgetown would be my recommendation if your major and primary interest was International Studies.

If pre-med/PNP/biology/pre-med is your main interest, than Wash U might be the best choice. The sciences at WUSTL are really unparalleled. Also nice – most people (70% from the last statistic i heard) have more than one major. So, if you wanted to double major or major/minor, it is REALLY easy to do so there. Wash U has a solid International Studies department. Of course, it’s no Georgetown, but if you have a secondary interest in the field, then Wash U would be a really good place for you. Hopkins would probably be a close 2nd on the list in terms of sciences, with Emory being a close 3rd, and Georgetown 4th.

BUT – they are all really good choices. You are pulling hairs in some respects. Georgetowns’ pre-med and sciences is very reputable and solid, but amongst the colleges you are comparing it against, I think its fair to say that the other three are stronger.

Wash U has lots of music in extracurricular life. Lots of bands come to campus (everything from indie bands like once per month, to the big WILD show every semester). It’s really easy to take music classes and lessons. There’s lots of performance space on campus.

Wash U’s student life is very laid back, very friendly, yet is very active. There’s just an exciteable air on campus. Lots of activities, shows, performances, speakers, events, etc. People are Wash U struck me as very involved. Emory is probably most similar in terms of student life/culture/feel of campus, except Emory has a little bit more of a Southern feel of course.

Georgetown has the preppiest feel of all of them. I visited Georgetown, and it is pretty (lots of annoying hills, though)… I think the best way I can describe a “stereotypical” Georgetown guy is someone who wears sunglasses at night while inside a building with a popped polo collar, and the typical Georgetown girl is someone with the latest designer handbag. This isn’t the majority of people, of course (we all know the problems of stereotypes)… and you will find people like that at all 4 of these schools. But, Georgetown probably has the highest percentage of that type of people in your group of 4 colleges, and that’s just something I noticed personally when I visited Georgetown.

I’ve never been to Hopkins, but the vibe I get from people that I know who go there is that it is the most studious/buttoned-up atmosphere of all of them. People still have fun, of course (it is college!), but Hopkins probably is the most dissimilar of the 4 choices in terms of student life.