George Washington University

The past six months - my time at GW so far - have been absolutely WONDERFUL! Washington DC has always been my favorite city, and I knew that it was where I wanted to attend college (although I thought I wanted to go to Georgetown until I visited it!!). As soon as I stepped on GW's campus, I knew that it was where I wanted to be. GW is definitely an "acquired taste" -- I know a lot of people who are unhappy here, and have transferred or are in the process of transferring out. However, if you take advantage of the resources around you - both on campus and around the city - your time here will be absolutely unforgettable. There are student groups for anything you can imagine -- over 330 of them. There are numerous places to intern around the city for any field that may interest you, and if you don't have time, there are many jobs on campus as well. As long as you don't sit in your dorm room every night iming your friends back home, you'll be happy (I know a lot of people who do this, and they are the ones who complain the loudest about their life here). The location is WONDERFUL. You could NEVER run out of interesting things to do!! The fact that GW has an auxiliary campus, Mount Vernon, just three miles up the road from Foggy Bottom, is wonderful as well, because it allows students who want to go to GW but want more of a "traditional" college campus feel the opportunity to get the best of both worlds. The professors here are WONDERFUL, and the classes are very interesting and stimulating. Although I know that I am the exception and not the rule, I will say that my largest class here so far has been 60 people. Although I have had some trouble getting classes that I need during registration, I will say that I got signed into every class that I couldn't get into originally! Each professor brings wonderful things to the course that really make you think and enjoy the course as well. Most of my professors teach at GW part-time, but I consider this an asset, as it gives them time to teach at neighboring Universities or have other jobs in their fields, which further enriches the experience that their students get in the classroom. Every professor here is required to have office hours, so they have to be accessible. Usually if their office hours are overcrowded they will have additional temporary or permanent office hours. I had one professor last semester who had office hours five days a week!! It's not rare to find professors who are that dedicated here at GW. I've had some professors come to GW on days they are not scheduled to be there because I couldn't make office hours - they are REALLY committed to helping you do well!! Housing here is GREAT, although the housing selection process, especially for upperclassmen, is VERY cutthroat. It doesn't matter that much where you end up living, because all of the dorms (With only one or two exceptions)are VERY nice......much better than any that my friends at other schools live in!! Many people argue that there is no sense of community here at GW, and at first glance, I could see how this could look like the truth, given GW's open campus. However, at closer glance, it becomes clear that there IS a sense of community at GW - it just isn't as readily visible as it would at, for example, a small liberal arts college. It's true that there are a few things that I would change about GW if I could -- for example, the financial aid office is difficult to deal with - some of my loans that I filed the paperwork for in August didn't come through until January (which delayed my registration for second semester). Many of the people seem shallow and self-absorbed at first glance, and there is a large homosexual population, but if you look closer, there are a lot of very intelligent and interesting people to talk to - people who want to do well, people who work two jobs to be able to pay enough of their tuition to stay in school and still manage to make Dean's list. Additionally, a lot of people seem to notice that people who are minorities seem to perform all of the menial tasks around here, and while this bothers me, I have learned that this is not a practice that is in effect solely at this University, but rather a city-wide phenomenon. Anywhere you go in the city, you will see members of minority groups (and practically no caucasians) working at supermarkets, at CVSs, and as delivery people. There are very few exceptions to this rule. I also can definitely say that this school is quite expensive, and many believe that it is not worth the money, but I believe that it is YOU who has to make it worth the money!! Despite its shortcomings, I think that GW is fantastic and very enjoyable. However, if you really want to have a full GW experience, YOU have to make it happen -- and if you do, you will have the best experience of your life!

1st Year Female -- Class 2007

Education Quality: A+, Individual Value: B