George Washington University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I am currently an MBA student in the School of Business and Public Management. The professors are ok…but, it really is what you make of it. If you're going to spend 5 grand per semester on an evening degree program, make sure that you have a place with a) good facilities, b) good professors, c) a good, caring administration, and d) a decent reputation in the work place. I love the fellow students in the program, they are all mature, intelligent, caring, fun, engaging, and great to work with.

First, the bad news: GWU's administration is the worst I have ever seen. The Alumni Association is AWFUL!!! Everything at the university is outsourced - financial aid, the individual departments' web sites, everything. They have had the same web site online for the past year - no news updates, no engaging materials to keep you coming back- just awful. When you try to log into the Alumni Association's web site - there's nothing there half the time.

I like the Biz School but, it's in a state of transition right now and will be moving into a new building next year and boy do they need that. The desks are SO TINY and the class rooms so small, that it's impossible to be able to think clearly.
I have to re-iterate about the Administration. President Trachtenberg focuses only on growth, money, and revenue. Another example of how awful it is concerns the financial aid for grad students. The financial aid process for Graduate Students is outsourced to a third party in Atlanta and the people that work in the financial aid office ARE TERRIBLE!! LET ME SAY THIS AGAIN! I currently work in financial aid and the incorrect information that these people working in the Financial Aid Office tell you when you call up is ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!! Undergrads are treated a little better, but not much. When I email the Financial Aid Office, it's answered by someone that used to work there! He has no access to student records and has to forward these emails to financial aid office anyway if there is some detail that he can't answer. Also, the web site for financial aid is the absolute worst! You can't even download the forms you need to apply for aid, you have to CALL the financial aid office, leave a MESSAGE and have them MAIL it you. Then you fill it out and MAIL it back to this place in Atlanta for processing. If anything goes wrong, they don't even call you to tell you - they MAIL it to you to fix. Dear God! UGGHGHGHG
The campus is just a campus. Nothing special. The Student Store is about 200 degrees, so when you go in there, you'd better be prepared to sweat.

For the good news, the MBA Program provides a lot of flexibility - I can take 8 courses in any area I want-political science, public policy, marketing, finance. Salma and Al, who run the professional MBA program are amazing!!! They are so quick to respond to our questions and concerns but are often held back by Administration. See my theme? My fellow students are GREAT! As stated before, I would not trade them for anything.
But, again, it's what you make of it when you get there. It's in the middle of DC so internships abound. Just check carefully GWU before you go…and the price tag for undergrads is NOT worth it!!!