George Washington University

Date: Aug 11 2010
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
My major wasn't in the drop down menu of options, but I was an International Affairs student in the Elliot School, and I graduated in '09.

What can I say about GW? It was… okay, I suppose. I chose the school because of its International Affairs school and the location, and those things turned out to be pretty good. I was never as intellectually challenged as I'd hoped to be—there were maybe one or two classes in the upper levels that really made me think, but otherwise, pure coasting. If you're going for something specialized that most schools don't have, like the International Affairs school or the Media and Public Affairs program, then it might be worth it, but otherwise, I'd go somewhere else.

And then, of course, there's the consideration of cost. Although I got a decent education at GW, I wouldn't say it was monetarily worth it, even with the half-tuition scholarship I received. I was especially disappointed with the lack of rigor in their languages programs. You would think they'd put more emphasis on those programs, considering the strong International Affairs focus of the school.

As for student life… again, it was… okay. I'm not from the east coast, and I was a public school student in high school, and I never really felt like I fit in. I managed to make a few friends, but none of those friendships has lasted after college. I also studied abroad for a year my junior year, and that didn't help at all when it came to making friends—I came back senior year and everyone had forgotten me. Student clubs and organizations are really cliquey; if you didn't join in your freshman year, you aren't going to be very welcome. However, I'm not very outgoing when it comes to making friends and meeting people, so if you're the social butterfly type and you're from the east coast and fit into that culture, you might have better luck than I did. There is literally no school spirit, and no campus to speak of, so if that's what you're looking for, I'd definitely go elsewhere.

The city location itself really can't be beaten. I had the opportunity to do some really excellent internships that I would never have been able to do anywhere else. And being in the thick of a lot of historic events made up for a lot.

Overall, if I could do it over again, I probably would pick a different school, because GW just really wasn't the one for me. But a lot of people I knew seemed to like it, so I'm willing to believe I just wasn't compatible with the school. But the truth is that there is no strong sense of community or loyalty to the school among the alumni, even among people who enjoyed going to GW, so please keep that in mind.