Scoop on Georgetown?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks all. I think my kid will be ok with competitive clubs; his high school is extremely competitive and he's totally used to it (although I'm sure he'd be happy to NOT have to apply for everything as well). But rats inside the dorms! That one stops me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When were these “grading rules” introduced? I went to Georgetown and these rules didn’t exist at that time



Yes, can anyone verify if this is accurate? If so, we might need to reconsider G'town for our pre-med kid.

My DD is in her second year at Georgetown. She mentioned that in one of her classes As are limited to 40%, which does not seem restrictive to me. DD had a 4.0 GPA her freshman year.

Also, Georgetown has an early admittance program for students that lets them apply to med school during junior or at the beginning of senior year and start immediately after graduating from college, which is a huge huge bonus.

applying senior year and getting to go right to med school is common at many elite schools...i do not think this is a boost unless you are saying the admit rate is higher/it is easier to get in to med school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I think my kid will be ok with competitive clubs; his high school is extremely competitive and he's totally used to it (although I'm sure he'd be happy to NOT have to apply for everything as well). But rats inside the dorms! That one stops me.

rats are in every northeastern city, Richmond up. Granted not usually in dorms, but we know students at Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Penn who have seen rats inside buildings(usually they are mice not rats). Part of city life. If they do not leave food out in dorms there is no issue

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Be aware that once admitted, GU is very competitive. It’s super competitive to get into clubs, hard to get a seat in the library and difficult to get into the dining hall, particularly during peak times (crappy, overpriced food notwithstanding). The admin limits the number of As per class so the culture is typically not collaborative. DS has had a good experience in SFS but likely would have gone elsewhere had he known about these issues.

+1 It's cutthroat

My kid also picked up on this vibe on admitted student day and when talking with the student ambassadors.

DP. We got a different vibe on tour. It did not seem any more competitive than anywhere else, from what the tour guide said.

As a current parent, I can tell you that it’s hyper competitive when compared to my other children’s schools (a top-rated SLAC and an Ivy). We, too, did not get that vibe on the tour. Unfortunately, the tour is not reality. Just make sure your student is aware so that an informed choice is made.

Is this specific to a certain school like SFS or business ?

The grading rules limiting the number of As are enforced across all the schools. Profs can apply for exceptions but the hurdles are not insubstantial. This system really encourages cutthroat behavior across the board. And, it carries through to social activities, particularly clubs.

When were these “grading rules” introduced? I went to Georgetown and these rules didn’t exist at that time

Yes, can anyone verify if this is accurate? If so, we might need to reconsider G'town for our pre-med kid.

Premeds take a lot of stem classes such as calc, chem, physics, biology, organic. At almost every school T25 up to ivy, they have courses that are "curved" to a B, meaning the median grade on each test will be set to a B, whether that is 60 out of 100 points or 85. It is usually the former: challenging questions that almost everyone misses are de riguer at T20s. It is not too different from hard APs that "only" need 70% correct to get a 5 yet only 4% of takers get that.
In that typical scenario, about 1/3 to 40% will have A- or As. Elite schools usually try to keep the Cs to less than 20%, not sure how Georgetown does it. That is NOT the case at Clemson: fully 45% of organic chem can get a C and Ds happen plenty too. Georgetown is a med-feeder school: med schools admit deeper into the class than they do at "average" schools such as JMU, Michigan State, etc. The med schools evaluate GPA in the context of the undergrad school(name) and program(stem majors especially engineering majors get more leeway). Dcum has a hard time accepting this because they like to push the "anyone can get into med school as easily from a directional state as from T25" but it is not true. A 3.7 from Georgetown is plenty high enough to get in to a US medical school. A 3.7 from a non-top 150 would be exceedingly difficult absent a 522 MCAT(very rare). 3.5 from ivies can get into med school: med schools know they have a much harder peer group to compete with, and they are well aware that the stem courses are "curved" thus restricting the A range grades. This is commonplace and should not be a deciding factor.

Talk to others: Georgetown it is not significantly different from ivies or Hopkins curving, other than Brown which has a lot of inflation and A- counts as a "4.0". Med schools know that too and are not amazed by a 4.0 at Brown.

[Anonymous]

I dont think they are interested in DMV public schools in the slightest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I think my kid will be ok with competitive clubs; his high school is extremely competitive and he's totally used to it (although I'm sure he'd be happy to NOT have to apply for everything as well). But rats inside the dorms! That one stops me.

rats are in every northeastern city, Richmond up. Granted not usually in dorms, but we know students at Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Penn who have seen rats inside buildings(usually they are mice not rats). Part of city life. If they do not leave food out in dorms there is no issue

like OP, I live in NYC and rats inside buildings is not a thing at Columbia or NYU. Mice .. okay, but that's very different

[Anonymous]

Hoya Suxa

[Anonymous]

Very outdated info being posted here. There is no university-wide limit on the number of As. Only certain schools/majors have curves. The average GPA at Georgetown is above a 3.7. And there are no selective clubs anymore—those were banned last year. They have to admit everyone who applies now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be aware that once admitted, GU is very competitive. It’s super competitive to get into clubs, hard to get a seat in the library and difficult to get into the dining hall, particularly during peak times (crappy, overpriced food notwithstanding). The admin limits the number of As per class so the culture is typically not collaborative. DS has had a good experience in SFS but likely would have gone elsewhere had he known about these issues.

+1 It's cutthroat

My kid also picked up on this vibe on admitted student day and when talking with the student ambassadors.

DP. We got a different vibe on tour. It did not seem any more competitive than anywhere else, from what the tour guide said.

As a current parent, I can tell you that it’s hyper competitive when compared to my other children’s schools (a top-rated SLAC and an Ivy). We, too, did not get that vibe on the tour. Unfortunately, the tour is not reality. Just make sure your student is aware so that an informed choice is made.

Is this specific to a certain school like SFS or business ?

The grading rules limiting the number of As are enforced across all the schools. Profs can apply for exceptions but the hurdles are not insubstantial. This system really encourages cutthroat behavior across the board. And, it carries through to social activities, particularly clubs.

When were these “grading rules” introduced? I went to Georgetown and these rules didn’t exist at that time

Yes, can anyone verify if this is accurate? If so, we might need to reconsider G'town for our pre-med kid.

They don’t exist. False/outdated info.
- GU Alum & Parent of current GU student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very outdated info being posted here. There is no university-wide limit on the number of As. Only certain schools/majors have curves. The average GPA at Georgetown is above a 3.7. And there are no selective clubs anymore—those were banned last year. They have to admit everyone who applies now.

+1
This puts it right in line with most ivies and Duke, the median of 3.7. Grading is not a negative there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very outdated info being posted here. There is no university-wide limit on the number of As. Only certain schools/majors have curves. The average GPA at Georgetown is above a 3.7. And there are no selective clubs anymore—those were banned last year. They have to admit everyone who applies now.

not sure about grade - but club info is wrong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very outdated info being posted here. There is no university-wide limit on the number of As. Only certain schools/majors have curves. The average GPA at Georgetown is above a 3.7. And there are no selective clubs anymore—those were banned last year. They have to admit everyone who applies now.

not sure about grade - but club info is wrong

Apologies—it’s most of them but not all.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2024/02/13/georgetowns-elite-consulting-clubs-come-down-to-earth/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


My DD is in her second year at Georgetown. She mentioned that in one of her classes As are limited to 40%, which does not seem restrictive to me. DD had a 4.0 GPA her freshman year.

Also, Georgetown has an early admittance program for students that lets them apply to med school during junior or at the beginning of senior year and start immediately after graduating from college, which is a huge huge bonus.


applying senior year and getting to go right to med school is common at many elite schools...i do not think this is a boost unless you are saying the admit rate is higher/it is easier to get in to med school?

Yes, I am saying it is easier to be directly admitted to the med school as an undergrad - Georgetown reserves a certain number of slots for this program (though many GU undergrads are admitted to the med school outside this program as well). It is definitely a boost, especially considering that a relatively small percentage of students are now accepted into med school directly from undergrad, so having the certainty early in the process that you are on this path is definitely a bonus. There is a similar program for law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I think my kid will be ok with competitive clubs; his high school is extremely competitive and he's totally used to it (although I'm sure he'd be happy to NOT have to apply for everything as well). But rats inside the dorms! That one stops me.

rats are in every northeastern city, Richmond up. Granted not usually in dorms, but we know students at Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Penn who have seen rats inside buildings(usually they are mice not rats). Part of city life. If they do not leave food out in dorms there is no issue

like OP, I live in NYC and rats inside buildings is not a thing at Columbia or NYU. Mice .. okay, but that's very different

Exactly. Mice and rats are entirely different. Rats breed disease and need to be taken seriously. Really hoping this isn't true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I think my kid will be ok with competitive clubs; his high school is extremely competitive and he's totally used to it (although I'm sure he'd be happy to NOT have to apply for everything as well). But rats inside the dorms! That one stops me.

My DC has not had rats in dorm freshman/sophomore year. I suspect rat presence is more likely in the floor level of townhouse options with an outdoor entrance to the unit. If your child chooses a regular style multi-floor traditional dorm or apartment building style dorm they are likely fine. I don't think any traditional freshman/sophomore dorms have rats in rooms....then it's a matter of whether you choose to try for a popular townhouse with outdoor entry (if you can even get one) or try for the more traditional "apartment style" building that has suites or apartments. But, yes, there are rats on campus. They run away. My DC thinks they are funny.