George Washington U vs American

[Anonymous]

We are in NY so are not as familiar with DC schools. Would like to explore these options for kid #2 (rising junior) who doesn't want to "be too far away" from a city (I don't think being in the center of the city is a requirement. just not too far). Attends a selective (very rigorous) NYC public school, won't have stats for a T30 but a good student overall. Naviance indicates these both could be options.
In a nutshell, what kind of kid goes to GWU vs American?

[Anonymous]

Similar kids, different preferences: GW is urban, AU is suburban.

[Anonymous]

Agreed - definitely come down and visit; the campuses have very different feels.

[Anonymous]

Agree with visiting both campuses. My kid thought they’d like GWU more, but liked American more after visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with visiting both campuses. My kid thought they’d like GWU more, but liked American more after visiting.

Thanks. Surprised the student body would be so similar. We're also looking at Villanova and Haverford outside Philly, but I think the former is too Catholic and the latter too hard to get into with an ED commitment. Boston would be great, but both Northeastern and BU have turned into super reaches for the selective NY public crowd, plus I'm not sure DC would be that psyched about the co-op thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with visiting both campuses. My kid thought they’d like GWU more, but liked American more after visiting.

Thanks. Surprised the student body would be so similar. We're also looking at Villanova and Haverford outside Philly, but I think the former is too Catholic and the latter too hard to get into with an ED commitment. Boston would be great, but both Northeastern and BU have turned into super reaches for the selective NY public crowd, plus I'm not sure DC would be that psyched about the co-op thing.

^^ sorry, WITHOUT an ED commitment. I don't think DC will want to ED at Haverford.

[Anonymous]

What is your kid majoring? Villanova / Haverford / GWU / AU are not at all similar. I'm actually surprised that your has narrowed it down to this group. Once your kidsvisits they should have a clear preference.

I do think GWU and AU have similarities if you have a kid who is interested in IR or PolySci, or who simply really wants to be in DC, but, the schools do have distinct feels and kids usually have a preference after visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your kid majoring? Villanova / Haverford / GWU / AU are not at all similar. I'm actually surprised that your has narrowed it down to this group. Once your kidsvisits they should have a clear preference.

I do think GWU and AU have similarities if you have a kid who is interested in IR or PolySci, or who simply really wants to be in DC, but, the schools do have distinct feels and kids usually have a preference after visiting.

Calm down. I cannot believe how ridiculous some of you sound

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your kid majoring? Villanova / Haverford / GWU / AU are not at all similar. I'm actually surprised that your has narrowed it down to this group. Once your kidsvisits they should have a clear preference.

I do think GWU and AU have similarities if you have a kid who is interested in IR or PolySci, or who simply really wants to be in DC, but, the schools do have distinct feels and kids usually have a preference after visiting.

No clear major yet. For now we're just narrowing down on location/size/feel of student body.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if it's too late, but you might want to check out a week-long program that the ACLU runs this month (you can choose among three weeks) at AU
. It's the ACLU Advocacy Institute and the kids live in AU dorms and go to programming all week. My older child went last year, and it gave him a chance to live in s dorm,see DC, and be in a very engaging program. It even became part of his college essay. Btw we'refrom NYC as well and we were surprised at how much our DS liked the nice grassy AU campus.

[Anonymous]

If the kid likes the feel of BU then GWU is the better fit between AU and GWU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure if it's too late, but you might want to check out a week-long program that the ACLU runs this month (you can choose among three weeks) at AU
. It's the ACLU Advocacy Institute and the kids live in AU dorms and go to programming all week. My older child went last year, and it gave him a chance to live in s dorm,see DC, and be in a very engaging program. It even became part of his college essay. Btw we'refrom NYC as well and we were surprised at how much our DS liked the nice grassy AU campus.

Thanks, interesting to note! For context, older sibling is at Northwestern and I think that's where some of this is coming from (beautiful campus near but not right in a major city). Obviously feelings may change when we tour. Was just trying to get an overview of the differences between these schools. Personally I would prefer my younger kid stay within Amtrak/driving distance so I am pushing Boston/Philly/DC options...

[Anonymous]

Villanova and Haverford are both in upper crust white suburban neighborhoods and don’t have the slightest bit of urban feel. They’re also both more selective than GWU and American.

[Anonymous]

University of Maryland, Catholic and Georgetown are also DC area colleges.

Catholic is a safety school for some people. But cute school and generous merit aid if that matters.

University of Maryland is a Big school with lots of sports with good rankings. You can also get to DC quick from there. Not too bad to NY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Villanova and Haverford are both in upper crust white suburban neighborhoods and don’t have the slightest bit of urban feel. They’re also both more selective than GWU and American.

+1. None of these schools are alike (except for GWU and American, which also have some differences). This is a weird list of schools.