Thoughts on Georgetown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ND has $18-20 billion endowment while Gtown has less than $4 billion. Enough said.

ND and Georgetown are the top two Catholic schools, and lots of kids apply to both, in part bc they are both Catholic and in part bc they both offer EA. But they are not actually very alike.

One is a city school, deeply embedded with the city, with an international/ cosmopolitan / outward focus. The other is a (mostly) isolated, very large campus, with a more inward focus and a super-tight community. Both have great academics (with strengths in different areas) but very different feels. I'd think that most students who visited both would have a strong preference for one over the other, based on individual preferences.

Georgetown is not a top Catholic university. It is a secular university with a Catholic history.

No Catholics go to Georgetown for a Catholic University, community or education. The Georgetown jesuits dirched Catholicism a long time ago, dusting it off now and then for alumni, then shoving it into the back of the closet the rest of the time.

Notre Dame is the top Catholic university, followed by schools such as Villanova, Boston, Holy Cross, Catholic U, etc.

I've never heard it quite described like this, but this is what I understand about Georgetown. My daughter was just accepted, but ND is her first choice. She's looking for a Catholic community, so I am really hoping she gets into ND.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is a "Catholic community?" there are different types of Catholics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What exactly is a "Catholic community?" there are different types of Catholics.

What exactly is the LGBTQ community? There are different types of gay, trans, and queer people.

[Anonymous]

I hope your kid gets into ND since it seems like you would be upset if she didn’t.

Still congratulate her for the acceptance to GU. Quite an accomplishment.

[Anonymous]

Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound too snarky. Just trying to refocus her situation from seeming uncertainty to congratulatory.

No dog in the fight.

Your daughter will have amazing options.

[Anonymous]

How you feel about Georgetown — from a faith or academic perspective — really depends on where you stand. If you’re looking for an overwhelmingly Catholic experience Georgetown will come across as “not Catholic enough,” partly from the fact that the Jesuit sect has a different approach to religion/teaching of theology. If you’re looking for a college that is just like most of the other secular prestige universities then Georgetown may feel “too Catholic.” It’s silly to ascribe one blanket experience to people that will view the environment differently and seek out groups that match their interests. (Trust me, you can find a deeply meaningful Catholic community at Georgetown or go through four years with barely a hint religion impacting your day-to-day.

In the same vein, Georgetown will appeal to people academically in different ways. Some of the STEMs genuinely are lacking and I think this is a fair criticism. (Although Georgetown is fairly strong in some of the sciences and pre-med but yes, nonexistent in engineering.) If you’re interested in studying international relations/economics or business, or the humanities (particularly philosophy or theology) I would put it up there with basically any other university. This is why it’s so silly to say Georgetown is woefully behind peers or a top university. It all just depends on what the student is interested in and their own ability to engage in the opportunities of Georgetown and DC. It’s why any of the blanket statements about the school being good or bad are unhelpful and probably says more about the person than the school itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ND’s large endowment comes from having one of the best money managers for decades believe WSJ profiled individual and ND has loyal big donors. Georgetown is the oldest Catholic school and to excuse its small endowment on a late start is ludicrous. Well publicized alumni giving rates over last 30 years Princeton, Dartmouth, Notre Dame and Holy Cross.

Georgetown has also chased away a lot of Catholic support over recent years.

In contrast. Notre Dame embraces their Catholic heritage.

Wasn't Georgetown the one with the shameful slavery history?

This is a very nuanced issue — afflicting many old universities—going back to the 18th century and for which Georgetown has tried to make extraordinary amends. It really says more about the history of America than anything specific about Georgetown, which has tried to handle the issue with grace in modern times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid who is an upperclassmen at Georgetown and we live about 4 miles from campus.

Kid is not part of the lax-bro (male or female) culture, apparently has a great group of friends, is active in a number of clubs and has had a number of great internship opportunities, particularly during the school year.

SFS has been a great experience for them, even if going into the government at this time isn't a first choice.

And problem of god was a great class for them - we are not particularly religious or catholic.

My kid is very interested in SFS. Given your kid’s positive experience, what is he/she likely to do post graduation? Is the option to go into government getting any better? What are SFS 2026 graduates gravitating towards as they seek opportunities? How is the career office responding to the current situation with government employment recruiting?

Given SFSs focus on economics and language, there are some hard quant and linguistic skills that give grads an advantage for private sector hiring too. I know many SFS grads who went into finance or international business alongside their business school peers. Having said that, yes, a lot go into government, multilayer organizations, or the nonprofit sector too.

[Anonymous]

For a good mixture of Catholic community and great academics ND and Holy Cross are best options. Gtown intentionally strayed from Catholicism decades ago. Hurt them with older alumni not giving money. HC is slightly easier admit but their grads do exceptionally well. HC alumni club in DC includes Supreme Court Justice Thomas, Dr Fauci, Chris Matthews, 2 US Senators, Gordon Peterson and several CEO types. .

[Anonymous]

Know several Hoya friends and family who haven’t contributed in a long time. Not happy with drift from its Catholic heritage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Know several Hoya friends and family who haven’t contributed in a long time. Not happy with drift from its Catholic heritage.

Given that it is rooted in Jesuit theology, being upset about a so-called drift is really a them problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Know several Hoya friends and family who haven’t contributed in a long time. Not happy with drift from its Catholic heritage.

You must hang out with some very old people, and/or a group of trad Catholics.

I went to Georgetown in the 1980s, when it was already about 50% non-Catholic students. There were certainly some students who were very involved in Campus Ministry and attending Ignatian retreats, as well as a lot of cradle Catholics, but I don't remember any culture warriors.

The theology requirements have not changed since then, nor has the rough share of the study body who are Catholic. Georgetown has been, for a very very long time, a community that welcomes and appreciates people from various religious backgrounds. Anyone who claims a 'drift' attended over 50 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know several Hoya friends and family who haven’t contributed in a long time. Not happy with drift from its Catholic heritage.

You must hang out with some very old people, and/or a group of trad Catholics.

I went to Georgetown in the 1980s, when it was already about 50% non-Catholic students. There were certainly some students who were very involved in Campus Ministry and attending Ignatian retreats, as well as a lot of cradle Catholics, but I don't remember any culture warriors.

The theology requirements have not changed since then, nor has the rough share of the study body who are Catholic. Georgetown has been, for a very very long time, a community that welcomes and appreciates people from various religious backgrounds. Anyone who claims a 'drift' attended over 50 years ago.

And the ones who attended 50 years ago are the ones with the most wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know several Hoya friends and family who haven’t contributed in a long time. Not happy with drift from its Catholic heritage.

You must hang out with some very old people, and/or a group of trad Catholics.

I went to Georgetown in the 1980s, when it was already about 50% non-Catholic students. There were certainly some students who were very involved in Campus Ministry and attending Ignatian retreats, as well as a lot of cradle Catholics, but I don't remember any culture warriors.

The theology requirements have not changed since then, nor has the rough share of the study body who are Catholic. Georgetown has been, for a very very long time, a community that welcomes and appreciates people from various religious backgrounds. Anyone who claims a 'drift' attended over 50 years ago.

And the ones who attended 50 years ago are the ones with the most wealth.

Perhaps -- but the 80s and 90s grads who went to Wall Street and private equity (and there were, and are, MANY Georgetown grads who go into investment banking) are also wealthy. Given Georgetown's boost in prestige in the 1970s and 1980s, and the trend for Georgetown grads (including from SFS) to move to the private sector rather than gov't, younger alumni may be wealthier.

[Anonymous]

Hoya alumni network is weak guessing Bill Clinton hasn’t written too many checks.