Georgetown Disappointment

[Anonymous]

My kids go to one of the jesuit high schools in New York, and Georgetown was on their list. We ended up touring with both kids and both times came away super disappointed

the good and the bad:
Bad: the presentation and tour are terrible. very stuck in the 90s and the "woke" bit (I'm woke myself so I like woke!) about tacking on $17.19 to tuition to fund some scholarship for descendants of enslaved peoples was insane. first of all because the biggest chunk of the tour, and also because the idea - later scrapped? - was so totally misguided. anyway, that was all bad. The campus itself is not great. bad dorms, brutalist library, terrible student center, basement dining halls. the buildings that are in-process are also generic. the food was terrible - frozen patty cheeseburger and frozen fries. like the cheapest possible stuff.

it was just a terrible tour with lunch after. I used to love Georgetown (neighborhood) and the housing is still charming but the shops are all brookline and warby Parker. if you're a 40 year old banker, it's for you. but the bars and cheap eats are gone.

the good: the kids who ended up there like it! and career outcomes are great, especially for business. I think more for business now than SFS kids. it's a lot of drinking - my kids friends reported having to do 20 shots on night for some club or something. and it's pricey going to clubs, where covers are now $50 at times. ridiculous. but kids have fun, for sure.

there's a ton of construction so maybe things will improve. I think a couple new buildings that are well designed would make a big difference. And better food. They need to pay up a little for design and food. I dont think there's anything they can do about the state of Georgetown commercial strips.

I have a third kid and I bet we'll tour again.

[Anonymous]

I loved it when I toured as a hs kid 35 years ago. Disappointed when I toured with my daughter two years ago. Nothing wrong with Georgetown, but DC just doesn’t feel magical after a decade of MAGA.

[Anonymous]

BC has a nicer campus by a lot. Fordham too FWIW.

I agree Georgetown has a dorm and food problem. But both are solvable w some money.

I dont really know if there are internships as plentiful as there were 10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

I’ve always liked GT but agree that DC has lost its magic. Part of what makes the school desirable is the location. Wonder if part of the negativity is just a sign of the times.

Georgetown’s name recognition skyrocketed in the 80s thanks to the basketball sensation. Bill Clinton’s election really raised the academic prestige (Scalia’s nomination in the 80s to a lesser degree). Do those things matter in 2026? I’m not so certain.

[Anonymous]

I’d bet Santa Clara’s prestige and selectivity will skyrocket if Newsom wins in ‘28. A high quality regional Jesuit school that’s starting to draw students from a wider geographic area. Lovely campus in desirable location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was another thread with the exact same name and premise about a year ago. I wonder if it’s the same (troll) OP

Got to love DCUM.

I agree that it’s likely the same troll. However, I also agree that Georgetown, while strong, isn’t as strong as it should be for a school that’s so selective (and expensive).

What do you mean by “strong”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always liked GT but agree that DC has lost its magic. Part of what makes the school desirable is the location. Wonder if part of the negativity is just a sign of the times.

Georgetown’s name recognition skyrocketed in the 80s thanks to the basketball sensation. Bill Clinton’s election really raised the academic prestige (Scalia’s nomination in the 80s to a lesser degree). Do those things matter in 2026? I’m not so certain.

The basketball team isn't very good. Sports definitely help with enrollment and desirability. Villanova is up. I am sure hoops has helped.

[Anonymous]

Plus the Pope went there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently toured Georgetown, which was my son’s dream school since 9th grade. We were so disappointed. The neighborhood is great if you’re a wealthy baby boomer. Otherwise, it seems like a solid Catholic university, but hardly one of the world’s great universities. FWIW I’m a Fordham grad, and I don’t see how Georgetown is any stronger.

Feels like a huge gap between prestige/name and quality. Am I missing something?

I wasn't impressed either. The info session was fine but very impersonal. The tour group was the largest we've been in at any school. It was so big I could not hear the tour guide. The dorms are in very bad shape, you can find multiple reports of student health issues from mold, etc. And they are known for rats.

It was my kid's #1 choice for a while, and I was so glad when he moved on. In the end he didn't even apply.

[Anonymous]

I’m telling you, Santa Clara is a gem. A US president who had an interesting academic journey would rapidly increase name recognition. Plus there are so many great kids who can’t get into schools that would have been happy to have them a generation ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d bet Santa Clara’s prestige and selectivity will skyrocket if Newsom wins in ‘28. A high quality regional Jesuit school that’s starting to draw students from a wider geographic area. Lovely campus in desirable location.

Santa Clara was another school where the tour was a bit blah. Feels regional. Dorms felt flat pack (like American U). But still, so many things going for it with internships etc.

[Anonymous]

GU seemed great to me. We didn't get to go in the dorms but they seemed fine from outside. DC was interested in the business school which seems to have amazing outcomes. (In the end he decided to ED a different school and got in).

[Anonymous]

Great, classy, famous name.

Swanky neighborhood.

Great access to DC internships & connections.

A few stunning buildings.

But overall, few colleges of note have a more cramped, unpleasant campus. What really stings is that so many other schools that the typical GU applicants probably also apply to (ND, BC, UVA, Cornell, Dartmouth, Wake, U So Cal etc) are known for their beautiful campuses. Well, it’s got a better campus than NYU!

[Anonymous]

If a BC grad had won the presidency in ‘92 and got reelected in 96, GT would be the destination for BC waitlisted students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recently toured Georgetown, which was my son’s dream school since 9th grade. We were so disappointed. The neighborhood is great if you’re a wealthy baby boomer. Otherwise, it seems like a solid Catholic university, but hardly one of the world’s great universities. FWIW I’m a Fordham grad, and I don’t see how Georgetown is any stronger.

Feels like a huge gap between prestige/name and quality. Am I missing something?

You’ve missed asking your son why it’s his dream school.

+1. Very few if any 9th graders - aka 14 year olds- can picture themselves in college, let alone envisioning a “dream” school. Sounds like this is OPs build up and disappointment