GW's reputation--good? bad? indifferent?

[Anonymous]

I am from the midwest and went to Georgetown for undergrad. You would not believe how many people confused GU with GW. Aggravating for me, but prob not to GW folk. 8) Reputation: ambiguous.

[Anonymous]

I am from NYC and now live in the Midwest. I would categorize GA as good enough to get you into a solid grad school if you did well there.

[Anonymous]

GWU grad here. Absolutely loved my school and my profs and am flowing great in my chosen career! Got a great education and had a great experience!

[Anonymous]

Tom Hanks character in Bign- went to GWU.

[Anonymous]

I've met some very smart and successful people who went there.

[Anonymous]

It's very good by any measure. It's also exceptionally costly, if you roll in the FULL cost (not just the tuition, room, board and fees)> Bear in mind that an undergrad has to add $1,200 per semester at a minimum because there's no real on-campus food service, so you're depending on eating local fast food.

The implied question is, is it worth it for undergrad? Well, if you're in-state in VA, and you can get into GW, you can probably get into UVA and/or W&M. If you were able to fully pay for GWU in parental cash, and you go to in0state, you'll have nough left over for in-state medical school. GWU is just that expensive, and the financial aid is not commensurate with the total potential exposure.

[Anonymous]

OP--I graduated from Georgetown with an international affairs degree a few years ago and have worked in the field since then, so here's my take:

Georgetown and SAIS are the best two school for international affairs in DC and carry signficantly more weight, reputation-wise, than GW. That being said, unless your goal is to teach international relations at Harvard, in the real world it generally won't matter that much, especially the further you get from graduation. I know plenty of extremely successful grads from the GW int'l studies MA programs and there are very good faculty members there as well.

[Anonymous]

GW used to be considered a diploma mill... not sure about now, except that the Med School lost accreditation couple of years ago

[Anonymous]

Really depends on the program.

The law school is top 20 and #1 in certain areas [intellectual property], but for a long time the focus was on grad schools where high achieving Washington professionals could top off their credentials - often in night programs.

The undergraduate programs catered to foreign students - especially from the Middle East. This is all changing, but reputations evolve slowly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP--I graduated from Georgetown with an international affairs degree a few years ago and have worked in the field since then, so here's my take:

Georgetown and SAIS are the best two school for international affairs in DC and carry signficantly more weight, reputation-wise, than GW. That being said, unless your goal is to teach international relations at Harvard, in the real world it generally won't matter that much, especially the further you get from graduation. I know plenty of extremely successful grads from the GW int'l studies MA programs and there are very good faculty members there as well.

If you want to stay in pure IR (in government, think tank, or policy side) in DC, then I think Elloitt places almost as well as MSFS and SAIS (if you do well, really no difference IMO).

However, if you want to leverage your degree as a career switcher or go into banking/finance or top-tier consulting then SIPA, SAIS, MSFS place a lot better from what i've seen.

Lot of SIPA, SAIS, MSFS grads in private sector finance and banking in New York from what i've seen in my extended network. Have not run into any elliott grads in finance or consulting in new york.

This could be a function of two things. SAIS is definitely more quantitively demanding than MSFS (and I think elliott and to be honest more than almost any IR program from what I know) and i think the three I mentioned bring in more private sector, ex-bankers, MBB consultants with higher frequence than Elliott to begin with.

[Anonymous]

A bit off topic but what's the reputation of Yale - Jackson? Pretty new program I think, haven't heard much about it or run into any alums.

Perhaps those currently in IR in DC in this thread can tell me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP -- I'm a career director at one of GWU's schools. If you did well in undergrad -- you'll be fine. I'm assuming you went to The Elliott School? I'm not a booster because I do think GWU is really expensive, and I was actually surprised this year that The World Bank HR folks told me they hire more people from GW now than any other school including Harvard. That shocked me to be honest. (But, of course, TWB is right next to GW.)

The PMF program, the feds prestigious program for grads actually hires tons of GW grads too. So, I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as you do well on the GREs or whatever test you are taking. Make sure to have strong recs and statement of interest. Good luck! I didn't go to GW but my husband went for MBA School here and has done well.

You're a career director and you're not a booster? With friends like you...

[Anonymous]

^^You know if I was a GW student or parent I'd call the university and let them know what their employees are saying. Actually, I might do that anyway.

[Anonymous]

Employers appreciate honesty. They actively recruit GWU students from all of its schools and just want to know strengths/weaknesses. When we are honest and not "sugar-coaters" -- they know what they are getting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Employers appreciate honesty. They actively recruit GWU students from all of its schools and just want to know strengths/weaknesses. When we are honest and not "sugar-coaters" -- they know what they are getting.

If you are the person in the GW career office this response is weak. You bashed GW based on the cost of the school. What does that have to do with the strengths and weaknesses of GW grads? You offered no substantive comment in this regard. You are unprofessional and do the institution you represent a disservice.