GWU Elliot School of international affairs- is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you think you get more international experience, exposure and opportunities? DC or Vermont?

How did Vermont even get into this discussion?

[Anonymous]

As others have mentioned, for IR grad school is more important than undergrad. And the Elliot school is great - one of the best programs in the country. But if cost is an issue, I would take the cheaper undergrad university and duel major with IR - economics, data science, foreign language etc. And then go to Elliot for grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in state for VT and W&M? If so, no way is GWU worth the price tag.

Yes, in state

Go with W&M and look into the W&M joint degree program with St Andrews. That joint degree would be an especially compelling path for someone interested in IR.

[Anonymous]

Omg please....GW is just not that great a school. UMD, UVA, yes, W&M are all better options IN STATE OR OUT OF STATE. No question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If cost is not a concern, do GWU. Better location for internships and networking opportunities with the faculty.

GW grad, don’t agree. Not better enough to justify extra cost relative to VT or WM.

Then you didn't hustle enough.

We have plenty of year-round GW interns where I work. We only see W&M interns in the summer and then they're competing with everyone else.

Totally agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg please....GW is just not that great a school. UMD, UVA, yes, W&M are all better options IN STATE OR OUT OF STATE. No question.

Not for IR they are not.

Now, does that justify a higher cost? No, not necessarily. But that’s a different point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If cost is not a concern, do GWU. Better location for internships and networking opportunities with the faculty.

GW grad, don’t agree. Not better enough to justify extra cost relative to VT or WM.

+1
Also a GW grad and our DC chose from among the same schools. Chose VT for their National Security and Foreign Affairs major and is double majoring in a critical language. Fantastic experience. Other majors there in the Department of Political Science:

https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-political-science.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg please....GW is just not that great a school. UMD, UVA, yes, W&M are all better options IN STATE OR OUT OF STATE. No question.

Not for IR they are not.

Now, does that justify a higher cost? No, not necessarily. But that’s a different point.

Yes, absolutely for IR. Going to a school people associate with being rejected from Georgetown is not a good thing. Only 30% ish of the class comes in through ED. People see it as a backup school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If cost is not a concern, do GWU. Better location for internships and networking opportunities with the faculty.

GW grad, don’t agree. Not better enough to justify extra cost relative to VT or WM.

Then you didn't hustle enough.

We have plenty of year-round GW interns where I work. We only see W&M interns in the summer and then they're competing with everyone else.

Totally agree

Agree as well. One thing also worth mentioning is the peer group. GWU is very international in a way the state schools aren't, by design. It's a different class environment being surrounded by other students from all over the place, studying IR, than a student body that's overwhelmingly made up of students from Virginia. Not getting into costs, but I didn't see this mentioned and from my own IR undergrad and grad experiences I just don't think I would have had the same experience in a school where the majority of students are in state Americans.

[Anonymous]

I went to a no-name tiny school in the middle of nowhere and somehow ended up working in IR in DC, so I don’t think it really matters that much, at least for government.

That said, I work at State and I will say that in the past 3-4 years, nearly all the new employees we hired in our office were GWU grads. They had a strong internal network and shared around job vacancies for contractor positions, which are not usually on USA jobs, and are a good way to get your foot in the door to convert to permanent status later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg please....GW is just not that great a school. UMD, UVA, yes, W&M are all better options IN STATE OR OUT OF STATE. No question.

Not for IR they are not.

Now, does that justify a higher cost? No, not necessarily. But that’s a different point.

Yes, absolutely for IR. Going to a school people associate with being rejected from Georgetown is not a good thing. Only 30% ish of the class comes in through ED. People see it as a backup school.

Oh, I see, so you’re actually ignorant about IR programs and how they are regarded and just base everything off of admission stats. Never mind then.

[Anonymous]

Yes, great school. Elliot is a top notch school as is the university as a whole. Consistently ranked much lower than it should be by USNWR.

[Anonymous]

Curious about what % students in this school stay in DC after graduating. Maybe that's changing in the current political climate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious about what % students in this school stay in DC after graduating. Maybe that's changing in the current political climate?

Sample of one, GWU graduate and stayed in the area, but graduated some time ago. As you note things may have changed.

[Anonymous]

NP. I have an incoming freshman headed to Elliott this fall.

If kid later decides they don't want IR for whatever reason, including how the employment market might be faring when they graduate, how common is it to pivot to some sort of business/consulting the way SFS kids are rumored to do?