Georgetown vs GWU vs American

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For IR, GW is probably the best academically. Georgetown still holds on to its old timey prestige. American is probably the most down to earth school.

For other majors, don't bother with any of them.

Again - this is not true....but I'm sure anyone who "has what it takes" will do just fine from all three schools. But buyer beware - the typical student at these schools will be quite different. (but potentially more similar within IR at each school compared to other majors)

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AU is a teaching school with zero research component compared to the other two.

Anonymous wrote:For IR, GW is probably the best academically. Georgetown still holds on to its old timey prestige. American is probably the most down to earth school.

For other majors, don't bother with any of them.

This is not true...fellow classmates from the PhD program in my field went there for their career and they were required to do/publish research. Other departments hiring similar PhDs require securing grant money (which also requires an output of doing/publishing research) to support their salary. This is no different than the setup for faculty at the top 10 university I attended for my PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to GWU in the 80s when it was the top ranked school of the 3, Georgetown was in 2nd place and AU 3rd. Georgetown and GWU have since flipped. Yes they all attract students interest in poly sci or IR as top majors with business also in play for undergrad.

Not to be mean, but GWU was not considered the top school in the 80's AT ALL. But then again, who cares, we all know that if you have the resources to go to any of these schools then it's what you do with your college experience and your life that matters.

I mean, what a joke. I was a college student in the 1980s and GW‘s reputation was as a no-name school for rich kids.

The top student in my class, a good friend, applied to Georgetown – and didn’t get in.

[Anonymous]

OP - it's hard to ask this question in a DMV centric forum because most local kids want to go away for college and therefore local kids won't want to go to any of these schools as a top choice.

From what I can have seen from DMV:

Some high stats students will include a Georgetown application - especially if they are interested in IR or political science (maybe other humanities). These students are not likely to also include AU or GWU, even if they like IR - because they are gunning for T20 and they can consider Tufts or other schools that are more prestigious overall than AU/GWU.

Students that are not in the high stats category may throw a GWU/AU application in the mix. I don't know so many of those kids, so I don't know if they apply to both. They are very different living experiences for sure.

There could be high stats kids throwing in AU/GWU apps looking for aid - and I don't know how that plays out in terms of whether one is more generous than the other - or equally generous. And, kids coming from Walls who took GW courses have potentially a large number of credits already earned.

But for kids outside of DMV - these schools are pretty different in terms of on campus living and the student body and add Jesuit factor for Georgetown. It's similar to comparing Boston schools - when you look at BC, BU, Tufts, Northeastern, Brandeis, Emerson - they are quite different places even for someone who "wants to go to school in Boston" (purposely removed Harvard/MIT for elite status that exceeds others by a lot...including Georgetown... and removed Wellesley because it's not coed)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

This is accurate.

I don’t think of people outside of the DMV area think of Georgetown University as being especially prestigious. It seems to be about at the level of Temple or Rutgers, but with more rats in the dorms, overall.

That is just not true. Georgetown as a national reputation as a top ranked school, particularly for IR but not just for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

Georgetown hovers at #14-18. It’s not on the common app and REQUIRES all test scores, every test taken. Therefore, it is one of the most competitive schools based on actual merit. If they were on common app they would be ranked even higher- and be able to play the numbers game.

Is #22 the new #14?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Midwest, Deep South, and Mountain states before moving to DMV. Georgetown is considered a way better school than either Temple or Rutgers in all four areas I have lived in. Not sure about other areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

This is accurate.

I don’t think of people outside of the DMV area think of Georgetown University as being especially prestigious. It seems to be about at the level of Temple or Rutgers, but with more rats in the dorms, overall.

I can’t picture most good students outside of the mid-Atlantic states who were planning to major in anything outside of the social sciences jumping to apply to either Temple or Georgetown.

I know Georgetown must be great at anything adjacent to poli sci and assume that the Jesuit influence might help with Classics and philosophy. But it’s hard to imagine rushing to go there for STEM.

I think that the people who trash Columbia and UChicago in a kneejerk way are annoying. Certainly, I’m being a little mean to Georgetown here. I’m sure that it’s a great school and that many students who go there for physics or math are happy. I just think that the people acting as if it’s at the same level of prestige as Dartmouth, or far ahead of Tufts or Emory in terms of prestige, are being a little annoying themselves.

The only one mentioning Tufts and Emory is you though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

Broad stereotypes are lazy and not particularly helpful. Why post if you have nothing to say

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are very different school vibes. They're also not the only schools in the DC area.

Georgetown is the most prestigious and the strongest academically. That's not just for IR - it has a medical school, a hospital, and is very respectable across the board although IR is where it shines.

Back in the 70s-90s, GW was a commuter school and had lots of night school classes and practical career-oriented programs. It was and isn't prestigious although its downtown location attracted professors working in their field and so it was a good career school and plenty of succesful people got their start at GWU with internships. It has transformed itself into a school that attracts rich international and first generation kids.

AU is a do-gooder school in an enclosed campus which attracts traditional age kids looking for a campus experience. It has always leaned left. It has solid academics and is most known for its international relations program and its communication school. It is the only one of the schools that does not have a medical school so would hands-down be the worst of all three in sciences, I think. It has an excellent program for kids with LDs/ ADHD. Like GW, it strongly encourages students to take advantage of the city and do internships, which many use to launch a career.

AU has been putting a lot of money into science lately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Midwest, Deep South, and Mountain states before moving to DMV. Georgetown is considered a way better school than either Temple or Rutgers in all four areas I have lived in. Not sure about other areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

This is accurate.

I don’t think of people outside of the DMV area think of Georgetown University as being especially prestigious. It seems to be about at the level of Temple or Rutgers, but with more rats in the dorms, overall.

I can’t picture most good students outside of the mid-Atlantic states who were planning to major in anything outside of the social sciences jumping to apply to either Temple or Georgetown.

I know Georgetown must be great at anything adjacent to poli sci and assume that the Jesuit influence might help with Classics and philosophy. But it’s hard to imagine rushing to go there for STEM.

I think that the people who trash Columbia and UChicago in a kneejerk way are annoying. Certainly, I’m being a little mean to Georgetown here. I’m sure that it’s a great school and that many students who go there for physics or math are happy. I just think that the people acting as if it’s at the same level of prestige as Dartmouth, or far ahead of Tufts or Emory in terms of prestige, are being a little annoying themselves.

You are correct about STEM not being particularly strong or important at Georgetown. I know a couple of science professors at Georgetown and they always complain that Georgetown neglects STEM and that it is impossible to do good research as postdocs and graduate students are not interested in Georgetown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

This is accurate.

I don’t think of people outside of the DMV area think of Georgetown University as being especially prestigious. It seems to be about at the level of Temple or Rutgers, but with more rats in the dorms, overall.

You would be wrong. I'm not from here and Georgetown is considered prestigious. Only the very top students apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to GWU in the 80s when it was the top ranked school of the 3, Georgetown was in 2nd place and AU 3rd. Georgetown and GWU have since flipped. Yes they all attract students interest in poly sci or IR as top majors with business also in play for undergrad.

Not to be mean, but GWU was not considered the top school in the 80's AT ALL. But then again, who cares, we all know that if you have the resources to go to any of these schools then it's what you do with your college experience and your life that matters.

I mean, what a joke. I was a college student in the 1980s and GW‘s reputation was as a no-name school for rich kids.

The top student in my class, a good friend, applied to Georgetown – and didn’t get in.

Times have changed. It is not 1980 anymore

[Anonymous]

I understand when people speculate that a place like Georgetown (which isn’t famous for STEM) wouldn’t be a good place to get a bachelor’s in STEM.

But once you get past the initial impressions, it seems reasonable to say, “Ok, STEM might not be their specialty, but they presumably have competent STEM professors who went to excellent universities; certainly they should be able to do a fine job of teaching UNDERGRADS.”

So, even if Georgetown’s STEM profs aren’t winning Nobel prizes, is there a reason to question their ability to teach undergraduate courses at a high level? (I’m not a science guy, so this is not a trick question.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't go to any of these schools but I've always thought of Georgetown as a legitimately top tier school that you need to be exceptional to get into, AU as a good school for kids who want to change the world, and GWU as a school for middling full-pay rich kids who want to go to school in a city.

Broad stereotypes are lazy and not particularly helpful. Why post if you have nothing to say

DP here. It still holds true, for the most part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand when people speculate that a place like Georgetown (which isn’t famous for STEM) wouldn’t be a good place to get a bachelor’s in STEM.

But once you get past the initial impressions, it seems reasonable to say, “Ok, STEM might not be their specialty, but they presumably have competent STEM professors who went to excellent universities; certainly they should be able to do a fine job of teaching UNDERGRADS.”

So, even if Georgetown’s STEM profs aren’t winning Nobel prizes, is there a reason to question their ability to teach undergraduate courses at a high level? (I’m not a science guy, so this is not a trick question.)

GU is coming out with some great STEM programs, with top professors, so I don't think GU is worried about you.