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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a parent of a college freshman.  My husband went to Georgetown for grad school and we lived in DC suburbs for 8 years.  We are Pitt undergrads.

I agree with the upthread characterizations of GW vs. AU.  They both used to be more hometown schools for DMV kids...but provide access into the DC job market.  There are many professions where that applies...pre-law, politics, and int'l relations among them.

I don't think either school stands out from the pack of good options. unless Washington is a preferred locale for college or post-college jobs.  That might be the case, but it seems your search is still broad.

I would recommend that you also look at Pitt (similar to GW in many ways) and Syracuse while you are looking at GW and American.  Simply because I think they check some similar boxes.

Broadly speaking, there is also some DCUM crossover with the University of Rochester and this type of school.

I'm sure American offers a good education but it is currently having some financial issues.  That precedes the issues the Trump Administration has caused with all the big R1 universities.
[/quote]

How on earth are Pitt and GWU "similar in many ways?"  Cut me a break.  [/quote]

Why don't you tell me why they are not?  The main difference is the DC location and DC job market.  If your goal does not involve living in DC after graduation, and does not involve one of the fields (such as international relations) where it makes sense to go to school in a capital city, these are very similar schools.  I've lived in both Pittsburgh and suburban Maryland.  I've known multiple people who have cross-shopped these schools. My maid of honor went to Pitt and her sister to GW.  My cousin's child looked at Pitt but decided on GW. And I've known people from outside DC who have come to take a look at DC schools and often decided against.  Because DC isn't particularly relevant to their life plans.  It happens.  We lived there and left.  It still is a fun place to visit with many smart people.

There.  You may take your break now.[/quote]

What the hell are you talking about? I’m talking about the universities. Not the city of Pittsburgh versus Washington DC.  AI has it right:

The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and George Washington University (GW) are both highly regarded universities, but they differ in several key aspects. Pitt is a large, public university with a strong focus on research, particularly in health sciences and engineering, while GW is a private university known for its location in Washington, D.C., and its strengths in political science, international affairs, and business.

You may disagree with AI on this, but it’s a lot more persuasive than “my maid of honor went to Pitt and her sister went to GW.”

[/quote]

I do disagree with AI.  AI oversimplifies and stresses the obvious.

Pitt was at one point private, and is not a full state university (it is considered state related, and still has qualities similar to a private university if you would like to define what those are beyond funding).  The schools have many of the same majors in the areas I am familiar with.  Both are urban, but not located right in the core of the center city.  Nonetheless, both are well connected by transport to the local cultural attractions.  Pitt is a university with deep emphasis on liberal arts classes beyond STEM (despite what AI says).  Liberal arts college undergrads dramatically outweigh the number of engineering students (10K vs 2K-ish), ensuring a focus on all of the liberal arts.  Pitt is also strong in humanities, social sciences, and business, and has a graduate school of international affairs that has produced some notable graduates. It is not in DC, but not everyone's political goals involve DC, which is why I think DC interest is a sufficient and distinguishing reason to select GW, but Pitt might be of interest to others.  Pitt is likely to be less expensive.  There are also buses at breaks to the NY metro area.  Pitt attracts students from the NY metro who want to leave their home area for college, as many do.

My point was that they are similar enough for a New York family with the stated criteria to consider.  I know people who have cross-shopped these schools because they fill similar niches for students.  Also know MoCo students who went to Pitt because they didn't want to stay home for college, which would have likely meant GW/AU/UMD.

Your disbelief does not negate my experiences. Perhaps you aren't as familiar with Pitt as I am with GW.[/quote]

You’re wrong about GWU’s location.  GWU could not be more centrally located in DC.  You can practically spit on the White House and National Mall from its campus.  It’s half the size of Pitt, it’s private, and it attracts a much wealthier and more geographically diverse student body than Pitt.

67% of Pittsburgh students are from Pennsylvania.  Only 5% are from New York. Almost 15% of GW students are from New York, and only 5 percent are actually from Maryland.  In other words, you are both wrong in suggesting that lots of New York students choose Pitt, just as you were wrong and suggesting that GW attracts many Maryland students who stay home.  It doesn’t and never has.

The bottom line is that there is virtually no overlap between GW students and Pitt students, and none of the schools that OP has identified as schools of interest remotely suggests that Pitt is a fit.

[/quote]

[b]Foggy Bottom is off to the side of the core of DC.  [/b]I have lived in the DC area and I worked near the Capitol and commuted by Metro for 8 years.  If you are at Foggy Bottom, you will be staying in that area unless you are commuting to a job on the Hill. [/quote]

DP but no, this part is completely wrong. Walk three or four blocks in any direction from the edge of campus and you are at the White House, middle of downtown, the Mall, Dupont, Georgetown, etc. If anything, the Hill is off to the side of the core of DC, and Pitt is more like a school on the other side of that.[/quote]

I said that GW is outside the core but well connected by transit. By which I mean, it's not right at the convenient neighborhoods near the big Metro interchanges - Metro Center, Gallery Place, L'Enfant Plaza. Foggy Bottom-GWU is at least a mile to the White House.  This is really just a GW concern, not a comparison with Pitt.  My experience is that people use the neighborhood right by their dorms.  I'd rather be in NYU's neighborhood than Foggy Bottom, for example.  Of course you can get anywhere with Ubers and so forth.  But what is right at Foggy Bottom is pretty charmless and office park like.

I would probably prefer to live at AU's campus but it's farther from Metro (needs that shuttle bus) and DCUM people  complain that there are a lot of vagrants/loiterers at Tenleytown these days (I don't live in DC now, so can't verify this). OP asked about GW vs. American...so I think it's relevant to share opinions on the feel of the neighborhoods.  I think both have some imperfections.  Georgetown also...since not a quick walk to Metro.[/quote]

Boy we really are bothered by “vagrants,” now, aren’t we?  You really need to get a grip.  And that you seriously are describing DC’s “convenient” neighborhoods by their proximity to the major Metro interchanges?   Those interchanges are for commuters like yourself coming into the city for work, not for living.  L’Enfant Plaza is central
and Foggy Bottom is not???  Seriously??  You are advising OP through your distinctly suburban lense and know nothing of the actual DC.  [/quote]

Agree! That poster was ridiculous + I suspect they have only visited DC once or twice. Most of their post is erroneous. Example: GW is not "a mile from the WH". It is a few blocks.[/quote]

I googled the walking distance from Foggy Bottom metro.  I worked in DC for 8 years. Anyway, the heat and humidity in warm weather make Metro preferable to walking or crappy buses.

The WH is useless as an attraction for college students unless you work there.  Because you can't just visit.  Usable, enjoyable campus spaces are key.  Joggers and Frisbee players might like the Mall around the Washington monument.  I prefer the eastern side of the Mall near the National Gallery of Art.  Which I occasionally visited on my lunch break from work.

Clearly the people responding are a bunch of Foggy Bottom partisans.  Enjoy.[/quote]

Man you are really doubling down, huh?  You don’t have to be a Foggy Bottom partisan to laugh at your claim that GWU isn’t located in DC’s core center.  And who gives a shit that you “prefer the eastern side of the Mall?”  That doesn’t change anything either.

You’re a suburban girl who lived and died by metro.  You know zero about actually living in DC.  [/quote]

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