When I went to GW 20 years ago, I was in the University Honors Program, which paid about 50% of my tuition. I had to maintain a specific GPA to stay in it, take a special honors seminar each year, and write a senior thesis. It was a great experience. You could see if they still have such a program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't think either are really that well-regarded here in the D.C. area. If I were you I would look at other schools that honor your exchange. These two are too expensive and, frankly, the top hill positions and foreign affairs posts are going to go to kids from top flight schools, maybe whose parents are politically connected. I think you can do better. Go to college confidential or reddit and ask

The selling point of being a DC school is the internship opportunities, which eventually lead to better employment and grad school prospects. Go around town and GW/AU/Georgetown interns are a dime a dozen in the typical IR/hill/lobbying firms. True, if all things being equal, a place such as an international consultancy would hire the likes of Ivies over GW or AU, but that's all things being equal. When in fact, the GW/AU student would more likely have more substantive experience and exposure in the DC-centric fields because of their access to opportunities in DC. At the end, it all depends on the student and whether s/he is smart enough to take advantage of the DC advantage. However, speaking for only IR-related fields, many employers hiring for entry level actually require grad degrees rather than undergrads, and AU seems to have a better and more diverse reputation than GW by sole virtue of their more liberal-leaning faculty and student body. Also, SAIS grad students would always be prioritized over GW or AU grad student w/r/t IR field.

Yes to all of this, plus the networking opportunities in DC can sometimes trump alma mater if the student is savvy at making connections.

Anonymous wrote:OP - I don't think either are really that well-regarded here in the D.C. area. If I were you I would look at other schools that honor your exchange. These two are too expensive and, frankly, the top hill positions and foreign affairs posts are going to go to kids from top flight schools, maybe whose parents are politically connected. I think you can do better. Go to college confidential or reddit and ask

The selling point of being a DC school is the internship opportunities, which eventually lead to better employment and grad school prospects. Go around town and GW/AU/Georgetown interns are a dime a dozen in the typical IR/hill/lobbying firms. True, if all things being equal, a place such as an international consultancy would hire the likes of Ivies over GW or AU, but that's all things being equal. When in fact, the GW/AU student would more likely have more substantive experience and exposure in the DC-centric fields because of their access to opportunities in DC. At the end, it all depends on the student and whether s/he is smart enough to take advantage of the DC advantage. However, speaking for only IR-related fields, many employers hiring for entry level actually require grad degrees rather than undergrads, and AU seems to have a better and more diverse reputation than GW by sole virtue of their more liberal-leaning faculty and student body. Also, SAIS grad students would always be prioritized over GW or AU grad student w/r/t IR field.

If it helps, I went to AU 20 years ago and loved it. I still live in DC and now have a career as an attorney. I majored in international studies and truly loved SIS so much. It was really perfect because I could immerse myself in international politics and was able to meet lots of international students on campus as well as study abroad. The campus is gorgeous and in a very safe part of town;the politics are progressive. I have heard great things about GW as well - you probably can't go wrong with either. I'd take the one who gives the most financial aid if that is a consideration.

OP - I don't think either are really that well-regarded here in the D.C. area. If I were you I would look at other schools that honor your exchange. These two are too expensive and, frankly, the top hill positions and foreign affairs posts are going to go to kids from top flight schools, maybe whose parents are politically connected. I think you can do better. Go to college confidential or reddit and ask

Hi OP,

I am actually from WA state as well and have family members who attended the Jackson school at University of Washington. I got an MA in international affairs from one of the better regarded grad schools.

I think you are on the right track for your child to do IR at DC school instead of the UW - while I absolutely love the UW (and believe it is a better school than GW or AU), international relations is so far removed from WA state that it creates obstacles for kids who want to break into this field while using the far-off PNW as a home base. On the flip side, going to a big, flagship state university is well-regarded in DC, creates a differentiation factor from all the same old same old private school kids, and there is a decent UW alumni network around (and having UW on your resume will instantly give some extra recognition with anyone from the PNW).

I think you would be satisfied with either choice, but would recommend AU over GW. I lived in Foggy Bottom for several years basically on GW's urban campus and over the years I have hired and worked with faculty from both AU and GW (I work in diplomacy/defense/development and have run training programs for senior US gov officials). GW is probably a little higher quality/higher ranked/better faculty/better career outcomes, but AU has moved up aggressively in the past few years and the difference doesn't seem all that large anymore (though for grad school GW's Elliot School is probably still quite a ways ahead of AU's grad programs at SIS). Overall, the kids at AU just seem more interesting/more open-minded than those at GW. A lot of foreign rich kid vibes at GW as others have commented. Personally I also far prefer the vibe of American's campus.

One thing to be aware of - it takes quite a lot of tenaciousness to achieve true IR success coming out of either of these schools or somewhere like the UW (unless you're smart/lucky enough to get a PMF) - grads of better known/more highly ranked programs eat AU/GW grads for lunch, whether that be H/P/Y/S, UVA, or a service academy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GW and American are both very good for international relations and politics. And of course you can’t beat the location. Both give generous merit aid. So is Georgetown, which gives no Merit Aid. FWIW, WM is also good.

I have a NOVA junior interest in an international relations / politics area and GW, American and WM are on her list, although she probably like to go further from home. Georgetown is not because $$$$$.

They have very different campuses as PP said, and your kid will likely have a strong preference based on that. You would definitely want to visit before she chose.

What kind of merit aid do they offer? How much?

My kid applied to both and got a much more generous aid offer from GWU ($20K a year) than AU ($8K a year). Stats were 4.0 WGPA and 1460 SAT, with a lot of globally focused ECs.

GWU has more of a city vibe and AU more of a "suburban" vibe, being in a residential section of DC. Both are top schools for international relations and political science, as others have mentioned.

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Anonymous wrote:Two of my HS peers went to these colleges (well more probably but two I knew very well). The guy who went to GW was extraordinarily intellectual and capable (politics, international affairs etc) the girl who went to AU was a little wishy-washy. She was a solid B student, zero imagination, very suburban and predictable.

American has changed in the last ten years, it’s much harder to get into. It used to be Georgetown, then GWU, then American very definitely. I don’t see American as far behind of GW as it once was.

Because american takes the majority of their class in early decision 1 and 2, which artificially lowers the acceptance rate during regular decision. Their ED is like 80% lol. 80% acceptance is basically a second tier state school at this point. They play the admissions game, but nothing fundamental has really changed

Look at the stats of the people they admit, acceptance rates tell you nothing.

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Anonymous wrote:AU is a bit crunchier and wonky; GW has a wealthier vibe (and it does have a campus in Foxhall that feels like a campus in addition to the urban campus that feels like the Nations Capital).

Gross generalizations, of course, coming from my midwestern Prep school cousin who toured both.

Wait . . . so you don't live in DC, don't know anything about the schools, and feel OK passing along secondhand "information" from a high school kid from the midwest who toured the schools? On a Washington, D.C. website?

Well, thank you for your contribution.

Oh come on... you are describing 95%+ of DCUM posts. Don’t act surprised.

-np

+1 . You're also being a bit of an idiot to place less weight on the perceptions of a recent college applicant vs. some random DC resident.

Some random DC resident, sure. But you really don't think there are people on a popular Washington DC discussion website with a more thorough and penetrating insight into each of these schools these schools than, "Someone I knew took the tour, and he said . . . " In fact, I expect that's why OP posted here - she's not looking for "insight" from a random Des Moines senior in high school. Use your head.

Good god, I hope you are not as nasty as you sound here IRL. Or maybe you are...

Oh, would you calm down. She’s not being nasty.

You’re in a great situation if tuition exchange will cover her. I worked at GW for some time and I would echo what has been said here about the city “campus,” the quality programs, the somewhat rich kid vibe, and the overall focus on public affairs/int’l affairs. I can’t speak to American.

I went to AU and never considered GW. I did not want to be in the city. AU was perfect because the city was accessible when I wanted it but I still had a lovely campus setting to live on. AU was a safety for me so I could have applied to either. I ended up at AU do to merit $$. It was a long while ago now.

GW is bigger, better known, next to the mall. The program covers about 75% of the tuition, definitely worth it for this major

Speaking to the locale only.

I live in American University Park (right by AU) and my child goes to School Without Walls High School (smack in the middle of the GW Campus).

GW is an urban campus, it is a great location if that is what you want. You can walk to the Kennedy Center, your are at a metro, everything is right there and it is a lot of fun. AU is in the suburbs within DC. It is a great neighborhood to raise. family and it is a bit of a walk or bus ride to the metro to take you into the city. More of a traditional campus, it probably take 40 minutes to get downtown, 20 if you uber.

The merit aid sucks both schools. My daughter got into both. Only 10k off merit. AU has a low admit rate so don’t need to give a lot off.

Catholic University gives good merit aid in DC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two of my HS peers went to these colleges (well more probably but two I knew very well). The guy who went to GW was extraordinarily intellectual and capable (politics, international affairs etc) the girl who went to AU was a little wishy-washy. She was a solid B student, zero imagination, very suburban and predictable.

American has changed in the last ten years, it’s much harder to get into. It used to be Georgetown, then GWU, then American very definitely. I don’t see American as far behind of GW as it once was.

Because american takes the majority of their class in early decision 1 and 2, which artificially lowers the acceptance rate during regular decision. Their ED is like 80% lol. 80% acceptance is basically a second tier state school at this point. They play the admissions game, but nothing fundamental has really changed