The Basics
Why Choose Georgetown
A+ Features
Needs Improvement
New Collegiette on Campus
All About Academics
Learn from the Best
Interests & Involvement
Team Spirit
Girl Power
Food & Drink
Social Scene
Dorm Life
Exploring D.C.
Learn More!
The Basics
Location: Washington, D.C.
Funding: Private
Student Faculty Ratio: 11:1
Size: 7,552
Percent Women: 55.59%
Tuition (one year): $44,805
Most Popular Majors: English, Finance, International Relations, Marketing, Economics, Nursing, Government, Biology, Psychology
Greek Life: Yes (but not officially recognized by the University)
Acceptance Rate: 17% (as of 2012)
For more information about financial aid, scholarships, majors, study abroad, and average test scores, visit Georgetown University’s website at http://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/georgetown_experience/.
Why Choose Georgetown
“I chose Georgetown because students here recognize the importance of work-life balance and seizing opportunities in life. While all students take classroom performance seriously, they are not spending the entirety of their college years cooped up in the library. We are perusing our passions through clubs and jobs, expanding our horizons through campus speakers and events, and making lasting memories with friends that make us long for graduation to never come.”
“Of all the schools I visited, Georgetown was the only one that offered the cultural benefits of a major city, the charm of the smaller Georgetown neighborhood, and the quintessential college campus. At Georgetown you don’t need to choose between exploring city streets or walking across a picturesque quad, you can have it all.”
“I applied to Georgetown because there is a place for everyone on campus. Everyone is unique in his or her own way, yet we all find others who share our interests. As a community, we make each other better in all we do.”
“I chose Georgetown because of the people. No matter where you are, the classroom, Healy Lawn, or a Georgetown Basketball game, they challenge and inspire you to become a better person everyday. You are surrounded by energetic, amazing individuals who are “doing” all the time and that makes you want to do the same. There truly is a Hoya spirit that is spoken about when you visit and take a tour but until you live the “Hoya” life you can never fully understand it. Once you do, you will never forget it."
A+ Features
“My favorite part of Georgetown is D.C.!”
"At Georgetown, we say that Washington, D.C. is our playground! Whether it's running to the monuments or kayaking on the Potomac, D.C. is a fantastic part of going to Georgetown."
"Georgetown’s favorite traditions include celebrating the last day of classes on Georgetown Day and heading to the Verizon Center to watch the Hoyas play basketball!"
"I think we're so lucky to be able to have an area like Georgetown right by campus, which gives Georgetown a true "college feel", but at the same time we're a part of this amazing city."
Needs Improvement
Source: http://www.blog.thehoya.com/ho...
While all Georgetown students continuously bleed blue and gray there are a few things that, according to many Hoyas, need some improvement.
“Housing is a really stressful process. Being in the city, Georgetown is pretty limited in terms of housing space. While some of the options are great, the lottery system makes getting your top choice apartment pretty difficult.”
“Greek life is pretty much non-existent so the bar scene at Georgetown is a big deal. While this can be a lot of fun, the night life options are very limited for people under 21 which can become super frustrating.”
“Living in Georgetown can get pretty expensive. Going out to dinner and brunch are very popular and fun, but the money piles up. Also, the stores along M Street are all high-end and going to the bars at night means spending money on drinks (unless you get some nice guys to buy them for you!).”
New Collegiette on Campus
“The first night of NSO (New Student Orientation), I was so nervous. I remember standing outside of the gym with the rest of the freshmen waiting to go inside. Walking in I was shocked by the hundreds of Orientation Advisor’s dancing and singing on the bleachers and chairs. I couldn’t stop smiling. As cheesy, and admittedly at some points annoying, NSO was, I can’t wait to be an Orientation Advisor for the freshmen next year.”
“First semester was definitely a transition period for me. I had doubts and was still a little unsure of myself on campus. Then I went home for Christmas break and couldn’t wait to come back to campus, that’s when I knew I made the right decision.”
“I made my best friends on my floor freshmen year.”
“There’s definitely a lot of pride for each of the four freshman dorms. As a Darnall-ian I will always argue it’s the best dorm on campus. That always becomes a topic of conversation with new people I meet and one of the first things you identify with at Georgetown.”
“Everything was so new freshmen year. It was a series of firsts - your first basketball game, your first Georgetown Day. Everyone was just so excited. There was a kind of magic about being here. I miss that that feeling.”
“Freshmen year was hard. It was also a ton of fun. At Georgetown I just think you have to be able to balance everything.”
“My mom was so sad when I kept referring to Georgetown as home."
All About Academics
“Georgetown definitely has amazing classes, no matter what school you are in, but the course workload can be challenging. You will get through it all if you stay on top of your work and manage your time.”
“For a majority of majors, you will most likely not have to write a thesis. However, if you want to graduate with honors in your major or want to go to graduate school, they recommend you complete a thesis your senior year.”
“Work varies a lot depending on your classes. Get ready to post up in Lau (the nickname for our library) or the business school. You may even have to sacrifice a few of your Saturday nights, but you won’t be the only one.”
“Don’t forget to bring your love for coffee to college. Or find one. It will definitely come in handy!”
Source: http://sfs.georgetown.edu/image/1242767741679/Students_Classroom.jpg
“Course registration is normally rather easy. However, keep in mind if you want to take one of the popular Georgetown classes, make sure to put it first on your list, but you still wont be guaranteed a spot. (Sidenote: Rate My Professor may become your new BFF.)”
Learn from the Best
Source: alumni.georgetown.edu
"I've generally loved my professors at Georgetown! There have been a few classes where I didn't feel a connection with my teacher, which could be attributed to the fact that they were large intro classes, but usually if your professor knows that you care, they care."
"Definitely utilize office hours, and if the time don't work for you, make time to meet with your teachers. Don't forget about your TA's either!"
"Rate My Professor is an amazing tool for deciding what professors to register for during registration. While some reviews may be biased, the site generally is really helpful."
Interests & Involvement
Source: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/...
"I would say that for as much time as Georgetown students spend in the classroom and library, they commit as much energy to their involvements and extracurriculars. People here are always so busy with their clubs that at times it can almost be intimidating. Sometimes you even question whether you’re doing enough. But at the end of the day I just think it speaks to the passion and drive students at Georgetown share."
"On-campus clubs and organizations become your main social outlet. That’s really how you make a lot of friends, expand your social circle, have fun on the weekends, and meet older students. In my experience I think that’s how you find your niche at Georgetown."
"One of the things I loved most about coming to Georgetown was that I ended up joining and doing things I never would have expected from myself in high school. No one at home believed it when I told them I was performing Indian dances in Rangila. I love that at Georgetown it’s totally normal for people to step out of their comfort zones and do things like that."
"I’m so grateful we don’t have a dominant Greek life scene. It makes everything so much more welcoming and less hierarchical and superficial."
"There are a few really large campus organizations that are very popular like The Corp, GUAFSCU, DC Reads, Blue & Gray, The Hoya or any of the club sports teams. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating with competitive application processes, but there are tons of clubs to get involved with."
Team Spirit
Two words: Basketball. Season. Georgetown lives and breathes basketball, and while the past seasons have been a little rough around the edges, everyone still loves heading over to the Verizon Center to cheer for their Hoyas. Basketball games are a ton of fun and if you’re really into basketball, season tickets are pretty reasonable. Georgetown is not a huge football school, but the games are right on campus and really convenient to watch! The Homecoming game is probably the most highly attended game, along with the infamous Homecoming tailgate right outside the stadium. In the fall, football games takes over Harbin Field, and when springtime rolls around you’ll hear the lacrosse team’s music blaring as they practice or warm up for a game.
“Georgetown is not as sports oriented as, let’s say, a SEC school is about football, but we still love our sports!”
"Boys’ Soccer is also pretty big, and last year they made it all the way to the championship game!"
"There are plenty of opportunities to play club sports, with everything from lacrosse to Ultimate Frisbee offered."
"There is definitely an athlete presence on campus, as you’ll notice when you see the basketball players walking around, but it’s very interwoven with the “NSA’s” or “non-student athletes."
“You definitely see the athletes walking around with their parkas and athlete backpacks with the G logo on it, but a lot of my best friends are athletes. They’re not exclusive at all."
Girl Power
“One of the first things visitors notice about Georgetown is how well dressed we are as a campus. Certainly everyone has their lululemon or sweats days, but its also not uncommon or abnormal to see people dressed up for class. There may have been a time where everyone here dressed preppily, but today Georgetown can’t be confined to one look. All students have unique backgrounds, perspectives, and personalities, which are reflected through the clothes they wear.
“Not unlike our entire student body at Georgetown, women here are driven, motivated, and passionate. One of the most popular clubs on campus in Georgetown University Women in Leadership. This past weekend I attended an all day conference on campus called OWNIT that brought in female leaders across a variety of industries to speak. The event was inspiring not only to see what impact female leaders are making on the world, but also how many incredible women I am lucky enough to call my classmates.”
“Another terrific aspect to Georgetown is just a pure ‘yes’ nature that carries over to its female population and a spirit of encouragement. As finance major, I am personally pursuing a career on Wall Street, a male-dominated industry and have received nothing but support from faculty and staff in the MSB, career services, and most importantly upper-classman female peers. Having these role models and this support system to encourage you in a field that is used to see a trading floor with a female percentage representation in the single digits is huge! Having panels discussions of "Women on Wall Street," and a culture at Georgetown that breeds leaders all contributes to this and has certainly made my career path and that of my peers more possible. Georgetown is a ‘yes’ school and always will be.”
Food & Drink
“Georgetown has a ton of awesome sandwich places. One of my favorites is to stop at Wiseys on my way to class to pick up a Hot Chick or create my own sandwich at Booey’s.”
“I like how there's enough variety and options that you can go out somewhere and not find it full with everyone you know, but on the other hand there are not enough good delis that have a basic deli sandwich."
"We have The Corp here on campus, which is a student-run organization consisting of different coffee/food places around Georgetown. If you need to pick up something quickly in-between classes one of their locations: Midnight Mug, Hoya Snaxa, MUG, Uncommon Grounds, Vital Vittles, or Hilltoss (their new salad place) is a great option."
“I think that the Georgetown food scene is what you make of it. Depending on how far you want to walk or how much you want to spend, you can experience all types of food.”
“While everyone may freak out about Georgetown Cupcake, Baked + Wired is where it’s at.”
“Georgetown has a lot of places for students to get food from like Chipotle, Good Stuff Eatery, Luke’s Lobster, Sweetgreen, Wiseys and Dean & Deluca, but you have to be careful about how much money you spend!”
“Leo’s (our dining hall) is what you make of it. If you get creative or happen to have a favorite station you’re set, but it’s easy to get tired of some of their options."
“Every on-campus housing option has some sort of kitchen option, whether it’s a kitchen in your Village B Apartment or the common room in your freshman dorm. It may not be state of the art, but it’s what you make of it!”
Social Scene
While almost every Hoya you ask would say there’s nothing not to love about the party scene Georgetown, it’s definitely a different take on the college party scene. When people usually think of the college social scene, crazy frat parties with hundreds of people, deafening music and keg stands come to mind. While Georgetown does have extremely fun parties, they’re usually not at this “frat” level, which makes it even more appealing to some students.
When asked how they would describe the social scene here, students said:
“Because there’s no ‘official Greek life’, parties are on a smaller, more intimate scale and then everyone usually hits up bars. It’s a big pregame school, which is a different type of partying, but equally, if not more, fun”.
"Georgetown has their own kind of “Greek life” through clubs, activities and sports teams. Different extracurricular groups sort of make up for the lack of a Greek system and create friend networks, have parties and pregames constantly, put together galas and formals, and more."
“Sports teams usually stick together, and groups like GUAFSCU, The Corp, Blue & Gray, and more are all pretty cohesive groups that have a major "work hard, play hard" mentality, which a lot of students at Georgetown have”.
Dorm Life
Source: http://gaap.georgetown.edu
“The people you hang out with first semester at Georgetown are really made up of who you live near in your dorm, but then friends intermix and dorms become friend networks.”
“All of the dorms have different personalities and everyone really identifies with their freshman dorm. I always find myself immediately asking someone where they live upon meeting them in order to place them somewhere and make connections with mutual friends and experiences.”
“Georgetown has a unique system called CHARMS that incoming freshmen use to find a roommate. It’s almost like an anonymous online dating system because you fill out a survey about your preferences and then get matched to people whose answers align with what you’re looking for in a roommate. You get the chance to talk to potential roommates and then narrow it down and choose someone you think you really click with. As with everything, some match-ups work better than others, but I had an amazing experience with it and became best friends with my roommate and neighbors next door. I think it’s a great system and would recommend it to anybody.”
“The freshman dorms are New South, Village C West, Harbin, and Darnall. Each has its own reputation, with New South being nicknamed “Zoo South” for it’s crazy partying rep. Students living in New South are fortunate to have relatively large rooms with sinks that come in clutch, and students in Village C West have smaller rooms, but with bathrooms in each room, which makes up for it. Harbin is unique in that the floors are set up in clusters, so there are small groups of a few rooms set up next to each other, rather than long hallways of rooms lined up.”
Source: http://www.georgetown.edu/news/mass-holy-spirit-2012-story.html
“Housing gets more complicated as you get older. Sophomore year students are still required to live on campus, but they have the option of dorm or apartment style housing, or living-learning communities. Realistically, very few sophomores get on-campus apartments, so unless you get lucky or live with an upperclassman, you will probably be in a dorm again. However, junior year you can be pretty much sure you will get an apartment, with the option of campus-owned townhouses, but you are also able to live off-campus, which many students do. Living in a living-learning community is a great way to meet people with similar interests to you, as the community has one focus and participates in activities centered around this common interest.”
“I always feel really safe on campus and in the dorms. I’ve never felt threatened or uncomfortable, but if there was ever anything bothering me I know I could always go to my RA, chaplain, or hall director. They’re always reaching out to us and hosting fun activities and events to facilitate dorm bonding, so I feel really comfortable with them.”
Exploring D.C.
One of the best things about Georgetown is the city. There are a plethora of shops, restaurants and cool places to explore around the cute little town, as well as the bustling powerhouse of a city that is D.C. right outside of the Georgetown pocket. Pages could be written on everything there is to do in Georgetown and D.C., but it really depends on your interests.
"Hit up the restaurants of M Street, with everything from classic American bistro at Clyde’s or J. Paul's, or taste tapas at Bodega or Bandolero. There’s every type of cuisine you could imagine, from Ethiopian to Japanese, so take your pick!"
“I love heading over to the Eastern Market and checking out DuPont Circle and Adams Morgan. There are a lot of cool places that students don’t see much of, but that’s a good thing because that means Georgetown has everything they need! But I highly recommend checking it out.”
"We have the quintessential American tourist experience- the monuments. About a mile away from campus, with a great path along the Potomac River for a nice jog or walk, the monuments are extremely easy to access and truly beautiful to visit."
"There are endless opportunities in the city surrounding Georgetown, and if you’re more of a homebody there are a ton of places you can walk to!"
Learn More!
Want more information? Visit https://www.hercampus.com/scho...
