George Washington Unverisity Review

I attended GW from 1988 to 1992. It was a great experience and would highly recommend it to others who are looking for a urban University. Washington, DC is an amazing city that provides a huge variety of politica, cultural and educational opportunities. 

I also considered NYU, BU, Mullenburg, Dickinson and U Mass Amherst.  Although I was attracted to the bucolic feel of more traditional campuses like Colgate, I felt more energized and at home at an urban university. 

While it is hard to sum up four years in one review, here are some of my distinct memories, now 15 years later.

1. I worked on Capitol Hill as an Intern for Congressman Lee Hamilton during my Freshman year.  I was awestruck by the experience of taking the Metro up to Capitol Hill every day I learned a lot during this experience.
   
2. The party/bar scene was great but (now speaking as a parent) did not over shadow the academic experience.  Although Fraternities are on campus, they were not a huge part of campus life.
   
3. I briefly rowed crew and also played on the rugby team. I quickly found that I enjoyed running at night on the "mall" (the 2.5 mile stretch of park between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.   Where else can you can for a run every day among National Monuments?
   
4. The academics were very good but in hindsight I probably did not take enough advantage of them.   I really enjoyed my Philosophy class and Foreign Affairs classes.  I don't know if the academics have improved dramatically, but if you are a true scholar, you might find the school a bit less challenging than other schools.  (The avg SATs have gone up from 1100 to 1200 in the last decade, so for all I know, this is no longer the case)
   
5. I was very involved in The GW Student Association, which probably qualifies me a true geek.  That being said, it was a lot of fun and on a political campus, it was taken very seriously.
   
6. My freshman year I participated in residential live and learn program called Politics & Values.  It was a double credit course that focused on primary texts.  We had a fabulous professor and the program had about 30 of the most passionate and political students you could imagine.   This experience was very influential on my GW experience and ultimately my closest college friends came from this program.  They have gone on to have incredible careers in politics, non profit and business.