George Washington University Top Questions

A lot of people get involved in student orgs, social life is fun especially the Greek bar scene

There is always something to do here. Regardless of what group you belong to or what activities you like to participate in, something is either always going on at GW or just in DC in general. Greek life is also amazing because it gives you a chance to really get to know people really well, it always gives you something to do and it helps you maintain a group of friends that are really close, which helps when there are so many people at the school.

bars, clubs, some house parties

Guest speakers are one of the major highlights of going to GW. I just saw Ted Turner speak last night and went to a private ceremony afterward. I've heard national and international speakers, former presidents, Hollywood celebrities - there's at least one well-known speaker on campus every two weeks. There are also student organization events and the GWeekly email that comes out every Monday is always full of interesting events. Most of my friends are people that I've lived with. You can have a closed living environment or a very open, social one, but make sure you and your roommate feel the same way. The social scene ranges from frat parties every weekend to free movie premieres at the local cinema. Washington, D.C. is full of amazing nightlife and cultural opportunities. You must go to a fancy performance at the Kennedy Center at least once and check out the smaller theaters in Chinatown, as well. If anyone is awake at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, they're almost definitely working on a paper. Or playing guitar hero.

College Democrats are probably the biggest group on campus. I'm the president of a fraternity so greek life is important to me, but greek life in general is kind of watered down compared to a state school because greeks aren't the social planners for campus recreation. Therefore, the biggest fraternities on campus aren't those who are fun or popular, but those who are GW poster children, they follow most rules and are generally pretty bornig. The fun ones are the smaller ones and are either going on or coming off social probations. The wild ones are unrecognized and are a liability for the university eventhough they're not official. The Panhellenic Association is a mystery to me and I'm deep into greek life. I have no idea how they operate. There is a big chasm between the Multicultrual Greek Council and the other social IFC and Pahnel organizations. It sucks because we talk about how diverse our school is and all this garbage, but we don't act on it. We care about men's basketball and thats it. Our women went to the elite 8 and I didn't even know until we lost. We have lots of guest speakers, but that's because we're in DC and people care about issues. I don't date at GW, too much drama. Its easier to have a drunken hookup and then try to build a relationship than to actually be interested in someone and gradually get to know them. (That is a "GWorld" thing to happen) My closest friends are in my fraternity. We pledged together and though we have different interests, and are from different areas of the country, the pledging process worked and we'll be friends for life. I will be up with them on a Tuesday at 2am smoking hookah, drinking beers, pulling an all nighter. People party when they can, it will be random and sporadic. I've seen hung over people on a Wednesday morning...seriously, who drinks on a Tuesday evening?? If you don't want to drink at GW, there are plenty of concerts or theatre performances in the city. You have to check the Washington Post on Fridays, the Weekend section has a ton of information on things to do. Because this is GWorld, people won't do that, they'll just drink with their friends. When I'm not on campus, I'm with my family, I have my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins that all live in the area. I actually know my way out of GWorld and appreciate "real" people every now and again.

Greek life is very fun at GW, although not needed to have a great time. Students are involved with sports teams, dance teams, political clubs, and other organizations. People are really grouped based on their main activity. I met my closest friends in my sorority, although we all were friends even without it.

Everyone has insomnia. The average time to go to sleep is 2am, homework or not. Greek life here is what you do to party if you don't like clubs or dorm parties, especially as you need a fake for the clubs and dorm parties are often busted (not that that matters too much here, as there's an amnesty program). Its $5 a head for males, free for females, and the frats aren't lame and kick people out.

-Popular orgs: Sorority/frat, Political, sports popular -Freshmen year, dorms mostly left open, after that, ur on ur own -Basketball games popular when they are good -Guest speakers, concerts popular (Fall fest, spring fling) -Not too much dating -Meet closest friends freshman year -Party every weekend thursday-saturday -Greek Life, kind of quiet, but many students are involved, but mostly kept to themselves -Can go out when its warm to bars if over 21, or some lounges, clubs over 18

There is no one club that dominates all others on campus but activist groups and social groups are very influential. Academic groups are somewhat tossed aside. Most people strictly attend basketball games and few other sporting events. Guest speakers are very popular and almost nobody goes to the theater. People party every weekend and frats and sororities are actually larger than most people will tell you. There is almost no drink less partying at G.W. The dating scene frankly rocks if you are rich and have "game" but a majority of the most beautiful girls in school frequently go to clubs or at times fraternity parties. The best bet to meet a girl is either at a frat, in class, or in some organization. That being said this a hookup school and few people have relationships with kids in school.

Greek life is growing in popularity and has proven to be a great outlet for students who don't want to wait in line just to pay excessive cover at pretentious clubs.