George Washington University Top Questions

Upone first coming to GWU, you may find it very hard to find your place within the University. Washington DC and GWU are very high-pace places where everyone seems to be doing a million things effortlessly, and trying to jump into this pace is a daunting task. However, it can be done. Transitions are hard, but you will learn to get into the swing of university life. In addition to learning to manage an incredibly demanding schedule, you will have to come to terms with the fact that you will sacrfice some comforts to maintain your gpa.

The school's main "dining hall" offers low quality and over-priced food. Freshman students are forced to buy expensive meal plans at the dining hall, yet it is closed over the weekends and offers extremely limited breakfast options. The dining hall also does not offer the kind of "all-you-can-eat" fare seen at other colleges. Rather, students pay exorbitant prices for individual meals or pay by the weight for food from a limited salad and organic bar.

The administration is not very open towards students and the school is run like more of a business than an actual school. As a result there is limited financial aid available, so students have to come prepared to pay a lot out of pocket.

It is very expensive

The most frustrating thing about my school is that it is in a very expensive area of DC, so things like shopping and social events tend to be pricey.

Even though its location is one of the biggest atributes, it is also one of the biggest obstacles because parking is limited. Comming from California and used to driving around, I was forced to take the metro and walk under extreme weather conditions. Therefore, it becomes a pain to go to class because you need to wake up very early in the morning to make it on time. Academically speaking, it is a very competitive environment and if you don't stay on top of your classes you won't make progress

The most fustrating part about George Washington University is the work. It from time to time can feel over overwhelming. Although it is frustrating, the work still can be nice. It is a nice challenge every now and then. It reminds me why I'm spending so much, I'm recieving an amazing education.

GW is an extremely expensive school, and I expected that student services would be plentiful and helpful beacuse of that. The fact is the oppostive is true, the advising system is terrible unless you are in the Business or International Affairs school and most services are less than helpful. It often takes many phone calls or super long waits to get the help you may need. Also, the General Course Requirements are a little too heavy in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences in my opinion.

The bureacracy here is overwhelming. You can never contact the person you need to in order to fix the mistakes the school made in the first place. Advisors are all but nonexisitant unless you are in the Honors program.

The amount it costs to attend and the privileged attitude of most students who do attend.

Sometimes student help services are slow to respond. Dorms can get dirty.

In terms of students 10,000 undergrad is a good number, but in terms of addressing problems it can be tough. There's too much bureaucracy, and it can be hard to get your problem solved in a timely manner. You have to go from one department to another to another, seeking just the right person to sign on just the right line.

The very political nature of the school can sometimes make it hard to take a step back and just be a college student, at least until you find a close group of friends. But once that happens, everything can be fairly easily balanced.

Some of the professors allow TAs to have too much control over your grades, and the TAs are not always too helpful, but that goes away as you get into higher-level classes.

Completing administrative duties at my school, such as declaring majors and receiving course credit from study abroad, can be very round-about, time consuming, and frustrating.

Much of the school is extremely liberal, however, there are very intolerant of other people's opinions of views. Women on campus are particularly uppity, but men on campus can be equally snobby.

The administration seems to be more about making money and making a name for themselves than about caring for students and fostering a good community, academically and/or socially.

lack of financial aid, disorganization of financial aid office, lack of academic help and direction for transfer students

It is easy to get confused about what direction you want to narrow your field of study down to especially since there is so much going on, and it is hard to get a really good advisor to take interest in your particular situation and really be helpful

The administration is a pretty intense bureaucracy that isn't always helpful.