Georgetown University Top Questions

Academic life at Georgetown is challenging but doable. I have only taken a couple courses that had more than 30 students, and even in each large course that I've taken my TA's still recognize me on campus and know me by name. One of the best things about Georgetown is definitely the faculty; they're brilliant, and they all seem to care deeply about their students. When I took Calc I, I took it with 25 other students from the head of the mathematics department - an experience you won't get at many other institutions. Overall, academics at Georgetown are based on individual experiences; it is what you make of it. Some professors are much more difficult than others, but all courses are rewarding and fun. Academic life often spills over into other aspects of the college experience; I've had many rewarding intellectual discussions in the cafeteria, with my roommate, or hanging out at the gym. I have also had a lot of opportunities to speak with my professors outside of the classroom; my french professor took our class to eat at the French embassy, and I watched the Lion King with my African Policies professor and the rest of my class. The high level of academic rigor definitely pays off.

Most of my professors knew me on a first-name basis; however, some times it was difficult to get to know the professors in some of the larger classes. Academics are challening, but also stimulating and thought-provoking, and student participation in class facilitates learning. Professors are always willing to help students outside of class. The university requires Philsophy and Theology courses, but I believe these topics only help to fully round the students by encouraging them to take courses that may lie outside the comfort zone.

Language programs are really good, as are most of the SFS courses. Art history was also amazing - the program is tiny of course, but most courses other than the intros have around 10-15 students taught by amazing profs. I'm not sure how other unis do it, but I never had a TA as a professor, and never went to the TA-led practice sessions for my econ classes, so never really met TAs at Gtown.

GU is small enough that you can really get to know professors. I've become long-term friends with quite a few professors, many of whom I think of as valuable mentors now. Beware of the School of Foreign Service, though. My major is Culture & Politics, the most interdisciplinary major of any in the SFS, yet I still was required to take a litany of courses designed to prepare students to follow orders at the State Department or the World Bank, rather than provoking critical thinking. The four required economics courses are the worst -- all SFS students moan endlessly about these courses, which are both the most difficult and least educational courses I've taken, since you memorize economic graphs rather than debating economic theory or policy. Seek out courses with professors dedicated to teaching their students to think critically about the world -- there are plenty! You can find them especially in the English, History, Women's Studies, Anthropology & Theology departments.

Best academic thing about Georgetown is the good liberal arts curriculum. The science curriculum is good for pre-meds, but for hardcore science, look elsewhere. Being a chem major gets you lots of upperclass classes with very small numbers of students to faculty.

Study all the time. very good education

Georgetown wasn't as hard as I had hoped. There were too many classes that focused on "do X to get an A in the class" and not on community-based learning.

Most of the professors and classes are good. Required classes can go either way, but lots of them are really excellent, as well as quite difficult. Georgetown doesn't have grade inflation, so for the most part, you really have to show you deserve an A to get one. I haven't found Georgetown students to be too competitive, even though some classes are graded on a curve. Lots of interesting history, government, and theology classes. There is kind of a stigma that the foreign service school is the best of the four schools, which I wasn't aware of before coming here. I don't think that is true when it comes to the acceptance rates, but I have found there to be more of an academic focus on foreign service and government. The education is definitely geared towards learning for its own sake, not toward getting a job. Some professors are not flexible when it comes to missing class for interviews. The career center, on the other hand, is heavily biased towards finance and consulting jobs.

Georgetown is great about class sizes. A large percentage of my classes have been under 30 people, and the larger lecture-style courses have smaller group discussion sections so you never feel as if you don't have enough one-on-one time with professors.

Whether or not your professor knows your name completely depends on the professor. I had some professors that knew my name and addressed me by it almost every day in class and I had others that I'm sure wouldn't even recognize me. It's a combination of a) their personality and how well they remember people and b) how much you attend and participate in class. The class sizes are generally small enough (with the exception of big introductory liberal arts cores) that professors will get to know you by the end of the semester even if you're on the quiet side. There are a couple of classes tied for my favorite: Management and Organizational Behavior and Religion and Aesthetics. Now, the first class sounds like you should just start falling asleep right away - but my professor made it one of the most interesting classes I've taken and definitely one that I've gotten the most from. She is now my faculty adviser. Same thing going with the other one, although the subject matter was a bit more interesting she is definitely an amazing teacher that assigned provocative assignments that made me actually interested in writing a 10 page paper...rarely does that ever happen. Every now and then I get a smack in the face reminder that "yeah, I go to Georgetown." For instance when I'm standing in line at the keg on the rooftops and I overhear a conversation about correct grammar. And I don't think I even need to mention the demonstrations and activism that goes on in Red Square...oh, those funny SFS students. I like and dislike Georgetown's requirement system. I really like how they make it imperative to take classes outside of my major and in a wide variety of areas. What I don't like, however, is that there are so many requirements that I no longer have any room in my schedule for electives. My first two years were jam packed with introductory level courses that were mostly prerequisites for what I'm taking now and my last two years will be almost all business classes. I wish it was just a big more dispersed.

Georgetown students are the kind of people who would be nerds anywhere else; they'll continue classroom discussions well after classes are done for the day. It's not uncommon to hear passionate debates about obscure political figures during weekend parties. Interest in learning for its own sake goes hand-in-hand with the school a student is in: business students like myself, by and large, care little for academia; liberal arts students in Georgetown College or the School of Foreign Service are the kind of people who carry on academic discussions on the weekends.

Very personal feel, professors know your name, stimulating classroom discussions

One thing I would change about Georgetown academics is to reduce class size, especially in the business school. When you are in a class with 50 people, and this easily occurs given the popularity of the Finance major, it is more difficult to develop a close relationship with the professor and your fellow classmates.

Professors do make an effort to learn everyone's name, even in my Philosophy lecture of 75. Students work hard and play hard. Certain majors focus on getting a job, others on learning for learning's sake.

My professors as a whole know my name after the first few weeks of class. They are very available to help and encourage. Students study an incredible amount at Georgetown. People are in the library everyday til very early hours of the morning and there on the weekends. There is generally a large amount of work that comes with all our classes.

Most professors do know my name. The classes you really enjoy are the ones that get you involved and work off of student experiences. The classes everyone hates are the ones you always sleep through where teachers are absorbed into their own lecture. Students study a lot during the week and will definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, particularly political discussions. Class participation is emphasized and, in the good classes, plays a vital role. Students are somewhat competitive, but especially so when it's time to apply for the big wall street jobs and spots at top law and med schools. Most unique class: Intercultural Communications. Finance major definitely has you well prepared and International Business is ranked at the top among undergraduate programs offering the major. So many students go abroad that many international business classes are highly driven by student experience and knowledge. I went to office hours rarely but I know many students who frequent them and many students who have dined a number of times with professors, advisors, or Jesuits. The academic requirements will certainly leave you well rounded and I thought gave sufficient time to allow for specialization. Depending on your major the education can be geared toward getting a job (i.e. business, medicine, law) or strictly academic (i.e. philosophy, theology) or a combination (i.e. history/gov't, poly-psy)

Almost all professors take the time to get to know students by name, and most want to get to know you even more. They're all very open and eager to help students perform to the best of their ability. The most unique class I've taken so far was Hindu Religious Tradition--such a great class and wonderful professor! Georgetown creates well-rounded students who are not only well-educated in liberal arts but are also ready for the work world in whatever field they choose. Almost all major firms recruit at Georgetown for full-time and internship positions. Class participation is common and you'll hear some very interesting debates in class, even in larger intro-level courses. The Theology requirement scared me at first, but when I got here and started taking the courses I fell in love with them--there is such a wide range to choose from!

Professors know me well - i participate in my classes. Favorite class: Financial Accounting with Prem Jain. Our professor was a funny, middle-aged indian gentleman, who had grown bored of teaching MBA students (too serious, no fun), and decided to pick up the freshman ACCT-101. It was an absolute hoot, the man has worked all around the world and always had a funny story to tell. The work was always a challenge but I earned my A. Really got me interested in finance and the market. Least favorite: macro & micro econ. huge 150 student classes taught by piss-boring lectures. Students study and prepare themselves for class responsibly - it depends from student to student based on their goals, but everyone is interested in pulling solid grades. class participation is common, and encouraged by faculty. we do have intellectual conversations outside of class. students are competitive, but not in a negative way. everyone just wants to do well, and curves are common. I'm still working on the core requirements, but my Problem of God theology class, and American Political Theory gov classes were both pretty interesting. My international business class is fascinating. My probable majors are Accounting & Finance, i don't know much about the departments, but in general there is enough overlap between majors in the Biz School you can easily double major. I rarely spend time outside of class with my professors, but often send them emails either about class or professional opportunities. Academic requirements are rigorous but reasonable - you'll definitely receive a well-rounded education here. The education at Georgetown is geared towards learning. However, students are self-motivated to put their education to use in the professional world, and often look for applications of what they've learned. The administration looks to help the students in their efforts.

About half of my professors know my name. Most are nice and helpful, but there are a few bad ones. Politics are widely discussed on campus, but besides that students don't often have intellectual discussions. The business school is definitely geared towards getting a job. It seems why most of the business students are their, and the professors understand that.

Classes are often very tough and professors are very demanding. It is very hard to get A's without putting a lot of work each week into classes. Students are extremely competitive and often don't help out others just to better themselves. Some kids raise their hadn in class just to hear themselves talk and suck up to the teacher. I did not have any relationships with my professors as i did not take classes as seriously as some of my peers