Two Washington DC College Tours in a Day

With early action deadlines closing in we recently fit in a quick trip to Washington, DC to check out two terrific, but very different, universities. DC is naturally high on #1 Sons list due to his interests in politics and economics so it made sense to visit both American University and George Washington University. For two schools located just a couple of Metro stops from one another they are as different as night and day.

American University is housed on 84 sculpted acres designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. Approximately 6,000 undergrads and 3,000 graduate students call American home while hundreds of others visit for a Semester in Washington but are housed on a satellite campus a few blocks from the main campus location on Embassy Row in the Northwest corner of the District.

America started its information session with a flashy video that stressed the schools location and the opportunities it presents for internships and cultural exploration. The school also stressed that its student body is frequently rated one of the most politically engaged in the country. The general recruiting theme is that American is the place to go if you want to be a WONK in your chosen area of expertise.

Housing is guaranteed for first year students but it is not unusual to start the year in a triple. We were told that many students opt to live off campus at some point in their college career.

Unfortunately, the day we visited both the dorms and the cafeteria were off limits, so the tour ran short after hitting the library and a couple of classroom buildings. With a little time to kill after the official tour we wondered into the School of Public Affairs and were floored at the assistant deans willingness to provide an impromptu informational interview! #1 Son left that interview convinced this is the school for him!

By comparison, George Washington Universitys information session consisted of a stand up presentation by a member of the admissions staff and a brief Q&A with student tour guides. We learned that the school admits less than 1/3 of applicants to fill out its freshman class. A bit larger than American, GW is home to slightly more than 10,000 undergrads and almost 14,000 graduate students.

Somehow, with more than double the number of students, GW manages to fit them into about half the acreage covered by American. The Foggy Bottom campus, where the majority of the classrooms and dorms are located, blends into the city with prominent GW banners being the primary way to tell which buildings belong to the University.

The dorms we saw were very modern and well maintained. However, we were less than thrilled with the dining plan which mixes a la carte meals at a central buffet style cafeteria with take out from the numerous sandwich shops and restaurants surrounding the neighborhood. The dining card can be used to charge at both the cafeteria and neighborhood locations but we got the sense that the dense, urban nature of the school means that there is no central social focal point.

To enable ongoing expansion, GW recently purchased a former womens college, now known as the Mount Vernon campus. We did not take the shuttle ride to visit it but are told that it provides more of a traditional campus experience with six residence halls for almost 700 students, a fitness center, library and some classrooms on 25 grassy acres in the Foxhall neighborhood. It also houses the Universitys Womens Leadership Program.

While the academics at GW are impressive, #1 Son felt that the intense urban nature of the school really didnt deliver what he is looking for. He decided to pass on GW but put American at the top of his list. Of course, we know many families whose kids have made the exact opposite choice, embracing an urban school in all its glory. The good news is that the colleges of DC offer a wide range of choices. If you visit, let us know what you think.

Tagged with: College Visits

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