George Washington University

The George Washington University, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC, has just under 12,000 undergraduate students on a very urban-feeling campus. There’s a second campus, Mount Vernon, which is a 15-minute shuttle ride away – longer with traffic – where about a third of first-year students live. Surprisingly, given its urban setting, GW guarantees and requires housing for 3 years.

GW offers undergraduate programs within 7 schools and colleges with some very interesting majors worth noting:
- Columbian College of Arts and Sciences: Cognitive Science of Language, Data Science, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Biological Anthropology, and Human Services & Social Justice
- Corcoran School of the Arts and Design: BFA’s in Interior Architecture, Interaction Design, Photojournalism and Graphic Design
- School of Business: Strategic Management & Public Policy, Business Analytics, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- School of Engineering & Applied Science: Biomedical, Civil, Electrical, Computer, Systems, and Mechanical Engineering
- Elliott School of International Affairs: Middle East Studies, Latin American & Hemispheric Studies, Asian Studies, International Affairs
- School of Media & Public Affairs: Political Communication and Journalism & Mass Communication
- School of Medicine & Health Science: Health Science with concentrations in Clinical Embryology & Assisted Reproductive Technology, Medical Laboratory Science, or Medical Genetics & Molecular Biology

I had no idea such specific health science majors existed! GW also offers a BA/MD program – no, not BS/MD! – and they’re looking to educate community-focused physicians. This program requires test scores, and the lowest score among recommended students last year was a 1550. The acceptance rate is .01%.

Some other nuggets: there’s a new health data science major, as well as a global bachelor’s program which involves 3 semesters abroad. Also, GW recently sold a tech campus they had in Virginia, and will be reinvesting the proceeds into financial aid and research. Lastly, we were told that there are lots of opinions expressed on both sides of the aisle here, and I believe that to be true. In fact, the 3 presidents of the College Democrats, Republicans, and Independents share an office, though they don't occupy it at the same time.

GWU offers fabulous programs and a great location. The thing that I think it hasn't had is a strong sense of community, compouned by the fact that until recently, there were no university-run dining facilities. That has changed for the better with new traditional campus dining halls, which I think will help students to congregrate and connect.