Georgetown vs. George Washington (MPP)

[mpp2011]

Did anyone attend both open houses this past weekend? Who made the strongest impression, and why?

I was at Georgetown's but couldn't attend GW's. I was very impressed by Georgetown and I'm wondering if GW made strong impressions on any of you.

[jonpkduq]

Did anyone attend both open houses this past weekend? Who made the strongest impression, and why?

I was at Georgetown's but couldn't attend GW's. I was very impressed by Georgetown and I'm wondering if GW made strong impressions on any of you.

I was at both open houses. Definitely was impressed with Georgetown...they definitely seemed to be trying to woo admits with their 'star power'. It's really great that people like EJ Dionne and Paul Begala teach there. I really enjoyed the little talk Dionne gave. I had to miss the second half of the open house due to GWU's starting at 5:00pm. I'd be interested to hear what you thought of the mock classes, and the rest of the activites. I was also generally more impressed with the admits at GT than at GWU, but that may just have been a result of GWU having two open houses that weekend.

That said, GWU did a great job in terms of having the faculty available to the students. Their day started off with a mix and mingle, and several of the key faculty were there, and all very willing to engage. Their career services guy is impressive, and they had an alumni panel that was pretty informative. I got a sense that it's a pretty collegial atmosphere there.

In the end, I was going to both to see if there was anything about GT that would justify 50-60k in debt (I have full funding at GWU, compared to only 10k at GT). So GT needed to make a REALLY strong impression. It seems like a great program, and if the funding weren't an issue I would probably choose GT.

If you have any specific questions about the GWU day, I'm happy to give them a go.

[mpp2011]

I was really impressed by the mock class and with everyone I met at Georgetown. I went to the domestic policy class. We divided up in groups and read over the Alabama confederate flag case, then proposed a plan for one side or the other. It was engaging and edifying. I also met lots of prospective students, current students, and faculty at the reception. Again, very impressed with everyone I met.

I'm about to catch a flight, but I may try to share a bit more once I get home from this trip (attending the Harris open house this weekend).

[mothernorth]

Good call ! They are both top notch schools so GT is definately not worth 60k in debt when your alternative is an equally great program like GW. If your alternative was Morgan State than maybe it was worth it, but not with GW ! :-)

[athena_aka]

I disagree that it's as simple as both being top notch schools. For what it's worth, I applied to GPPI but not GW -- but at the GPPI open house this weekend several of the students agreed that the core difference between the two programs is that GPPI is very quant-heavy, where GWU is very theory-based. This was not to say that one is better than the other; but you should consider what exactly you want to get out of the program, and factor those strengths into your decision.

[FB2009]

GWU is NOT very theory based (and as a current student I can promise you that).

We do have theory, but the coursework has MUCH more more of an applied focus than theoretical. For PHD-wanting students we have tracks that are more theory based (and certain requirements can be filled using more theoretical courses) but most students stick to the applied route.

Not sure where anyone got that info, but its about as wrong as you can be.

(Plus for the quant issue at GTown--we offer almost an identical course as their 3rd semester quant course, just instead of requiring it, its an elective)

[FB2009]

Just to elaborate on my previous point:

Don't form your opinions based on biased sources (not just here but in all the forums, see where the info is coming from.) This is not only important in admissions, but throughout your ENTIRE policy career (and hopefully will be one of the first things taught to you in policy schools--most sources have biases and those need to be evaluated!)

What a Georgetown student says about GWU is unlikely to be factually correct and may just be based off of their impression from admitted students day (and not real experience in the program), and should usually be treated as questionable. What I say about Georgetown should also be treated with caution since all of my knowledge on them is entirely based off my experiences with last year's admitted students days. I obviously chose GWU because it was the best option in my opinion, but even my own circumstances are likely to be very different from your own.

I really think an important thing to concentrate on during admissions is how you felt at each program's admitted students day, how you felt the coursework and faculty lined up with your interests, how you felt the quality of their career services was, and what impression you got from their current students. In DC you can't go wrong with a program, so trust your gut. It's a good option here.

Plus seriously--I can GUARANTEE you nobody in the field reads USNews rankings (my friend from Harvard's program recently related to me how in one week of job searching he was told by 3 large government agencies HR departments "oh I didn't know Harvard even offered an MPP!")

[Snowden12]

This is more question than comment, but I was hoping some of you might elaborate. I didn't apply to either of these schools but I did have a friend that attended each open house. His opinion of the two was that Gtown really rolled out the red carpet and pushed the prestige angle. GW was much less impressive to him but he came away with the impression that GW was going to land a better class. In fact, his opinion was that several schools (CMU, GW, SAIS, etc.) were going to land better classes because Gtown wasn't offering equal financial aid packages this year. He came to this opinion through talking with other prospective students, so there's no way to prove this is the case. I was just curious if anyone else came away feeling the same way...that Georgetown was relying on prestige and name-recognition too much this year and that other schools were benefiting as a result.

[kleisthenes]

This is more question than comment, but I was hoping some of you might elaborate. I didn't apply to either of these schools but I did have a friend that attended each open house. His opinion of the two was that Gtown really rolled out the red carpet and pushed the prestige angle. GW was much less impressive to him but he came away with the impression that GW was going to land a better class. In fact, his opinion was that several schools (CMU, GW, SAIS, etc.) were going to land better classes because Gtown wasn't offering equal financial aid packages this year. He came to this opinion through talking with other prospective students, so there's no way to prove this is the case. I was just curious if anyone else came away feeling the same way...that Georgetown was relying on prestige and name-recognition too much this year and that other schools were benefiting as a result.

This is a great thread from two years ago, so I wanted to give it some air time on this year's forum.

Does anyone have any updated info on the relative comparisons between the two schools, course content and fee price (as well as awards...)?

Cheers

[noclueatall]

Hi guys,

I have an offer from GPPI and am hesitating what to do. I am an international student and the course seems someow a little bit american focus. I am not sure how it compares with LSE (MPA), which is the other offer that I have. The careers office seems frinedly but I haven´t got the chance to visit any of the open houses. I am sure there are more people like me with offers from GU which would appreciate an update from your experiences. Thanx!