Insight into GWU

[SocialHermit1]

I'm very interested in the Sociology program here. I was incredibly shocked when I was accepted, considering it has a pretty decent ranking nationally (Tied 54th with Ohio State University in National Ranking according to US News), and its private. Let's just say that my undergraduate experience was rough. But, I have a great work history, research with professors and volunteer experience to make up for that. I've heard very positive things about the university considering its location. But, I want to hear specifically about the Sociology department. I've gone through their website and was surprised that they didn't have much of a section for their alumni or current graduates. I may have missed it, but it would be wonderful to hear from people who are either in the program or have finished it. 

 

I plan to visit the campus and take a tour in late April. I plan to speak with Professor Ivy Ken before I travel to arrange a brief meet and greet with her and the department, if possible. I applied because of their demonstrated research in social inequality and urban sociology. Hiromi Ishizawa and Antwan Jones are two professors, besides Ken, that stick out to me the most in these areas. 

 

Besides the department, I would love to hear more about campus life. Is it diverse? Are there plenty of events or places to go in the area? I know that D.C. is a great city, as I've been there a few times myself. But, from a student's perspective, what can you do? How are the communities? What's the living situation like? Is it easy to find roommates near campus?

 

I was also not given funding (No assistantships or fellowships) and this is a major factor in my decision process. I understand that I may have to take out loans, as I had no choice but to do so in undergrad. But, is it indeed as expensive as many people have stated? I don't expect to live on campus, so that knocks some cost out of the way. But, what other options do you have for funding at GWU?

 

If you've completed the program, how easy was it for you to transition into the field? Was it a smooth transition from grad school to a job or was it a horrible process?

 

If you have any other information to share, please feel free! Of course, if anyone else is in the same boat, comment as well. Any insight and help would be greatly appreciated!

[ajcafe]

I can't really speak about the sociology department, but I attended GW for undergrad. I also lived in the area off and on for a little over 2 years after graduating in Downtown Silver Spring (MD), Columbia Heights, and Bloomingdale. I also have friends that lived in Dupont, Shaw/U St, and the Southwest/Waterfront area.

 

Diversity:

DC is a pretty diverse city, there's some de facto segregation between northwest and the rest of the city, but even within the northwest quadrant you'll find a range of ethnicities (predominantly latinos and african americans, fewer asians). Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant, U Street, Shaw, Eastern Market are some neighborhoods to check out within the city, also H St. NE (the Atlas District). It's also a very LGBTQ friendly city.

 

Things to do:

GW has pretty much taken over Foggy Bottom, so while the campus is very urban, there is definitely a 'bubble'. They have two or three big campus events each year with popular artists and food, etc. Basketball is a thing, but as far as I know, we haven't done particularly well since 2005/2006ish. That being said, DC has soo much going for it:

lots of FREE things - museums, jazz in the sculpture garden in the spring/summer, ice skating in the winter, movies and events at the national mall, the cherry blossom festival

I also recommend walking around and exploring, it's a very walkable city with lots of neighborhoods and culture. 

Nightlife - this is where DC can get a bit pricey, but there are lots of happy hour specials and cool bars to find. Most GW students tend to stick to Foggy Bottom and Georgetown, maybe Dupont Circle, but I highly recommend breaking out of the bubble and going to U St., Columbia Heights, H St. NE, and SW Waterfont. Things shut down relatively early in DC (the bars and metro close at 3:00 am on Fridays and Saturdays). House parties are quite common.

 

Foggy Bottom is expensive. I imagine  there will be plenty of students in your situation, so it really depends on what you want. I know of students who will rent out 1 or 2 bedroom apartments and divide it in such a way that 2 - 5 people can live there. I'd recommend looking at places in Shaw or up around Columbia Heights, where rent might be more affordable and there are always people looking for roommates. Honestly there are a lot of places to look for affordable options, but it depends on what kind of commute you're comfortable with. I'd budget for $700-900/month for rent, you might get lucky and find something cheaper, but that's the average range. Living alone in the city will cost you $1600+/month, so roommates are definitely the way to go. 

 

GW is a pretty expensive school between tuition and cost of living in DC, but it's manageable. It also depends on what you're looking for. Washington, DC is a great city and there's lots of opportunity there, particularly for work with non-profits, international organizations, or government, so it might be worth it if those are areas that interest you.

 

Sorry I can't answer more questions about the Sociology department, but feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions about living in DC/GW campus. 

[SocialHermit1]

Thanks so much for the information, ajcafe! 

 

I've only visited D.C. a few times in the past couple of years and I only know of certain areas (Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Georgetown and Fairfax, VA mostly), so the mentioning of a few other areas will really help me in the near future! 

 

I think I'd be comfortable commuting from the Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant, U Street, Shaw areas. I'm very familiar with the metro system in the city, so as long as there's a metro stop nearby, I'll be comfortable with just about any area that will be a good 30 minute ride tops. 

 

Your info about the housing cost is fantastic! Thank you so much for that. I'm pretty worried about the housing situation, but I'm sure if I get a head start on it, I'll find something before I move down. I had a feeling it was going to cost me well over $700 to even share a place. I'm not sure if you'd be comfortable answering this question here (If not, feel free to shoot me a PM), but did you work while you were at GWU? Did you do work-study, internships, jobs on campus, etc? The funding aspect has me incredibly worried about attending the school. I really do think the area/partnerships/connections that GW has will aid any active student who's looking to make the experience and cost worthwhile, but it sounds like a struggle without the proper funding. 

[ajcafe]

Funding is tough at GW. I did some internships, but they were all unpaid. I have friends who did work-study by working for different GW offices. I also know people who worked for catering companies or bartended while studying as well. There might be some RA positions available to grad students, but I'm not sure how competitive those are. There are always internships, but it can be hard to find ones that pay/pay well. DC is the capital of free labor in that regard. That being said, GW is definitely doable, but money will be tight and you'll definitely take on some debt. You can always appeal for more financial aid (scholarships/grants), if you haven't done so already. GW is not known to be particularly generous with funding, but they might be able to find something to make it a little easier. 

[SocialHermit1]

They were very confusing when it came to funding overall in the graduate admissions area. I asked just what exactly my awarded amount was from filling out the FASFA and for some reason, they told me that they were not going to send me a letter stating that information. Granted, this was a representative in their office. According to them, I needed to complete an application/questionnaire before that happened. I guess its to give me all of my options beforehand? It sounds quite difficult, really. I plan to apply for work-study and look for some internships, preferably paid if possible. As for the RA positions, they are closed until 2017, which baffled me. They must go rather quickly. I'll keep my options open in that regard. 

 

But thank you so much for replying and giving your input! It really does help me in making my decision

[ajcafe]

Anytime!

[rising_star]

Work-study typically isn't available at the graduate level. The financial aid at the graduate level is basically all loans. 

[SocialHermit1]

Work-study typically isn't available at the graduate level. The financial aid at the graduate level is basically all loans. 

 

That may be the case for some schools, but according to GWU's website for financial aid and assistance, there is an application that can be completed to be considered for Federal Work-Study for graduates: http://financialaid.gwu.edu/work-study(Under Graduate tab). While I may not even get it, I plan to at least try. I'd rather exhaust all of my options before I turn to loans. 

[rising_star]

Exhausting all your options makes sense. But, even with work-study, you'll probably need loans given the tuition and cost of living in DC. Going into debt for a master's program is a risky proposition. If you gain solid quantitative skills, it might work out because you could get a government job as a statistician or work in the private sector with the master's and make decent money. I would definitely look at some student loan calculators to see how much debt you might end up with, what the monthly payments would be like, etc. especially since you took out loans as an undergraduate. I personally wouldn't attend an unfunded master's program, especially since there are some funded master's programs in sociology out there.

[SocialHermit1]

Exhausting all your options makes sense. But, even with work-study, you'll probably need loans given the tuition and cost of living in DC. Going into debt for a master's program is a risky proposition. If you gain solid quantitative skills, it might work out because you could get a government job as a statistician or work in the private sector with the master's and make decent money. I would definitely look at some student loan calculators to see how much debt you might end up with, what the monthly payments would be like, etc. especially since you took out loans as an undergraduate. I personally wouldn't attend an unfunded master's program, especially since there are some funded master's programs in sociology out there.

 

Oh, I completely agree. The D.C./VA/MD area is incredibly expensive and I expected it to be for graduate programs, especially since I'm out of state. Doing the MPNs for the Direct Stafford helped me calculate just how much it would cost for me to attend any of the schools I applied to, in-state and out. As for being underfunded, I think that's going to be the case for the majority of the programs I applied to out of state. My undergraduate career was not the most solid (Personal reasons that I'd rather not disclose), so my GPA is not high in comparison to admission standards. I had to boost my application with my 5-year work history, volunteer work and research from undergrad. But, if they are strictly going on merits for funding sources like fellowships and assistantships, then that option is pretty much dry across the board for me. The programs I choose were strictly based on the admission requirements and the department's credibility. I still have two more schools to hear back from, and if they offer me solid funding, the I'm going to choose one of them over any other school I was accepted to. But, if all of them deny me any form of aid besides loans, then I may not have another option. I'm already applying for grants and scholarships as well, but those are few and far between. While going into debt for a masters my not be a wise choice for some, it may be the only option for others. 

Edited March 23, 2015 by SocialHermit1

[rising_star]

The thing is, even with a low undergrad GPA, it's really not your only option. Instead of looking at the admissions requirements and credibility, you need to do another search where you focus on the programs that offer funding, rather than the ones that you think you can get into. There's a bunch of threads around here about applying to grad programs with a low GPA. People with a lower GPA are able to gain admission with funding in many cases, but that is definitely a better option than going $100K into debt for a degree that may not net you any more opportunities than what you have now.

[SocialHermit1]

A school I applied for mentioned that the lowest GPA they accepted for graduate admissions was a 2.8. My GPA is below that threshold. I also took the GRE and the scores were subpar in my opinion (I couldn't afford to take that test again). Hence, the decision to apply based on requirements. I'm sure there are plenty of schools with funding offers, and I looked into the options of them, but they sometimes carry a "catch" with them (High GPA, Above Average GRE, research, LoR, etc.). It's not the same for all, but some schools.

I also did research to which areas within the country offer the most opportunities for jobs in my field for individuals with an advanced degree, and the areas I applied to have the highest concentrations for it. While DC is the most expensive, it has the highest concentration of Sociology jobs in the nation besides California, with the starting salaries being the highest in DC. I do hope that whatever area I end up in for my MA will provide that net income to counteract the debt I take on. Granted, I do not plan to take out the maximum amount of loans offered to me for any school I accept and if I can work to lower the costs, I plan to do so. I'd rather not, but if that's what it takes to achieve this goal, then I will. I come from a low income background and I'm a minority. The cost of education is high regardless. I had grants, scholarships and awards to keep the cost of undergrad down and keep my loan amounts minimal. I plan to keep looking at other sources for funding while I wait to hear from these other schools and hope that they do offer me something as well. If not, then I may have to look at other options.

[SocialHermit1]

Don't get me wrong, you're bringing up valid points! It's just I've contemplated these things for several years and they have held me back from even wanting to attend grad school for so long. So, the fear of having to give up because I'm not getting enough free money is depressing and discouraging. I may not have the best credentials on paper in comparison to my peers, but I still consider myself a liable candidate. I'm just poor

[knp]

Oh gosh! DC is so expensive. I have no opinions or expertise on what you should do, OP—congrats on the acceptance! that's awesome—but I just want to chime in that "$700-900" for rent somewhere with a reasonable commute to Foggy Bottom might be optimistic, depending on how much space you need. For instance, I and one roommate share a 1br/den in one of the cheaper neighborhoods in NW, one that isn't on the Metro, and I view myself as having gotten a STEAL for having my share be only $900 a month with utilities. Maybe I was just unlucky when I did my housing search a year ago, but while my apartment is a little small, a little old, medium dingy, and pretty inconvenient for my work, most other apartments I was looking at were both in the $1000-1100 range, while at the same time being smaller, dingier, and less convenient than my own place.

 

On the other hand, if you can do without your own bedroom and either put up dividers or live in the common space, you can obviously cut that $900-1000 figure in half again, so maybe that's not so bad. Here is DCist's rent map (http://dcist.com/2015/03/map_heres_how_much_a_one-bedroom_co.php) for your reference. It only covers DC (and only NW), so I might also suggest looking out along the orange/silver lines into Virginia. Perhaps things are less expensive out in Clarendon or Courthouse? Those were too far from my workplace, but they're fairly convenient to GW.

Edited March 23, 2015 by knp

[ajcafe]

@knp - you may be right. I moved away from DC in 2013. I found a deal in Columbia Heights 2 blocks from the metro and half a block from the 16th street buses for $850 in a very comfy 2 bedroom w/ 1 roommate. Other places in that area of NW I was looking at were between 750-850. I wasn't looking during peak season (Oct.) and was already living in the city, so I had time to find the right place, which may have helped. It makes sense that in a year and a half rent prices are closer to the $800-1000 range for room/shares. Good caveats for the OP to keep in mind.

[SocialHermit1]

Thank so much for the input, guys. Even if I decide on not attending GW (I'm still on the decision process, as I'm waiting to hear back from two schools), its still good information to know. I mean, I could easily decide to attend GMU (George Mason), if they accept me and I'll still come across the same problems, especially in Fairfax. I know for a fact that place is not cheap at all. 

 

Either way, I'm going to have to be proactive on the housing front in that area.