Georgetown University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Government
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m in a fraternity.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private all-boys school in Southern California with a graduating class of about 300 students.
First Generation College Student: No
Major: Government
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a fraternity.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
It wasn’t too bad. It’s more reading and research-based. You’ll do a couple of papers, have to participate in class, and have an exam. I have maybe 5 hours of reading a week and then a paper or test every month. In some classes where it was harder to participate, you had to do forum posts about the readings. Government’s a pretty lecture-based major it’s pretty popular, so there are generally around 50 people in each class except for the smaller senior seminars.
Did you especially like or dislike anything about your major’s department? Did they do anything especially well or poorly?
I think something that stood out was because we are located in D.C., we had a lot of professors that had experience in politics and actual government work. They had good personal stories and were able to give good advice about things you want to do after college or over the summer. I really liked most of the professors, their personal experiences made the class more interesting.
What was your favorite class in your major?
Constitutional Law, it was a subject that I would find kind of interesting and the professor was super cool and engaging.
What was your least favorite class in your major?
I’m not very good at math, so Statistics. Plus it was in a big lecture hall so it was hard for me to pay attention.
What was a fun class you took outside of your major?
America During the Era of the Cold War, a history class on a topic I really like that really focused on a specific segment of history. I also really liked the professor because he knew a lot about it.
Why did you pick your major?
I came into college undeclared and then I declared Government sophomore year. I chose Government because those were my most interesting classes, not because I wanted to work in politics. I found that I would be completely fine doing the homework for those classes and that I enjoyed the readings. It was just a good environment. Also, subjects like math and science don’t come easily to me. The classes and the professors drew me to it.
Reasons to Attend
1) The professors are great. They’re really knowledgeable and willing to help you out with questions or whatever you want.
2) I loved being in D.C. for college. It was a fun, happening city to be in. I also liked that Georgetown is tucked away.
3) You meet people from all over the country and world. I met people from different walks of life that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s not super applicable to me because I liked the social life, but if you’re looking for a traditional state school going out scene it’s not the perfect fit for you.
2) If you’re looking for a bigger school in general and if you get sick of seeing the same people around it’s not for you.
3) There’s not big tailgating scene or Saturday football tradition. There’s one game people tailgate for which is Homecoming.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: New South in a traditional freshman double.
Sophomore: Village A for half the year filling in for 3 people that were abroad, then I moved into a triple in Reynolds for the second semester.
Junior: I was abroad the first semester, and then second semester I lived in an apartment in Village A with three other people.
Senior: I lived in an off-campus house with six total people.
What was your favorite living situation?
The off-campus house was great because it was close to M Street, we had a little backyard, and we had more space and more freedom.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I never have never felt unsafe, which always surprises me because we get emails about crime sometimes.
What was your favorite place to get away from campus?
I’ll go on a 30-minute walk down to the Lincoln Memorial. It’s a nice peaceful place to go sit and get away.
Social Opportunities
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
We all happened to bump into each other freshman year at a party and then kept in touch and hung out or the next few weeks.
Do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Yeah, I would say so. I think there are people from all over, so yeah I think so.
How would you describe the social scene?
It can be cliquey because it’s pretty club based. I don’t think it’s intentionally cliquey, but people join their own groups and do things they want to do on campus. By virtue of that, you get in a rhythm and hang out with the same people.
How do you like the size of Georgetown in terms of undergraduate enrollment? [Georgetown has about 7,200 undergraduate students.]
It’s smaller than a big state school, so there are lots of familiar faces, which is nice. That can be good or bad depending on how you look at it really. Sometimes it’s a little spread out because people venture out to bars all over the place. If you’re ever going to a house party or something it’ll be a lot of people you’ve bumped into on campus at one point.
What impact did Greek Life have on your experience?
Greek Life makes up a small portion of the Georgetown student population. I liked it because it was a really good way to meet people on campus. Because I was from an area so far away from school, I didn’t know too many people going in. Once I joined I all of a sudden had this big network of people to hang out with. [About 10% of students are in Greek life at Georgetown but Greek life is unrecognized by the school.]
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Not directly, but people I know who have graduated are always willing to give me advice on where to look for jobs through people that went to Georgetown. The alumni network is pretty strong, especially on the east coast. I know a ton of people that are in New York and D.C.