Georgetown University Top Questions

Our economics department is ridiculously difficult. If one is not already pretty proficient in econ, you will have great trouble.

Most of my professors know my name. My favorite class was international business. Students study alot, but they also have a lot of fun.

As in most colleges, academics vary by major and school. I am both a Government and English major, and perhaps no two departments are more different. The Government department is huge, which means it is very competitive and diverse, but offers a very wide variety of courses, interests, and opportunities. There are more adjunct professors here, and until the higher levels classes are often bigger, with fewer professors probably knowing your name, though again this can be overcome easily with some student initiative to get to know professors. This is an incredible, awesome department, but not as cozy and it can be challenging to make your impact felt on the department and the professors. The English department is much smaller (though still not "small" compared to something like anthropology or sociology), you get to know all of your professors very well, and it's less about competition and more about taking just really interesting and engaging classes. Professors have generally been at Georgetown for a very long time and are less focused on weeding students out than on making sure every student learns something. I ended up adding English as a major because I found it such a good counterpoint to my experience in the Government department, where the tone was so different.

Most professors get to know your names, unless of course its a very large intro class. Even then, if you make an effort to see them, they will usually make an effort to remember you. Students study on a varying degree. Work usually comes in cycles so there will be lulls, but when people need to get stuff done they do it. Class participation is common, and is often a part of your grade. Georgetown students have been known to have many an intellectual conversation over a keg... they don't just leave it in the classroom. Students are not really competitive. Everyone wants to do well, but is not as a result wanting others to do poorly. I haven't taken anything really unique, but my roommate too history of jazz. Wouldn't have seen that offered here.

I came to Georgetown to study International Politics, and the school has certainly lived up to my expectations in this category. For Freshman and Sophomores, classes can be large. Introductory courses in economics, for example, have between 50 and 100 students. Even in these classes though, professors are generally accessible, holding weekly office hours. Larger classes also usually have discussion sections with a T.A. once a week. My T.A.s have all been quite knowledgeable and helpful, although occasionally I have heard stories about T.A.s who don't know their subject matter very well. In this case, I think a student should always feel comfortable going to their professor for help. Georgetown academics are very much what you make of them. Professors are willing to help and discuss subjects at great length if you as a student make the effort. It's hard for me to gage how much time students spend studying. My friends and I spend most of the days doing work, especially on the weekends-- but we do all our reading, and have generally reading-heavy courses. My boyfriend and his friends work hard during the week, and generally take the weekends off to go to basketball games or explore Washington. Students at Georgetown work hard for good grades, but aren't too competitive with one another. In general, students are willing to help each other, and even in courses with curved grades (such as the economics or government departments), students will form study groups before exams and help each other review. Education at Georgetown can be geared either towards getting a job or learning for its own sake. I think generally the social sciences and philosophy draw students who are very much interested in the subject matter and less concerned with future careers, while courses in government, business and science all tend to focus on future career. The Career Center at Georgetown reflects this, focusing largely on careers in law, consulting and banking. There are fewer resources for students who hope to go into public service or research.