George Washington University Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Jamil

It is very expensive, and if you are taking loans and not getting a high-earning degree may not be worth the cost.

Trenton

There is a general lack of school spirit and community at GW. Many of the students are so independent and driven that they do not feel the need to identify with the greater campus community. Although the university offers students free admission to the basketball games, few ever attend. This causes some students to become disillusioned with the school out of they're feeling that they are missing out on the "college experience."

Isabella

idk

Abigail

It is very expensive

Ingrid

Theh worst thing about my school is the cost. Tutition is very expensive and without finanical aid or some kind of monetary assistance, it is a very hefty sum.

Lara

The school's location within a city allows students to go off in their own directions so there is less of a feeling of community.

Heidi

The worst thing is the high cost of living and tuition at my school, because it makes students who are middle class worry about how they will pay off loans and attend graduate school.

Adam

For me the worst thing is definitely the food plan. Instead of giving students a certain amount of meals per semester, GW gives a certain amount of money for the entire semester (the amount varies depending on grade level). On top of that its clear that the restaurants on campus take advantage of this and raise their prices for food. So a sum of money that should get a student through the semester only lasts 2 or 3 months.

Stephanie

The worst aspect of GW is the meal plan options. All throughout campus and parts of the D.C. area vendors accept our meal plan, yet we do not have a cafeteria. Many schools have block meals on their meal plan that allow students to go to the cafeteria and have an array of food always at their convenience. Though some may consider GW's meal plan to be beneficial in not gaining the "freshmen 15" I believe money is wasted much more with GW's meal plan system.

Holly

I felt like my school's primary function was to make money and not to educate. My classes were not challenging, the facilities were underwhelming and the faculty was not very diverse. Had I known then what I know know, I would have gone to state school and saved the money for graduate school.

Aybike

expensive!

Adrienne

Professors tend to very from being very good to very bad and if you end up with one of the bad ones, there isn't much you can do. There should be an emphasis on developing a base of professors that are all exceptional.

Ashley

The J-Street cafeteria-type dining setting for students. The food is terrible quality and ridiculously overpriced. The hours are also a pain because it opens too late into the day and closes too early, especially for an on-campus cafeteria!

Steven

I would say the worst thing about my school is the type of people that are there. Though we have a great ethnic diversity, the stereotype of a GW stuedent is not the best one. It seems like the stereotype of a GW student is an upperclass guy or girl with attitude. Don't get me wrong, I love GW, but it can be kind of difficult at times to find the down to earth people, who don't only care about material things.

Sara

The unorganization of offices regarding paperwork and other forms. Maybe also the meal plan (or lack thereof) and cafeteria food options. Lack of a football team = lack of school spirit but I wouldn't say that's the worst thing about GW.

Danielle

The price.

Emily

GW is very expensive.

Tom

There is a lot of stuff going on and sometimes its easy to lose yourself in it all.

Elizabeth

The fact that college costs so much and that GWU is over fifty thousand dollars a year is by far the worst part especially since I do not receive financial aid.

shawna

Although they guide you certain ways once you go down one road they dont help you the rest of the way.

chemda

NOTHING

michael

The worst thing is some of the larger wealth gaps, those who have an inordinate amount of money and those that don't

Joshua

Lots of rich students who are not at GW to learn. Also, lots of red tape at the administrative level.

Natalie

Most of the students from this school come from very rich families. This can make it difficult to hang out with them because they are more willing to spend money than I am. People throw money away here all the time.

Jennifer

The orientation doesn't focus enough on academics and making sure freshman know their way around signing up for classes.

Jonathan

The tuition costs and how there is a lack of community among the university as a whole.

Elizabeth

Too much beaurocracy. There is a form for everything you want to do and you have to get 3 or 4 people to sign off on it. Then take one copy to one office and another copy to another office. A lot of mistakes can get made in those processes.

Gina

The worst thing about GW is how expensive it is.

Bethany

The worst thing about this school is that the students are not overly friendly. Unless you are part of a group or student org, for the most part people (especially upperclassmen) do not go out of their way to be friendly to you. In order to make friends, you should join a club, group, or student organization.

Laura

The worst thing about GWU is the advising program. It is very hard to get advice on the classes you need for the school of Arts and Sciences, and lack of a consistent mentor/advisor disadvantages students.

Amanda

The worst thing is that the classes are sometimes too big. I came from a small private high school in which discussion was very valuable. There are still many discussions at GWU, but I sometimes feel that it would be easier with smaller classes.

John

The tuition.

Will

The Bureaucracy.

Jason

The worst thing about my school is all the red-tape and bueracracy that it takes to get administrative business taken care of, but it is the only problem about the University that comes to mind.

Tiffany

Professors who act as if they don't want to teach. It leads some students to not want to go to class.

Jordan

The worst thing about mys chool is that there is really no campus, and some buildings look nice while others look run down. Also Gw is run almost like a bureaucracy.