Why so many people applied to George Washington?

[happydays]

What's with GW that makes so many people apply? They get about 10,000 applications! It doesn't seem like their tuition is that cheap, their school is not more prestigious than JHU or Harvard, and it's in Washington DC, where's it's riddled with poverty and crime. Perhaps I'm just misinformed about GW. Why is it so popular?

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[jebus]

I think it's popular precisely because it's not as prestigious as JHU and Harvard. There are a lot of mediocre applicants out there, despite what SDN would have you believe. At least, I'm one of them and that's why I applied there.
Also, some people are attracted to the curriculum, to DC, to other programs, to....

 

[veenut]

simply put, a lot of people think they have a chance to get into GW. the applicant pools at the top schools are largely self-selecting...you won't see too many mcats below 30 or gpas below 3.5 applying to harvard or penn. at the same time, students who are competitive at the top schools will also apply to the lower ranked schools like GW as "safeties". from my experience, however, these applicants tend to be tossed aside by schools like GW for this very reason..that they won't matriculate if accepted because they'll get into a higher ranked school.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

it's in Washington DC, where's it's riddled with poverty and crime.

Not in the GW area. You can live in DC for your entire lifetime without ever visiting a poor area if you choose not to.

 

[veenut]

also, the location of georgetown and gw is generally considered a positive, not a drawback. DC is a city; it's got its high points and low points, but it's certainly not the cesspool you make it out to be...

 

[gdbaby]

simply put, a lot of people think they have a chance to get into GW. the applicant pools at the top schools are largely self-selecting...you won't see too many mcats below 30 or gpas below 3.5 applying to harvard or penn. at the same time, students who are competitive at the top schools will also apply to the lower ranked schools like GW as "safeties". from my experience, however, these applicants tend to be tossed aside by schools like GW for this very reason..that they won't matriculate if accepted because they'll get into a higher ranked school.

VN, your avatar makes me feel like I have to listen to you!

I applied to GW because I love DC and have family living there, so I thought I would have a good network of support. I am mediocre stats girl, but I came on to SDN too late in the game to know about "safety schools" or other levels of selection. It is disconcerting, I agree. I have been placed on pre-interv hold there, so I guess I should feel lucky.

 

[Law2Doc]

What's with GW that makes so many people apply? They get about 10,000 applications! It doesn't seem like their tuition is that cheap, their school is not more prestigious than JHU or Harvard, and it's in Washington DC, where's it's riddled with poverty and crime. Perhaps I'm just misinformed about GW. Why is it so popular?

The Foggy Bottom location of the hospital associated with GW is hardly crime or poverty riddled. If they don't have on campus housing you will be paying a hefty rent just to stay near that area. There are horribly crime ridden parts of DC, but the med schools are not located in them. DC is actually a big draw, since it is a huge first job destination for a ton of college and graduate school age folk, which is why the DC schools are so popular, and the social events there so plentiful. With GWU, Gtown, American U, Cathlic, Howard, George Mason, UDC (I'm sure I'm missing some) UMd-College Park etc., it is also actually quite a college town. Its a city that has a lot more going on on a given weekend than nearby Baltimore or Philly. So that's the reason.

 

[AmyGW]

GW may not be as prestigious as JHU or Harvard, but (and I know this may come as a bit of a shock to a lot of you), some people actually don't care about the name. GW has a reputation for producing excellent clinicians, so if that's what you're looking for, why not?

I'm very pro-GW, obviously. Went there for undergrad, will be starting med school there in the fall. Go Colonials!

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Another point - as far as the West Coast goes, GW seems to have a very strong reputation, at least as far as the general public goes. Everyone I've spoken to knows the GW name, but many of them are clueless over schools ranked much higher, such as WashU, Vanderbilt, UPitt, even Columbia. I wouldn't turn GW down based on its reputation

 

[silverdime]

Adding on to what SanDiegoSOD said, the mid-Atlantic region draws applications from both the southeast and northeast.

Many people in the southeast stay in the southeat, especially if they were in the region for undergrad. They'll apply to DC because it's the far north endpoint of the (technical, I know, but that's how it's viewed) region. Similarly most peple in the northeast think of DC as a city and not as the southeast, so they'll apply when they might not look at any private schools further south.

I think the whole safety/accepts less-than-perfect stats combo is probably the real reason, but I think geographic draw helps.

I've been very impressed with what I've seen at GWUSOM--they may not be top ten, but they have great facilities (including a shiny new hospital), and a wonderful atmosphere. I wish med schools were ranked by those criteria.

 

[baby4you]

because it is lovely, excellent and i will LOVE to go there, and i dont care about the name.