George Washington University, formerly Columbian College or Columbian University, is a private research university in Washington, D.C., the United States Capital.
Founded in 1821 by an act of the United States Congress, it is name was later changed to acknowledge the fact that its founding was inspired by the call of the 1st President of the United States, George Washington for a centrally-located national university.
It is located at 2121 I Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., just four blocks away from the White House, and has its students regularly having their internships at the White House, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
GW, short for George Washington University, has an average undergraduate enrollment of 11,500 students and an average of 15,500 post-graduate students with its international students representing over 130 countries.
Nearly 900 students participate in GW’s Study Abroad Programs each semester in 50 countries. It is the largest higher education institution in Washington D.C. and also has close to 900 students who go abroad to study in about 50 different countries as part of its efforts to encourage diversity through its study abroad program.
The university utilizes a semester-based academic calendar, and it has a fund to pay students who undergo unpaid internships. It is ranked 1st for Top Colleges or Universities for Internship Opportunities by the Princeton Review.
GW has an extensive student life program with over 450 student clubs and organizations, including the country’s largest College Democrats and College Republicans chapters, with about 30 percent of its students participating in a strong Greek society.
The school’s Trail program allows adventurous students to go on such excursions as hiking, kayaking, and horseback riding. The GW Colonials are the school’s athletic teams and they compete in the Division I Atlantic 10 Conference with a reptile representation in the men’s soccer and basketball, women’s basketball, and men’s rowing teams.
The sports teams also participate in the NCAA Division I athletic Division with the exception of its men’s football team.
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George Washington University Ranking and Niche
George Washington is among the top Universities in the United States and is also regarded as one of the most highly-rated higher education institutions in the world.
It is regarded as the 56th best higher education institution in the US by the Washington Monthly Report and as the 88th best by Forbes magazine.
It also comes in at number 56 among the nation’s Top 100 tertiary institutions according to the US news and world report while the Academic Ranking of World’s Universities (ARWU) ranks it among the Top 99-119 schools in the US.
GW is also regarded by Times/WSJ as the 64th highest-ranked school in the United States.
From a global perspective, Times/WSJ ranks GW as #13 in its list of the world’s top schools. Prominent World University Rankings Publisher Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranks it as the world’s number 352 university.
GW also comes in as #260 on the US News and World Report’s ranking of the world’s best universities, and it is placed in the 301-400 range of the world’s universities on the ARWU rankings.
GW is also ranked among the top universities for producing Millionaires and Billionaires in the world by Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, tying for 25th in Billionaires producing universities and 51st in Millionaires producing Universities.
Based on 1,920 reviews on niche.com, George Washington has an A+ niche grade in Location and Party Scene, an A grade in Academics, Value, Diversity, Professors and Student life, a B-in Athletics, a B- in Campus and Campus food, and a C+ in dorms and safety, totaling an overall niche grade of A.
George Washington Admissions Acceptance Rate
George Washington has a student population of more than 27,000 students, with a total undergraduate enrollment of 11,504 students and a total of 15,486 post-graduate students.
Officially, George Washington Acceptance rate was slightly above 42% for the 2024/2024 Academic year
The rate of Applications, as well as admission into GW, has increased over the years, with the acceptance rate increasing from an average of 33 percent in 2012 to more recently 40 percent.
George Washington University has many international students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with more than 130 nationalities represented in the school.
The most represented countries represented were China, South Korea, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Nigeria, Pakistan, Japan, Iran, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam.
The SAT composite range of students admitted into GW is 1180-1395, while the ACT Composite range is 27-32. However, in its bid to boost enrollment of disadvantaged students, GW no longer required SAT and ACT scores for such applicants since 2015.
George Washington University Tuition Fees, Financial Aid
The Tuition Fees for George Washington University, In-State, and Out-of-State Tuition at GW both cost the same $53,435 though other costs such as books and on-campus room and board raise the fees to $65,260 annually.
The university, however, has a large financial aid budget which includes offering grants and scholarships with 82 percent of its students on one sort of financial aid or the other.
The average grant aid received by first-time students is $24,653 and the average cost of fees after aid is around $33,600.
Tuition is also guaranteed to remain at the freshman rate for up to ten continuous (full-time) semesters of undergraduate attendance at the university. Financial aid at GW is on a first-come-first-serve basis and as such, applicants are encouraged to apply early.
When applying to George Washington University, it’s important to note the application deadline is Jan. 1, and the early decision deadline is Nov. 1. The application fee at George Washington University is $75. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due Jan. 1.
Information about the school’s admission, the application process, and financial aid can be found on its official website here.
George Washington Majors
George Washington offers undergraduate degree programs in 89 disciplines and the most popular majors based on the fraction of graduates produced include: Social Sciences; International Business; Management; Marketing; Communication, Journalism; Engineering, Medical Laboratory Technician;
International Relations and National Security Studies; Political Science and Government; Economics; Nursing; Finance; Psychology.
Based on statistics for the 2017 graduating session, International relations and affairs had the highest portion of graduates, with 20.2% of the total graduates for that year having that their major.
The Undergraduate Schools of George Washington University
The Undergraduate Schools of George Washington University include:
The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, Elliott School of International Affairs, Milken Institute School of Public Health, School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Nursing, School of Media and Public Affairs, and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.
The Graduate Schools of George Washington University include the Graduate School of Political Management, Medical School, Law School, Graduate School of Education & Human Development, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, and the College of Professional Studies.
George Washington Campuses
George Washington has three campuses which are located in the District of Colombia. These are the main campus which is the Foggy Bottom Campus, and two satellite campuses; the Mount Vernon Campus and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.
The main Foggy Bottom Campus is located in the heart of Washington, D.C. while the two other satellite campuses, the Mount Vernon Campus and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, are located in D.C.’s Foxhall neighborhood and in the Washington Metropolitan Area, respectively.
The Foggy Bottom Campus is where the majority of its academic programs take place and also where most of the on-campus students are residents. GW requires that its students live on campus for their first three years of enrollment as undergraduates, that is, freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank located are tenants of the Foggy Bottom, which is located on the Campus, while the White House and the U.S. Department of State are only a few blocks away from the campus.
The Mount Vernon Campus which is located 15 minutes from the main campus also has resident halls for on-campus students and it offers students a more tranquil alternative to the ever-vibrant city life while The Virginia Science & Technology Campus in Ashburn operates as the research and graduate campus of GW and it also offers academic programs in education, health sciences, nursing, and information technology.
George Washington Alumni
The current President of Togo Faur Gnassingbe and Popular actress Kerry Washington are among the notable alumni of George Washington.
This near-endless list of prominent people which consists of Nobel laureates, MacArthur fellows, Olympic athletes, Academy Award and Golden Globe winners, royalty, and Time 100 notables also includes prominent people in business such as Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Group, and Dan Glickman, CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Current US Senator and former Governor of Virginia, Mark Warner; former Governor of Guam, Frank Freyer; and former Secretary of State Colin Powell are among those represented in the political sector.
There are many other historical figures represented on the list, including Syngman Rhee, 1st President of South Korea; Edward Teller, “father of the hydrogen bomb”; and Ralph A. Alpher, “father of the Big Bang Theory”.
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