Georgetown University

I had a lovely tour this morning of Georgetown University with a business professor there who goes to church with Aunt Janet. I absolutely loved the campus. It was a really interesting blend of old architecture with modern renovations and an almost rural feel in the middle of a big city. It reminded me a little of Vanderbilt, but I like DC much better than Nashville, and Georgetown was much quieter and had some really spectacular views of the Washington Monument, the Capital, the Pentagon, and the Potomac. Even in the summer when school isn't in session, the diversity so typical of DC was apparent on the Georgetown Campus. I definitely got the sense of it being a highly liberal arts school and definitely pretty elitist. 

Class size is never above about 60 in the undergraduate program and is typically smaller in biology/science majors. And therein lies my one biggest hesitation about Georgetown. While certainly the place to be if you want to be connected in foreign services, politics, or pretty much anything in the humanities, you can't get much better. The location is ideal for international affairs studies, and the alumni is certainly impressive. For a biology/physics student, however, while I'm sure the classes are as good as anywhere else, it may not be quite worth the tuition. Especially not for the ballerina. They did, however, have a recently updated science building that was quite nice and I'm sure the labs were state of the art. I'll definitely look into the science program at Georgetown, but I'm not holding high hopes.

Still, it was really nice to see that kind of Campus. I definitely like the urban, but secluded, layout and there is something very alluring about being in a city where so much is happening all the time. 

I asked several questions about the admissions process, and the professor wasn't really sure about too much in terms of the undergrad program as his focus tends to be with the graduate students. His belief was that test scores and GPA, naturally, need to be high, but that higher quality schools are really looking for well-rounded people. Georgetown's philosophy, from what I understand, is that the undergraduate program is trying to create good citizens, while the graduate program is trying to create good professionals. Another interesting point the professor made was that he recommends getting an education at many different schools. That is to say, don't get your bachelors and masters from the same school. The difference in faculty and course material between schools is much greater than it is between two levels of education at the same university. But for me, step one is figuring out just where to do an undergraduate degree. Okay really, step one is taking these SATs and seeing what bracket of schools I can apply to, then I need to figure out what I want to study, then figure out where, all the while graduating high school and seeing where this dance thing takes me.

It's kind of overwhelming the amount of choices I've got coming in the next few years. Not looking forward to all of them, but definitely looking forward to seeing where they take me. But I know I've got some pretty great resources on my side here. I've got educated and involved parents who want me to get the best education I can and will support me through pretty much any choice I make, but mostly right now, I'm grateful for a God who I believe has plans for my life that surpass anything I can imagine. Which is pretty cool, because I can imagine some pretty awesome stuff. 

So basically, I'd say the tour left me feeling anxious. Anxiety is, in my humble opinion, a mixture of excitement and nervousness. I'm absolutely excited about the possibilities of the coming years, but the control freak in me is always nervous about the unknown.