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Georgetown University Profile

Georgetown, Washington D.C.

The Basics

Georgetown University was established in 1789 as a private institution affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church offering educational programs in liberal arts & sciences, business, research, and public health. The university is composed of 5 undergraduate, and 3 graduate schools within Washington D.C. Georgetown’s network of private educational facilities offer comprehensive undergraduate, and graduate programs in several different fields including international affairs, art & sciences, business, public health, performing arts, sports management, and social work. Georgetown prepares students for careers in the above-mentioned 5 undergraduate schools through educational, and certificate programs. The school itself is located in hill top community of Georgetown in North West Washington D.C. in close proximity to the Potomac River.

The university is unique because it’s located within the historic neighborhood of Georgetown with it’s cobble stone streets and revered townhouses with only a few observed boundaries for the campus. The school is very spread out geographically for a city school with university facilities starting on Reservoir Road to the north and continuing along Glover Archbold Park down to Canal Road to the south. The eastern point of the campus footprint lies on 35th Street in the heart of Georgetown. As you can see, the university’s footprint is large for a private urban school with 104 acres. Georgetown’s educational landscape offers students a professional education while still allowing students to enjoy a close-knit city community. The Old Towne (Hill Top) campus offers students a mini college town without boundaries within one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods.

The campus has approximately 64 buildings including lecture, residential, research, studio, resource centers, and dining facilities. The internal campus setting also provides students, employees, and alumni with several types of services including health, physical fitness, library, cultural meeting places, and a hotel. The issue of student housing on campus is a not challenge for Georgetown because the school actively competes for real estate resources within the general area of the university. Georgetown has purchased several local residence buildings and commercial properties over the years to convert into new academic, and residential facilities for students.

The physical layout of Georgetown’s campus is unique to Washington D.C. because the school only has one set of metal gates welcoming students to Healy Hall along a campus green that was once the school’s football field off O and 37th Streets. The school uses natural waist high stonewalls as natural barriers for entrance to the campus. The school has several formal entranceways that welcome students and parents to the area including new roads up the hill to the new business school, Harbin Field, and finally the McDonough Gymnasium. Another interesting observation about this hill top community is the students themselves. Georgetown is a very mixed community with local residents, students, tourists, and commercial facilities all within a 12-block radius. You will find students wearing Hoya Blue apparel in moderation but mostly you will find students and local residents embracing the city culture by not relieving school colors.

Georgetown has developed 4 freshman resident facilities within the campus landscape to provide housing that’s in close proximity to the park, lecture halls, and the student center for easy access to student life facilities. Georgetown is a large urban school that has links to everywhere in the city on a 24-hour basis including government buildings & services, music & theatre productions, sporting & cultural events, museums, nightlife, and restaurants. Georgetown’s Washington D.C. location also allows students to enjoy an urban landscape while having the ability to engage in professional activities and learning.

The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls. Georgetown’s observed focal points of reference during the campus tour were the Intercultural (IC), and the Leavey Centers (Student Union), which are the main internal student life areas of the campus. My tour guide told me that students come to the campus centers to relax, read, and eat in the dining hall. Students also use these multi-story facilities to socialize and talk about school and life. These facilities are large for a private school with offices for all the student clubs and activities, and a school bookstore for students to enjoy. The external observed focal points for the university can be found along O & P Streets with students enjoying several small restaurants and deli’s within a very short walk from campus.

The published demographic information for the university describes a culturally diverse student population with students from all across the world. Georgetown University has developed several different schools, within it’s educational network to offer students a Liberal Arts and Science, Research, and a Comprehensive education format to enhance it’s commitment to different types of career endeavors. The university has also developed independent affiliates with several global universities to highlight it’s commitment to global learning. Below is a description of demographics for Georgetown’s campus in Washington D.C.

The University is home to approximately 3,090 male, and 3,699 female full time students, and 114 male, and 135 female part time students. GU also has a large graduate school population with 3,967 male, and 3,821 female students enrolled. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old. 98% of students are from out of the Washington D.C. area, mostly the Middle Atlantic States. Students on campus provide a diverse multi-cultural makeup including students from all 50 states, 88 foreign countries, and Canada. 50% of GU students are Catholic, 25% are Protestant, 6% are Jewish, and 13% claim no religious affiliation. 70% of students are white, 10% are African American, 10% Asian Americans, and 6% are Hispanic.

Published Academic Standards for Admission Programs

Georgetown University has a large educational system for a private school, which offers Liberal Arts, and Sciences, Research, Public Health, International Studies, and Business programs. Below is a specific list of under graduate admission requirements. FYI, students who apply to Georgetown must choose from one of five education schools, for example the Georgetown College, or the Walsh School of Public Affairs.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

Georgetown University requires students to live on campus for the first two years of campus life (Freshman & Sophomores) and it continues to guarantee housing for all undergraduate students (except transfers) who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. GU currently has 4 large first year resident halls for students located within the perimeter of O’Donovan Dining Hall. The school has also started developing housing resources for upper classman through it’s capital improvement initiatives.

The university has developed apartment style-housing units for upper classman within blocks of the campus. Many of these apartments are located within refurbished town homes that are new, and beautiful, but only upper classmen can rent them. The upside to renting these units is the distance to academic buildings, which is very close. Georgetown has purchased these units to keep it’s upperclassman close to campus while still keeping off campus facilities relatively affordable. Information about housing can be found on the quick links page of this document.

Off Campus Housing

Georgetown University has been described as a mini-city in a downtown muti- cultural residential community. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Georgetown is to re-assert the point that GU’s network of affiliated campuses has encapsulated it’s real estate holdings within the area. The campus footprint allows almost every student to have housing within walking distance to the campus. The issue of off campus housing has a different feel to it compared to other university off campus housing demands.

The demand for housing, especially off campus housing is usually a tough issue for institutions attempting to keep students within the general geographical area. Georgetown has addressed this issue by buying up residential buildings and developing housing networks. Information about off campus housing can be found on the GU quick links page of this document.

Campus Life

Georgetown University is a multi-cultural campus environment that provides students with an excellent social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a very diverse community with students from all over the world. The local community of Georgetown only adds to the universities international status because the community has multi-cultural roots as well. GU also addresses the issue of ecology in a positive way. The physical environment is reasonably clean and well maintained and the economic conditions are favorable to students and local residents due to the available services in walking distance to the school.

The school has been going through a growth period over the past few years with construction of several new buildings including a new McDonough School of Business facility. The construction has provided some challenges for students walking on campus due to closed streets, temporary metal fencing, and limited sidewalk access but overall the campus was clean and well maintained.

The emotional climate and culture of the entire Georgetown community is a combination of intellectual and social due to it’s close relationship with the hill top community.

The school’s mature student population, educational, and athletic resources makes Georgetown an attractive institution because it offers students real world professional experiences in Washington D.C., while providing social relationships with local organizations and community groups through student activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the year.

The university also thrives on it’s physical and intellectual relationships with federal agencies that students flock to each year. Georgetown University can be considered one the districts main think tanks for public policy due to it’s well recognized school of International Affairs. George Washington (GW), and American (AU) Universities can also be considered heavy Political Science programs in the D.C. area.

This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. Georgetown is first, and foremost a university that is linked physically and emotionally to national political debate and international issues. GU has done a great job developing positive social systems with it’s students by providing a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students to advance these studies. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 138 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 42 intramural sports activities.

Campus life at GU is more than academic excellence; it’s about building personal relationships with students and facility that continues throughout each student’s career. The school also offers students the ability to enjoy school sports, performing arts, history, cultural events, restaurants, and local museums. For example, Washington D.C. has hundreds of venues to enjoy the previously stated activities including the Kennedy Center and the massive Smithsonian Museum network on the Mall in downtown Washington.

Georgetown also has a strong athletic footprint on campus with several large venues for students to participate in, or to cheer for. The down side of the Men’s Hoya Basketball activities on the GU campus is the distance to the Verizon Center in downtown D.C. where they play home games. Students can walk up the hill to the McDonough Memorial Gym to watch the ladies play several sports including basketball, and volleyball. The overall up side of exercise facilities within the campus are fantastic with students enjoying them on a daily basis Finally, GU participates in 23 NCAA Division I, Varsity Sports for Women and Men.

Public Transportation

Georgetown University has developed a student shuttle system that connects students with several areas of Washington D.C. including the city’s metro system through several different shuttle bus routes. In formation about this service can be found on the quick links page of this document. The Washington D.C. Transit System (Metro) has a subway station on I and 23rd Streets in Foggy Bottom (The Nearest Metro Stop for Georgetown University)which, offers riders the ability to access several main lines including the Orange & Blue Metro Lines. These transit lines connect with every other subway line within the system including Union Train Station on the Red line. Passengers who require one of the five metro lines can change trains at Metro Center in downtown Washington D.C. on 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Regional Public transportation resources can be found within Union Station that links with trains to suburban lines to Maryland (Baltimore) and Arlington Virginia through the Maryland Rail Commuter Service (MARC). Amtrak also uses Union Station as a major hub within it’s Northeast Corridor. The Red Line on the Metro, which makes stops at Union Station, can link all these trains. Riders who wish to go to northern Virginia on the Metro can catch the orange line at Metro Center. This complex train system also allows riders the ability to travel to Ronald Reagan Airport via the blue & yellow Metro lines. People who live, work, and visit Washington D.C. usually travel by some type of mass transit. Students should be encouraged to purchase a metro card to get around. Mass transit information can be found at: www.wmata.com

Washington D.C. itself is located within the 2 northeastern states of Maryland and Virginia which makes it convenient to several suburban communities and highway networks. The city itself also has several main roadways that connect the community to major state highways including the Capital Beltway Route 495, Route 295 that links Washington D.C. and Baltimore Maryland, Route 95 which is the main highway corridor on the eastern seaboard, and finally Rout 270 that links Washington to communities east and west of the city. Shopping, restaurants, and hotel chains can be found within these major transportation networks after a short drive from the campus.

Community Profile

The Georgetown (Old Towne Hill Top) area of Washington D.C. has been identified on maps geographically as west of Dupont Circle, and north of K Street between Bancroft Place, and the Glover Archbold Park. The community has been described in different ways, including a tourist heaven due to the high number of restaurants and galleries within the area. Georgetown also borders the Foggy Bottom, and Adams-Morgan sections of northwest Washington D.C., which offer residents, and visitor’s additional tourist, and commercial resources within walking distance.

The hill top area can also be considered an upscale residential community with historic brownstones, town homes, and modern apartments buildings lining several streets. The Old Towne area also has several shopping areas including Wisconsin Avenue, and M Street east, and south of campus. And finally, Georgetown has international restaurants and nightlife along several avenues within nearby Adams-Morgan including 18th Street in the heart of the community. Student population and historical neighborhood architecture can be found mainly within 4 blocks of the main gates within the overall neighborhood. The greatest number of residents in this area is in fact students, and employees of GU.

The community has a real artsy/welcoming type feel to it because a large number of people live, work, and study within the area. Washington D.C. itself is a maze of local neighborhoods that are unique to the people who live and work in them. Georgetown can be considered a mixed residential area because you have commercial, residential, cultural, and intellectual all within the same block with people walking through the GU campus on their way to work, or home. The area around Wisconsin and M Street is a major pedestrian walkway in Georgetown for D.C. residents, tourists, and commuters because it’s really in the middle of the community.

The issue of walking alone at night outside the perimeter of the campus gates should be curtailed because you’re in a big city with big city crime. Wisconsin Ave becomes less populated after 9:00PM due to the large commercial establishments in the area. Georgetown also has several community parks and ball fields including Dumbarton Oaks and Glover Archbold Parks on the east, and west sides of the university and local police officers have told students to exercise some caution when using the city parks after dark because the areas have reduced lighting resources.

Community demographics

The following demographics for Washington D.C. describe a multi-cultural community within a total population of 591,833 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A Census Bureau community survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 47% of residents are male, 53% are female. 36% of residents are white, 54% are African American, 7% are Hispanic or Latino, 3% are Asian, and finally 2.0 are two or more Races. The median age of population is 35 years old. 80% of residents are 18 years old or over, 74% age 21 and over, and finally 12% of city residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in Washington D.C. is also interesting. 88% of all housing units within the city are occupied. 55% of housing units are renter-occupied, while 45% of units are owner-occupied.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a university experience. Washington D.C. enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. The District of Columbia also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.

The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in Washington D.C.” document for families who wish to explore the D.C. while visiting Georgetown University. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region. Below is a sample list of local hotels and restaurants in Georgetown.

Georgetown University Hotel & Conference Center (Inside Leavey Center on Campus)
3800 Reservoir Road
NW Washington D.C. 20007
Marriott Hotel Rosslyn at Key Bridge
1401 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22209
Four Seasons Washington D.C.
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington D.C. 20007
The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown
3100 South Street
NW Washington D.C. 20007
Georgetown Inn
1310 Wisconsin Avenue
Washington D.C. 20007

Georgetown Restaurants

Georgetown University Quick Links

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