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George Washington University Profile

Washington D.C.

The Basics

George Washington University was established in 1821 as a private institution offering educational programs in liberal arts & sciences, business, research, and public health. The university is composed of 7 undergraduate, and 9 graduate schools within Washington D.C. GW’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. GW prepares students for careers in the above-mentioned 7 undergraduate schools through educational, and certificate programs. The school itself is located in downtown community of Foggy Bottom in North West Washington D.C. in close proximity to the Capital Buildings and the National Mall.

The university is unique because it’s located within walking distance to the nations capital with it’s panoramic views of the White House and several other federal monuments. GW has no real observed boundaries for the campus, its located right in the middle of a city district The school is very spread out geographically for a city school with university facilities starting on Pennsylvania Ave to the north, and Virginia Ave to the south. The eastern point of the campus footprint lies on 20th Street and continues to 24th Street to the west in the heart of Foggy Bottom. As you can see, the university’s footprint is large for a private urban school with 37 acres.

George Washington University’s educational landscape also offers students the ability to enjoy a suburban campus with it’s refurbished Mount Vernon campus off W Street & Foxhall Road in NW Washington D.C. Both GW campuses offer professional education resources while still allowing students to enjoy a close-knit city community. The Foggy Bottom campus offers students a mini college town without boundaries within one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods.

The main Foggy Bottom and suburban Mount Vernon campuses have approximately 123 buildings in total including lecture, residential, research, studio, resource centers, and dining facilities. These internal campus settings also provide students, employees, and alumni with several types of services including health, physical fitness, library, and cultural meeting places. The issue of student housing on campus is a not challenge for George Washington University because the school actively competes for real estate resources within the general area of the university. GW 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 GW’s campus is unique to Washington D.C. because the school has no observed barriers for it’s campus footprint. The school uses flags on it’s buildings to indicate ownership with local residents and students walking past GW, and privately owned residential and commercial buildings enjoying neighborhood resources. Students attending the open city campus (Foggy Bottom) walk on city streets and sidewalks to academic, and residence hall buildings within 3 blocks of the White House. The school has one small formal entranceway that welcomes students and parents to the area within Rice Hall. Another interesting observation about this unique community is the students themselves. Foggy Bottom is a very mixed community with local residents, students, tourists, and federal employees enjoying commercial facilities all within a 12-block radius. You will find students wearing GW apparel in moderation but mostly you will find students and local residents embracing the city culture by not relieving school colors.

George Washington has developed 12 freshman resident facilities within the city landscape to provide housing that’s in close proximity to lecture halls, and the student center for easy access to student life facilities. GW 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. GW’s downtown 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. George Washington’s observed focal points of reference during the campus tour were the Marvin (Student Union), and the Smith Centers (Recreation Center), 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 G& H Streets with students enjoying a small campus green within (University Yard), and several small restaurants and deli’s on 21st & 23rd Streets inside the campus perimeter.

The published demographic information for the university describes a culturally diverse student population with students from all across the world. George Washington 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 GW’s campus in Washington D.C.

George Washington University: The University is home to approximately 4,240 male, and 5,515 female full time students, and 505 male, and 520 female part time students. GW also has a large graduate school population with 6,120 male, and 7,230 female students enrolled. The average age of a freshman is 19 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, 137 foreign countries, and Canada. 65% of students are white, 6% are African American, 10% Asian Americans, and 5% are Hispanic and 14% unknown.

Published Academic Standards for Admission Programs

George Washington 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.

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.

George Washington 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. GW currently has 12 first year resident halls for students located within the perimeter of F & I Streets. 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 city apartments and 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. I observed off campus housing within the “Statesman Apartments, which is located across the street from the off campus Greek Housing on 21st Street. GW has purchased these units to keep it’s upperclassman close to campus while still keeping off campus facilities relatively affordable. FYI , the on-campus Greek housing is located on 23rd & G Streets across from the Ivory Tower residence hall. Information about housing can be found on the quick links page of this document.

Off Campus Housing

George Washington University has been described as a mini-city in a downtown muti- cultural residential community. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Foggy Bottom is to re-assert the point that GW’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. GW has addressed this issue by buying up residential buildings and developing housing networks. Information about off campus housing can be found on the GW quick links page of this document.

Campus Life

George Washington 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 Foggy Bottom only adds to the universities international status because the community has multi-cultural roots as well. GW 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 emotional climate and culture of the entire GW community is a combination of intellectual and social due to it’s close relationship with the Capital Hill community.

The school’s mature student population, educational, and athletic resources makes George Washington 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. George Washington University can be considered one the districts main think tanks for public policy due to it’s well recognized school of International Affairs. Georgetown (GU), 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. GW is first, and foremost a university that is linked physically and emotionally to national political debate and international issues. GW 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 350 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 30 intramural sports activities. GW is also home to a substantial Greek population with 16% of students belonging to 11 national fraternities and 7 national sororities.

Campus life at GW 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. The university also has several global education centers within it’s campus network for students to learn, and gather information about international careers.

GW also has a strong athletic footprint on campus with several venues for students to participate in, or to cheer for fellow students. Local residents and GW students can walk over a couple of blocks to the Smith Center to watch the school’s teams play several sports including basketball, and women’s volleyball during the year. Finally, the overall up side of exercise facilities within the campus are fantastic with students enjoying them on a daily basis, GW participates in 22 NCAA Division I, Varsity Sports for Women and Men.

Public Transportation

George Washington University has a student shuttle system that connects students with the suburban Mount Vernon campus as well as several areas of Washington D.C. 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 George Washington University) that 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 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. 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 Foggy Bottom area of Washington D.C. has been identified on maps geographically as west of the White House, and north of Constitution Ave between Rock Creek Park, and M Street. The community has been described in different ways, including a tourist heaven due to the high number of federal buildings and monuments, not to mention the museums and restaurants within the area. Foggy Bottom also borders the Georgetown, and Dupont Circle sections of northwest Washington D.C., which offer residents, and visitor’s additional tourist, and commercial resources within walking distance.

The downtown area can also be considered an upscale residential community with historic brownstones, town homes, and modern apartments buildings lining several streets. The Foggy Bottom area also has several shopping areas including Wisconsin Avenue, and M Street northwest of campus. And finally, the student friendly community 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 Pennsylvania Ave within the overall neighborhood. The greatest number of residents in this area is in fact students, and employees of GW. The Foggy Bottom community has a real intellectual/political/ and 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.

Foggy Bottom can also be considered a mixed residential area because you have commercial, residential, cultural, and intellectual all within the same block with people walking through the GW campus on their way to work, or home. The area around Pennsylvania &Wisconsin Avenues is a major pedestrian walkway in downtown D.C. for residents, tourists, and commuters because it’s really in the middle of the community. That’s why you can find endless shopping and restaurants along these streets.

The issue of walking alone at night outside the perimeter of the GW grid should be curtailed because you’re in a big city with big city crime. Pennsylvania Ave and M Street becomes less populated after 9:00PM due to the large commercial establishments in the area. Foggy Bottom also has several federal and community parks in the area including Rock Creek Park to the west, and the National Mall to the east sides of the university and local police officers have told students to exercise some caution when using the 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.

George Washington University Quick Links

The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in Washington D.C.” document for families who wish to explore D.C. while visiting George Washington 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 Foggy Bottom/Georgetown.

The George Washington University Inn (On Campus)
824 New Hampshire Ave
NW Washington D.C. 20037
One Washington Circle Hotel
One Washington Circle
NW Washington D.C. 20037
Doubletree Suites & Hotel
801 New Hampshire Ave
NW Washington D.C. 20037
Embassy Suites Hotel
1250 22nd Street
NW Washington D.C. 20037
Best Western Georgetown
1121 New Hampshire Ave
NW Washington D.C. 20037
Four Seasons Washington D.C. Hotel
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington D.C. 20007
The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown
3100 South Street
NW Washington D.C. 20007 Foggy Bottom Restaurants

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