August 24, 2007
City Paper Discovers GW's High Tuition
It's not exactly breaking news, but the City Paper's cover story this week is about the George Washington University and its high tuition, tops in the nation. The somewhat basic article (at least to a GW grad and basketball blogger) talks to a few University officials and a couple of students, but seems a little thin.
The article does make a good point (and one that we made months ago) — is it worth it? And just looking numerically, with the school having the highest tuition but ranked 54th by U.S. News, then no, it's not. However, some of the anecdotes in the article, which apparently are trying to show that the school spends extravagantly, seem a little forced.
The piece opens with Colonial Inauguration, GW's freshman orientation. It talks about the University buying $4,000 worth of shorts for the students who staff the event and interviews the man who runs the $25,000 $2,500 a minute laser light show. Do those seem excessive? Yes. But in the article's first paragraph, it says without quoting anyone "CI is one of the university’s selling points." Really? Kids choose colleges based on their orientations? I doubt too many kids say "Well I really liked NYU and Boston U, but I hear GW has lasers in their orientation. My mind is made up."
Another interesting tidbit is a quote from Margaret Soltan, an English professor, who talks about a "culture of wealth," saying, “All you have to do is walk up and down 21st Street and see all these fancy SUVs and Porsches and realize that they are being driven by 20-year-olds.” However, the reporter doesn't go and see for themselves or try to dig deeper into the "culture of wealth." When I was at GW from 1998 to 2002, I don't remember anyone I knew of having a Porsche. In fact, most students, rich or not so rich, didn't have cars at all. The rumor then was that a lot of children of sheiks and sultans went to GW, but no one seemed to know for sure, and this article doesn't find out.
While it does talk about the tuition's rise under former President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, the piece is also notable for what it leaves out. It mentions Foggy Bottom residents' usually negative response to GW's plans, such as developing the old university hospital site at 23rd and Pennsylvania as offices and apartments, but oddly doesn't talk to them directly. Many of the residents have been in the neighborhood for a long time, and are usually very happy to talk about the university. And all of the quotes are from GW-affiliated people — students, alumni, administrators, and professors. There aren't any officials from other D.C. universities quoted, or experts on universities, tuition or endowments.
The article also leaves out details that could make the school seem more ritzy or money-hungry, like the fact that some students receive maid service in dorms, or that the grocery store that used to be in the Marvin Center sold all sorts of gourmet items. It doesn't talk about the fact that (free) student use of the building has been dropping, replaced by (paid) meeting space for companies and conferences. It also doesn't mention the trolley GW owns to give prospective students a ride around campus.
That said, the article does get frank quotes from university officials, such as the admissions director's response to the high tuition: “You sit down and scratch your head and say, ‘How are we going to deal with this?’ And then you move forward.” Students are quoted too, such as Jake Sherman, editor of the student paper, the Hatchet, who said the number 1 ranking has "almost been PR suicide for them. It’s pretty unbelievable how they’ve tried to spin it." The City Paper also spoke with some students who weren't pleased with how their money was spent, such as Kevan Duve, who transferred to Columbia University, which was interesting.
This subject could easily have been a long, interesting piece on tuition at GW and universities in general, but instead it's a fairly light piece with a couple quotes and anecdotes.
Photo by Flickr user matthewpiatt, used under a Creative Commons license
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i just graduated from GW and the wealth factor does play a role. hummers, bmws, and lexuses are all cruising around foggy bottom and parked in front of dorms. not an overwhelming amount.. but one hummer in front of a freshman dorm is too much in my opinion. GW is like 85% tuition-based, and the university has been screwing the current students over with high costs for the benefit of future students. their 20-year plan of development has us paying for the future, not spread out over the entire 20 years. on the bright side, while GW continues to slide into a money pit and out of the top 60 universities, when i tell people i went to george washington if they are out of town they assume i mean georgetown. i'm fine with that.
I still pick up the city paper every week, but I lost most of my respect for them when they started devoting The City Line feature to nitpicking at irrelevant local stories in the post.
Look! Look! We're such intrepid reporters, we discovered that the Post backed up a police officer that said it didn't rain enough in the summer and we found out that it's really, really rainy! Oh my god, I think we're gonna get a Pulitzer for this one!
I was surprised when the article finished too. Should have been much longer. I did like the bit about GW's go-big-or-go-home philosophy not exactly inspiring philanthropy in its alumni.
Hahahah. I feel sorry for all those B students from Long Island and NJ who pay so much for a mediocre second-tier education.
And they have to live in the shadow of Georgetown...so sad.
:-P
I was at GW from 95-99 (and also a Hatcheteer). We all bitched and moaned about the nickle-and-diming GW did of all its students, and how that wasn't going to make us very good alumni to proposition for donations. When I walk through the campus, I am amazed at the transformation that has been occurring for the last decade. It's like a real-life version of SimCity.
I also do recall the luxury cars rolling around Foggy Bottom. Mostly it was super rich South Korean and Middle Eastern kids who hung out with their own kind, smoked like chimneys outside Gelman, and didn't seem to speak much English.
The question of whether it was worth the then-high tuition depends on each person's view of whether they would have done better for themselves had they gone to another school. For me, it was worth it since it hooked me up with good jobs and the girl I dated is now my wife. For others, maybe it wasn't worth it. But as an alumni, I rarely give money to GW. Mainly because I think they got enough out of me while I was there. But also because I feel little connection to the school (as well as because SJT was uber-obnoxious).
But I like that I share my alumni status with the likes of L. Ron Hubbard.
You expected something good from City Paper? The joke is on you. Just be glad that the article didn't feature the author going around sexually harassing girls in the dorms. At this point that's all we can really hope for.
The lazer show is actually $2,500 a minute - still ridiculous but not as much as the $25,000 typo:
Willie Castro, a subcontractor for Audio Visual Imagineering, who created the show and has been tweaking it each year for more than a decade, says a show like GW’s costs about $2,500 per minute to produce.
Thanks #7
The City Paper and GWU are a joke!
GW has its lofty goals - domination of Foggy Bottom real estate - and any student who can't pull his/her weight better hitchhike over to UDC.
I graduated in 2004, and the worst thing about the student body was the obnoxiousness of the quasi-rich- the children of Long Island, Connecticut, Boston and Philadelphia lawyers, doctors, etc. that were just rich enough where their parents had no problems subsidizing a flashy ´new money´ lifestyle.
GW, my alma mater, was probably not worth the money. But students like myself seem to find others who don't fit the typical rich kid role, and who actually just wanted to go to a school in the heart of a city.
CI was the biggest joke ever and definitely a huge waste of money. If I see another GW backpack or matching GW polos with khaki shorts I think I will vomit.
So far the benefits of being an alumnus have been few...hopefully that will change in the future.
Mike, they don't have to go to UDC. They can still read, can't they.
how many people really HATE the city paper, and how many people are jumping down their throat because all of the cool blogger kids hate the city paper?
let's hate on another paper. i choose DC north. i mean, could they come up with an uglier logo? and those features every month on ANC meetings??? i heard matt yglesias thinks they're stupid.
The mention of GW being dominated by rich kids from New York, MA, and PA and CT has something going for it. The one thing about those states is that none of them has nationally ranked public universities. I doubt there are many GW undergrads that hail from Virginia, Michigan, or California-- since if they can get accepted to to their state universities, there is basically no reason whatsoever to go to GW, and you save lots of money besides.
I like the City Paper, and read it every week.
It's free for goshsakes, and often has at least *something* interesting in it...not to mention the arts listings, which are far superior to anything else in the region. Plus, the recent article on the serial arsonist was, I thought, exemplary.
pennsylvania doesn't have a national ranked public university? where's penn state? whose rankings? what rankings? you've playing loose with the stats there, guest 15.
When I went to GWU, Cherry Hill, NJ was the overwhelming response to "what's your hometown."
I made the mistake of enrolling at GWU to get my second masters degree, after having earned my 2 prior degrees from Big 10 schools (both of which have better reputations academically than GWU). For $6,000, I got two graduate seminars: one taught by a graduate student and another taught by a doofus NASA bureaucrat who was moonlighting by teaching in the project management program. Those two courses alone cost more than an entire year of tuition of my undergraduate school (which yes was public, but also probably had about 10 times higher quality instruction).
I went to GW for grad school, so I thankfully don't have quite the massive student loans that undergrad do. While I thought the quality of my education was good, I was surprised at how my public undergrad university was better than GW. The library and computer labs among other things were far inferior to my undergrad university. I expected more, since I was paying a lot more! Sure all the new facilities are nice, but I'm astounded when I go back to campus and don't even recognize it. Is that all necessary? Or is it more important to keep tuition somewhat affordable? I can be counted among the alums who don't plan to give back to the school since I feel as though I've paid GW enough already.
I recently made a last-minute switch from GWU to George Mason for grad school, so I'd be interested in hearing both negative and positive feedback from those who got their master's at GWU.
When I got accepted to GWU, I automatically enrolled because it was the closest school to where I work and live (when you work full-time, this is a major factor). But a couple weeks ago I discovered the advisor I'd been assigned to at George Mason was doing research I was personally very interested in, so I decided to change schools. Unlike my advisor at GWU, who I could never get in touch with, my advisor at Mason has been very responsive and friendly so far.
The tuition for one class at GWU was $3,000, versus $1,400 at George Mason. Although my job will reimburse me on tuition, I still won't see the reimbursement until I'm done, and $3k is a lot of money to put down at once. Even the books seem more expensive at GWU-- the class I was signed up for there required a $240 textbook, while the book for an equivalent class at Mason is only $80.
Even in spite of the big difference in tuition, George Mason just feels like a friendlier school and a better fit for me personally. I hope I made the right decision!
I prefer the Onion for my weekly dose of fake news and local music listings.
See all those ads for silly masters degrees at GWu in the Express every day? Two words: cash cow!
I don't know that the $200,000 investment was worth it, but as a recent grad with a great job I can't complain about the return on investment thus far. The student population at GW has always been more of a "go-getter" type in comparison to other DC universities...mostly thanks to our downtown location. So I don't know if it was my English major classes or the 4 internships under my belt by senior year, but GW definitely gave me opportunities I wouldn't have had at a Florida state school. I have too many problems with GW's administration to list, but so far my $200,000 piece of paper is treating myself and most other recent grads quite well.
because of the excessively high tuition i was never able to graduate from gwu, but lucky me, i have $70,000 worth of student loans to follow me around for the next 30 years without a college degree. thank you gwu! i will always love how i learned about the unique differences between new jersey accents and long island accents!
I knew GWU was generally a foggy-bottom eating rip-off, but it honestly seems like the tuition goes primarily to real estate ventures and summer-campesque perks. I paid a little less for 4 years at a top 50 public university than people pay for one year at GWU. I suppose it makes sense if daddy/mommy are paying, but if you're going to be saddled with loans (and heaven help if you're considering grad school), then GWU just doesn't make any sense. like they say, what we call a rip-off, GWU students call an education
As a GW grad (class of '73) I am dismayed at some of the posts of fellow GW alums on this thread. I regularly donate to GW and I urge all alumni to do the same, especially if you harbor complaints about your GW experience. Just recall the late Senator Robert Kennedy's remark that one owes a duty to leave some small part of the world a better place than one found it. If you found shortfalls at GW than help make it better for the next generations by donating to fix the problem. Every private college graduate owes some duty towards his/her alma mater to keep private education going.
You thought the library was deficient (you should have seen it in my day) then direct your donation to the library fund. You thought GW was way too expensive (in my first semester tuition was $57 per credit hour) well direct your donation to scholarships. Every little bit of funds helps. Strapped for case due to college/car/house loan debts, give $5 because every bit helps.
I grew up in Arlington and attended GW when it was in no small part a local commuter school (many of us chose to forego GMU as it was a small school with big plans). I had my shortcomings at GW but I am not a whiner. As for helping me get a job, I helped myself, thank you. I clawed my way into a law school, passed the bar and got a couple of jobs in small firms to learn the craft and hung out my own shingle. Through a lot of hustle, lot of work (including ambulance chasing and court-appointed cases) I managed to survive. Today, my personal assets (excluding real property or retirement accounts) exceed one million net of expenses. Instead of holding GW responsible for its many pinpricks to me, I chose to hold GW responsible for helping me become a millionaire, and I give back not get back.
If you are a GW alum in the D.C. area, please get involved and also attend GW basketball games and root of old GW ("Hail to the Buff and Blue."). Maybe with a little luck and alumni help, GW can bring back football. Hell, football would have done more to prepare you whiners for loyalty and life than some pissant philosophy course in Funger Hall.
I agree with the last poster. The things you other alums are complaining about are your own fault, not the fault of the school. GW MUST charge what it does specifically because its alumni don't contribute. A college education is very expensive. Colleges with large endowments can use part of that money to subsidize tuition. State schools have state subsidies. GW must depend on tuition. One of the reasons it is No.54 is it's low alumni giving. GW's academic rating of 3.5 is high enough to place it in the top 50 colleges as are the academic qualifications of it's students. It is lack of money that leads to GW's placement at No.54. So, alums, give to GW!! Tuition will go down, the school's ranking will increase and your diploma will be more valuable.
Straight from the horse's mouth:
January 31, 2007 GWU press release
WASHINGTON--The George Washington University today announced that its endowment recently surpassed the $1-billion mark, with a market value of $1,019,222,920.92 as of Dec. 31, 2006. When President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg joined GW in 1988, the University's endowment stood at approximately $200 million. Nineteen years and $800 million later, GW becomes the first university in the nation's capital to reach a $1-billion endowment.
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That sorta blows a hole in the GW must charge a lot because its alums don't contribute argument. GW charges a lot because people will pay a lot. I am not a blueblood but I bet when the blueblood parents get together for cocktails & caviar they brag about paying their kids' exorbitant tuition costs.
Here is the link to their press release
http://www.gwu.edu/~media/pressrelease.cfm?ann_id=25036
AW: "...The rumor then was that a lot of children of sheiks and sultans went to GW, but no one seemed to know for sure, and this article doesn't find out."
In the mid-90's there was at least one Ferrari on campus that was owned by a middle-east student.
ne-Cranky:
"But as an alumni, I rarely give money to GW. Mainly because I think they got enough out of me while I was there."
Same here, exactly.
Hi: This is poster #27 coming back with a retort to poster #29. You are correct about GW's endowment recently cracking the vaunted $1,000,000,000 mark, but you are wrong to assume that figure obviates the need for further alumni donation/gifts. The best way to explain that is to compare GW with Georgetown. GU has a smaller endowment than GW and the value of GU's endowment has slipped in the past year. However, not to worry about the Hilltop because its alumni base actively supports the school with a donation rate much higher than GW's rate.
GW last year garnered a record 4.9 million in university-wide gifts. GU on the other hand snared just under 3 million in gifts, ... for its sports program alone! Georgetown rakes in a lot of money from its alumni base and that enables GU to have better academic, sports and other college related programs than GW.
Just before the turn of the century, Georgetown had a one billion multi-year fundraising campaign and made the mark plus a little more. Shortly afterwards, GW started a multi-year 500 million campaign, and had to extend it to make it work and barely made it only after then President Tractenberg hit the trial begging for the rest of the funds. So, the bottom line is that for every dollar the Hoyas raise, GW can raise only 50 cents. That's the fault of our lethargic alums.
By the way, American has recently started a multi-year campaign with a never before goal of 350 million. Howard is in the midst of a multi-year campaign asking for 250 million. Catholic University depends in large part on annual nationwide donations conducted out of Catholic parishes throughout the USA. I think we can agree that the pecking order of university stature in D.C. is Georgetown; GW; American; Howard and Catholic. Notice how that tracks the money. It's all about the money.
If GW alums, who are not that much poorer than Georgetown alums but who outnumber GU alums, gave with somewhat the same commitment as GU alums, then GW could match GU in fundraising and have the same caliber of academic, social and athletic programs as the Hoyas. Think about it and I dare you to write a check.
This is poster 29 replying to the poster of 27/31:
I did not attend GW; I went to a small liberal arts college in the midwest. My education was made affordable to me only through that college's generous grants. That financial aid was, in turn, made possible by the college's large endowment and generous alumni.
Congratulations on your success. You dare me to write a check? Challenge already accepted. I already give back and I bet I give a higher percentage of my income than you do to your school.
Your pecking order of universities does not necessarily prove anything. One could make the same observation about student body size and tuition. The lone exception is GW. The school is twice the size of GU, and more expensive.
The City Paper article was a hack job written by someone who surely has some axe to grind or other hidden agenda (perhaps the author's association with the Northwest Current has something to do with it). Sure, GW is expensive, but it is also unique in the variety of options it offers its students to learn from and work with some of the best and the brightest in every field, and not just in the classroom. It's all about taking advantage of the opportunities available and at GW those opportunities are countless. And those opportunities, and the school's reputation, will only grow greater under the new President, a noted scholar and administrator from Johns Hopkins. As a GW alum, I am proud of my alma mater and its growth, and am a proud donor. I urge others to give.
Yes, the City Paper article is just an example of the news industry trying to make money through sensationalism, instead of by reporting facts. GW is brimming with opportunity for those who take advantage of all it has to offer. Support the wonderful D.C. resource which is GW.