A Change of Mind

Georgetown University

I thought it would be hard to top Duke University after visiting the campus and speaking with several of its students, but now Duke may have some competition. I wasn't entirely sold on Georgetown, even when an Admissions Officer gave us his presentation on it; he talked in monotone and seemed like an actor reciting the lines he memorized. The tour was nothing special either; sure, the campus was gorgeous what with its verdurous landscape dotted with multicolored flowers, historical statues, awesome architecture, and trees as tall as the buildings. However, the tour guide failed to tell us what made Georgetown special. He, much like the admissions officer who recited his presentation earlier, merely stated facts that I could find on the Internet. The tour guide at Duke would tell us things about each place we visited, but she would also speak about her own experiences and opinions on each place, thus making the entire tour (and Duke) much more cordial. When the tour ended, all of us agreed that Georgetown was beautiful but wasn't really the school for us. Nothing we had been told registered with us or caught our interests, so we quickly forgot about it. 

Although we did not necessarily enjoy the tour or information session, we did learn a lot about Georgetown. For example, we learned that it is one of the most internationally well known medium-sized research institutions with a student enrollment of 13,500. Prospective undergraduate students apply to one out of four schools within Georgetown: the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown College, the Walsh School of Foreign Services, and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

After the tour

Something interesting about the School of Nursing is that they use an interesting machine called the Georgetown University Stimulator, or GUS. According to the Admissions Officer who spoke to us, GUS can be used to stimulate thousands of different physiological mutations. "On a bad day, GUS can have a heart attack at breakfast, a kidney failure at lunch, and then give birth at lunch," he said. Georgetown medical students use GUS to pressure themselves, so the skills they learn can become instinct to them. GUS also helps the students practice keeping calm in a stressful situation. 

It wasn't until the dinner with some current Georgetown University students and some alumni that Georgetown sparked our interests. There were about six people from Georgetown at the dinner, and each of them had something different to say. "How would you describe Georgetown in one word?" I asked the three alumnus.

"Internships" one said, after a few minutes of thought. 

"Community" another said. 

“Passion"

The alumnus who said "internship" informed me that the professors at Georgetown help their students find internships for the field they are interested in. She told me the story of how she sat in front of her professor as [her professor] tried to find an internship for her through her own connections. The alumnus that said "community" talked about how Georgetown is so incredibly diverse. The students are amiable and are all part of the same community, so they all click well. Finally, the alumnus that said "passion" talked about how passionate the students at Georgetown are; they are all hungry for knowledge and driven to succeed.

Are you sure there’s a cannonball in here?

Had it not been for the dinner, I probably would not have considered attending Georgetown, but my mind changed after I talked to the students. I don't even know these people, and yet I revere them because of their passion and intelligence. They inspired me work hard and pursue higher education as best I can, and that is exactly what I intend to do.