George Washington University Campus Life

from what i hear, gw students eat at a variety of places that accept the gw card, instead of just one main dining hall.

appears to have a lot of options. the students are able to use their gw card at places all over dc.

Appears to have lots of options, with every CVS in DC included on the plan(heard that from a current student directly).

There is no actual dining hall. But the meal plan goes towards regular restaurants and grocery stores in the area so you can make what you want of it.

The food is really good and the service is great. The students can also use a meal card and eat at select restaurants in the area.

Good food because of the urban setting

J Street is not great and gets really old really quick. Surrounding restaurants are mostly fast food-type places, and are too expensive for freshman budgets. Upperclassmen get kitchens in dorms, and can cook their own food, which isn't quite as expensive.

There are many restaurants at GW. When you are enrolled in the school, you will get two types of money (dining dollars and colonial cash). Dining dollars are used only for J-street and those around J-street (pretty much school cafeteria). Colonial cash is used outside J-street (for example, CVS). Food is not excellent, but it's edible and you get used to it. If you are tired of restaurants at Foggy Bottom (GW campus), you can try exploring outside restaurants in D.C.. For example, Founding Farmers is a great restaurant.

As a freshman, you are required to spend a percentage of your gworld dining dollars on JStreet, which is a bummer. The food is more expensive there and not very appetizing. Food places around are great, though some are a bit expensive. Off Campus dining can be a bit limited by who accepts gworld. Nearby grocery stores include: Trader Joe's (doesn't accept gworld), Whole Foods (expensive), and Safeway (far and inconvenient).

Dining is okay, but you've got DC all around you, who cares.

Is really big. There are dozens of sororities/fraternities to choose from, social or professional.

Really big here; one of the only ways to be social, which is unfortunate if you're not interested in going Greek.

Greek life is huge at GW. I, myself, am Greek. However, I am part of the Multicultural Greek Council, which is under the supervision of the Multicultural Student Services Center. As a result, we are not represented hugely on my campus, which means we are to an extent, marginalized. Within the MGC are several Greek letter organizations that are multiculturally distinct in origin, practices, and membership. My own fraternity (Phi Beta Sigma) does not have a house on campus, despite the fact that our chapter was chartered on campus. However, we try to make our presence felt as much as we can. In terms of commenting on the Caucasian frats and sororities on campus, I couldn't comment on their programs, structure, and practices much because of our lack of integration with most of them. I do, however, know that they do hold most of the townhouses devoted to Greek organizations. The way they garner membership as well is through a process known as rushing in which they host a variety of events publicly (like a large cookout) and promote their organization, while providing paper and pen for interested students. Then for several weeks, they have their prospective members engage in several activities openly to become members. Among my favorite Greek-letter organizations beside my own include Tau Kappa Epsilon, Chi Omega, Pi Detla Psi, Sigma Psi Zeta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Zeta Phi Beta, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi, etc. Greek life is a great way to engage in campus life, make connections, and provide services to the community.

Average, small houses.

I am personally not interested in Greek life, but from what I have observed they are welcoming people and the people on my floor are enjoying their experiences. Some of the sororities welcomed their new members by decorating their doors.

It's there if you want it, but you don't need to be involved.

25% of the school - I would strongly recommend thinking about rushing.

Greek life is a big deal and everyone are in one.

Greek Life is definitely on the rise! Sometimes GW may seem like a big campus (it's not), so if you want that smaller community, Greek life is definitely an option. You meet so many different people and suddenly you're walking down the street and know everyone.

Greek life is a pretty large part of life at GW. With a little over 1/3 of the undergraduate population being Greek, the presence is pretty large.