College Tour LEAPs To D.C.

While blocks away politicians debated laws, dozens of New Haven high-school students debated where they should attend college.

The 45 students are on a school-vacation-week tour of college campuses. They all work for the New Haven academic and recreation program LEAP, which organized and is leading the tour.

The tour took them to three D.C. campuses in one day: Georgetown, Howard, and George Washington. Their impressions follow.

Assessing The D.C. Choices

Michael Knuth is a junior at Georgetown University, and has been there since 2012. When asked what he loved about the school, he quickly replied, ​“Everything.” He described how he loved the atmosphere, especially when he first stepped foot on campus. He believes the campus is very diverse and that everyone is generally very friendly.

Michael is a business major, working in finance and currently looking for a job in a local bank that he said ​“should be giving me a call back.”

He did admit that his business classes were very tough. But I also wanted to know about some of the things he did not like, and when asked, he only came up with one thing. He described the difficulty with competition for different clubs and activities on campus, and how sometimes it can be somewhat of a downer. Overall, he loves the school, and is a very proud student of Georgetown University.

I really loved George Washington University and Howard. Both are definite college options for me, and I can see myself happy at either one. George Washington University has a very free and calm vibe, as opposed to Howard, with a more unified and vibrant vibe. Both are satisfying to me.

George Washington University has a great reputation, many important and exciting events, convenient stores, incredible safety tactics, and wonderful transportation. Howard seems a little secluded. The campus is one unified and strong whole and I like that as well.

I prefer more diversity, but I would be able to get that even with the experience of attending an HBCU. I love the energy on the Howard campus; it’s very exciting. The people are friendly and know one another well, and there are positive attitudes everywhere. I’d be delighted to attend either one.

—Deja Scott

Howard, Georgetown, GW: Take 2

George Washington is a medium-sized private university composed of 10,000 undergraduate students. Some of the popular majors include business, political science and international relations. The university’s study aboard program is one of the top in the country. Students here can study anywhere in the world even if the university does not offer schooling in that region of the world. The school will manage to link their students to an institution in that region The University is instilled in the neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and attracts thousands of tourists and students each week.

Today, there were many other high schools visiting the university, many of which were with guided by a school tour guide like us. 
As I was interviewing visiting high school students, a common drawback in everyone’s answer is the high tuition cost of George Washington University. Tuition plus room and board add up to about an annual cost of $64,000. Another drawback students claimed was the university low acceptance rate. Most students felt they would not get admitted if they apply. The acceptance rate of George Washington is 34%.

Howard University is a historically black university. Most students on the trip felt that this would be the perfect place for their learning without worrying about any racial prejudice. This is a private institution with a similar tuition rate to a state college: $25,000 including room and board, annually. The school has great alumni connections. Sean Combs, better known as P Diddy attended Howard University. He is a famous rapper millionaire with his own company named Interscope Records.

Some drawbacks of the college include its poor financial aid. 

Georgetown University is huge. The university has great history behind it. This school is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education. The school has a diverse student- body. The professors are highly committed to their students; however, the professors are paid based on the research they conduct. The university is a research school and has about 17,000 total students attending it. 

The View From The Think Tank

During the Center for American Progress presentation I had an opportunity along with my fellow LEAP participants to listen to Henry Fernandez, Vanessa Cárdenas, and Sam Fulwood lll talk about the association which is a ​“think tank” about America where people come together and discuss issues, topics, or resolutions about something in this country. When they finished speaking about CAP, they spoke to us about their experience in college, how college was important, and how they reached where they are now.

It was really interesting and rewarding to hear their experience. It helped me understand how to be successful in my school work and outside of school. 

I really appreciated that event. Towards the end the entire group had a chance to ask them a numerous amount of questions. Some such as ​“Did you think that your life would end up like this?” It was really a great experience that I was glad to be a part of! 

—Nicholas Mayne

Previous installment:

• LEAP College Tour Hits Widener, Coppin State