Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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American University • Washington, DC
Studying International Relations (completion in 2005)
• 9/4/2011
"I'm pretty satisfied with my education, even if I haven't found a job in my field. I think my early graduation has more cache than the school's name."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, if they're planning on a career in government. I wouldn't recommend AU for anything outside of poli sci or finance, because there's no general ed program - no one is an undeclared major. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The school has one of the best ratings in the country. It's not well-known outside of the east coast, but it's a great program. |
| Program Quality | 8 | AU is in the top 5 in the nation for international relations. The quality of professors and location make AU an incredible educational experience. |
| Instruction | 3 | My education has no bearing on my current work. I learned critical thinking in school, and that does come into effect when preparing reports, but otherwise the two are irrelevant to each other. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I finished undergrad in 3 years, and graduate school in 1. There is no thesis requirement, so the MA is easier than most, but the comprehensive exam is very difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Professors have real field experience. internships are very highly valued (if not requirements for graduation, but I don't remember). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | AU has lots of evening and summer courses, which is great for working people. I was able to graduate early by taking summer courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | AU has excellent professors who have in-the-field experience. They've recently upgraded all the facilities. |
| Social Life | 6 | There's not much of an athletics program at the school. There is lots of international students and diversity. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I never used the career services center. Every job I've had I've found online. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni organization asks for money frequently. They seem to have a lot of programming for grads. |
Georgetown University • Washington, DC
Studying Humanities (completion in 1994)
• 12/5/2011
"It was the only night program where I could study humanities, rather than business admin or accounting and the like. I got a prestigious degree with a basic foundation in humanities."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I feel like a well-rounded person and have confidence at my office, but the high time and money investment is not for the average student. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It was night school, which was kind of looked down on by other students in the school. It's true we were not trained as rigorously. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Excellent professors, but not very rigorous study load. Professors did not require a high level of writing skill for entry, so a fair amount of classmates could not do the paper writing required. |
| Instruction | 7 | I learned a lot of basic material I had missed in high school. There were excellent discussions led in class by our professors. I wanted more complete reading lists for each class, though. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Too lax on writing standards for paper acceptance. Reading load was acceptable for college work...we were kept busy and the material required was crucial. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This was a traditional, classics-based program, so it was really not possible to have "hands on" work. It's exactly what I wanted. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | It was a small program, so there were not a lot of choices each semester. Summer programs were too short to accomplish enough. No online programs (which I approve of; I don't believe in online education). |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Very good library and media resources. Fair reading lists. Lots of opportunities to talk to professors and department advisors. |
| Social Life | 2 | We were night students, so we had no time or energy for extracurricular contacts. |
| Placement Services | 1 | There was no placement help at all. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | We have a very active alumni network with activities of all kinds. There is exceptional attention paid to new alumni. |
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