Known for its status as a leading research institution – George Washington university sprawls across 43 acres in the heart of Washington DC, and facilitates 12,484 students as of 2022! But, the question stands, where do these students live? Let us know Where Do GW Students Live?
Around 58 percent of the total students live in college-owned buildings, while the rest of the 42 percent live off-campus around the Arlington-Ballston area. Students living on-campus reside in the various residency halls, which are mentioned below.
On-Campus Amenities
The university doesn’t allow students to live off-campus unless they are approved for an exemption that is granted to them under certain special circumstances. Those of which include, commuters, permanent residents, married, disabled, religious restrictions, and veterans – and more details can be found on their website under the residency requirements exceptions tab.
However, the university does offer some excellent options for those who do reside on campus! The university offers over 26 residence halls, mainly the Aston Hall, with equal distribution to freshmen, sophomores, and upperclassmen as well.
The Foggy Bottom campus, being the university’s main campus, offers the majority of the residence halls mentioned above. Placed right in the middle of the picturesque urban setting, promising a very lively nightlife for the students who live on-campus.
Facilities Offered For Undergraduates
As for an incoming first-year student, you will have 2 options to choose from, the above mentioned Foggy Bottom campus, and the second being the Mount Vernon campus, which is more towards the outskirts of the main city, yet within limits of the good urban localities DC has to offer. Both of the campuses provide shuttle services to the main campus building, further making it convenient for students and faculty alike.
Campus Housing
The Aston residence halls have over 10 floors of single, studio-design apartments with private kitchens for each room along with a bathroom. The proximity to public transportation as well as history and art museums allow students to explore the District of Columbia while helping them to find activities to fill in the time between their classes.
Foggy Bottom
With its name on the account of the quirky atmosphere around its low-lying, marshy riverside location, the main accommodative campus in the prestigious university offers a plethora of opportunities for students to explore new things!
Moreover, it enables them to enjoy an enriching college life experience, with numerous college societies to choose from, and also sororities and fraternities with over 8-30 students occupying each of the chapter houses.
This is the campus where most of the on-campus undergrads reside. This campus is the historic heart of the university, alongside the Gelman Library, featuring a solid concrete facade architecture, which is open to the students and faculty, 24 hours a day.
The University Yard is enclosed within this campus, which acts as the main open space. The university owns most of the property in Foggy Bottom, and has leased and continues to lease some of the buildings to various tenants, including the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank. The most recent residence hall building was inaugurated on this very campus, the District House.
Mount Vernon
Named after British Admiral Edward Vernon, this campus was initially exclusive to women under the Mount Vernon College for Women, which later changed its working to co-ed in 1999.
Located in Berkley and currently integrated into the main campus, it serves as a complementary building to the bigger campus, Foggy Bottom, which is just 3 miles away from it.
It encompasses six residence halls, supplementary to the other 20. It features both traditional shared rooms, the spaces provided with a suite-style build, with various study spaces around the Eckles Library.
Conclusion
With over 26 residential communities to choose from, you can pick the ones best suited to your requirements, according to cost, hall amenities, locations, and preferred roommates as well. Getting pledged into a fraternity or sorority does help you get an edge and have the opportunity to get to move into a much better chapter house.
FAQs
1) How does housing work at GWU?
The housing at GWU depends on a student’s class at GW, and not at all on the academic credits held by a student.
2) What is gender-inclusive housing at GWU?
GIH or Gender-inclusive housing is a policy that allows students who identify as a different gender(s) or those who have different biological sex to live in one apartment or room. You will have to get assigned to such a suite with an opt-in and also procure a mutual roommate request to complete the procedures.
3) Where should I live near the GWU?
There are multiple neighborhoods to choose from, which are close to the main university campus, which include Northwest, Northeast, and the Southwest amongst others.
4) If I am unsatisfied with the housing, can I change rooms?
GWU offers a system called Room Swap, which allows you to choose the room you are looking for, which is open after the first three weeks of each academic semester. Yet, chances are it will be difficult to accommodate such a decision as the first-year housing is found to be full almost every semester.
