George Washington University

George Washington University is a private school founded in 1821. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 11,387 (Fall 2023) and a 43-acre campus. The University operates on a semester-based academic calendar. George Washington University is ranked #63 in National Universities by Best Colleges 2025. Tuition and fees are $67,710.

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., George Washington University is ideal for lovers of politics and city life. The school is spread out in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., near the State Department and about a mile from the museums on the National Mall and the Washington Monument. Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus, and beginning with the Class of 2018, juniors are also required to live on campus. The school's sports teams, nicknamed the Colonials, compete in the Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. The school's mascot is a student in costume named "George" after George Washington, though a 10-foot-tall inflatable character, "Big George " (Big George) and a statue of a hippopotamus on campus are the school's unofficial mascots. There are more than 400 organizations on campus, and students with one original idea and nine other members can start their own club. Approximately 25% students participate in the school's extensive Greek system.The TRAiL program leads students in outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, and horseback riding. Student publications include the GW Hatchet, The Daily Colonial, and the GW Patriot.

The school has a wide range of graduate programs, with the School of Law and the Graduate School of Education and Human Development being particularly well regarded.GW graduates include notable figures such as politicians Harry Reid and Eric Cantor, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and actors and actresses such as Kerry Washington. Washington, among other show business personalities. Alec Baldwin attended GW but did not graduate.