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George Washington University

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George Washington University reviews

4.0

71% would recommend to a friend

(2,526 total reviews)
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Thomas LeBlanc

70% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

George Washington University has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,526 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The George Washington University employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
5.0
Sep 25, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very progressive. GWU rewards hard work Tons of autonomy 35k salary + a free apartment, which is the equivilent to probably 25k/year in the Foggy Bottom area

Cons

A lot of privileged students who are demanding. With those students come overbearing parents. Because of the many high profile parents, decisions are sometimes made above me that overturn my decision because said parent donates money to the university

2.0
May 19, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very convenient location if you take metro. Close to many things in downtown DC, Georgetown, Dupont Circle. Excellent tuition benefits IF you want to go to school there (but I can't necessarily recommend that).

Cons

1. INBRED! Much of the lower, mid-level, and even worst, the senior administrators were all educated at GW - a disturbing number received bachelors, masters AND doctorates all at GW -- and as a result there are few fresh ideas, people do not understand a world outside of GW. They have rose-colored glasses and think GW is the best place in the world but that is because they don't know any other place. They don't know how much better work environment can be. Most higher ed institutions ENCOURAGE their students to go out to other schools to get new perspectives. If an undergraduate student dreams of eventually working at their alma mater the professors tell them to leave the nest, go somewhere else for graduate school and then return with new ideas. Not GW. They want to keep your tuition money. I have worked at several other institutions as well as been a student myself at others and I have never seen a place so inbred. 2. Bureaucracy! Someone else in a review here got it exactly right - a medium sized entity but with the bureaucracy of the federal government! Just because the White House is GW's neighbor and Cap Hill is close by, too, does not mean GW needs to emulate the bureaucracy. 3. If you drive, be prepared to give over half your paycheck to parking fees. And the university will be closing down one of its major parking garages soon with no plan on where employees and students are supposed to park. 4. Many of the academic programs are not worth their reputation. ... and they can't see how broken they are because again, half the administrators and faculty were educated at GW. 5. I must emphasize - INBRED! - Administrators constantly talk about "looking outside the box" but GW can't even recognize the box that they have put themselves in.

3.0
Jul 24, 2024

The culture here is terrible

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Foggy Bottom location is convenient to get to, and you can find little pockets of decency among the staff. The true highlight is of course, the students. GW students are intelligent, driven, passionate. I work in a department where I am able to really get to know our majors and minors and I feel so fortunate.

Cons

This is the messiest, least organized institution I have ever worked at, and there is a culture of casual disrespect and just plain meanness at every level. *It took almost a month before IT got me a computer. I've been here more than a year and I still don't have access to every system that I need to do my job properly. *There is a culture of public shaming among staff. If you privately email someone and say "oh, I need help with this, do you know what the next step is?" they will cc your boss on the reply saying "this isn't my job." *It takes months on end to pay vendors. It's shameful. * The pay is low, even by university standards. The benefits are truly bad -- the health insurance doesn't cover anything.

Viewing 19 - 21 of 2,526 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,751 George Washington University reviews submitted anonymously by George Washington University employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if George Washington University is right for you.