Colonial Cabinet leaders will be wearing over-excited smiles and funky socks while they explain the need-to-know information during GW’s two-day freshman orientation.
Your peppy leaders will show you the buildings your classes will be held in and tell you all about how to ride the Mount Vernon Express, but they won’t disclose every detail about what the next four years might bring. Here’s what you need to know:
You’ll probably run out of dining dollars – even with a boost
GW’s open dining plan may sound like paradise to incoming freshman who have heard horror stories about college dining halls, but an open meal plan might hurt your wallet. The University raised the amount of money students get on their GWorld cards by $200, but it still might not be enough to fund your coffee habit or $10 Sweetgreen salads that make up many meals for students. Try taking advantage of the University’s dining deals at the District House vendors.
A big part of nightlife is going out in the city
D.C. is known for bottomless brunches and happy hours that become necessary for the hardworking folks on Capitol Hill. These trends aren’t exclusive to young professionals – the culture of ordering drink after drink alongside a leisure meal with friends spills over into campus culture. Students typically head to bottomless brunch on Sunday or happy hour on Thursday night and out to area bars on nights that campus is quiet. But being under 21 can put a damper on that game plan. Luckily, students have found a way around that pesky drinking law – but I’ll leave it to you and your friends to figure that one out.
You may get a visit from a furry or crawly friend
Moving on campus won’t be like moving into a five-star hotel and unfortunately, the days when freshman dorms were cleaned by professionals are long gone. Living in a city and in older buildings like Thurston Hall, which was built in 1929, is the perfect recipe for unwanted animal guests. Some students have been assigned additional roommates like cockroaches, rats, bed bugs and even pigeons in the past three years.
Weed is legal, but you’ll have to leave to light up
It has been legal for D.C. smokers who are over the age of 21 to possess two or fewer ounces of marijuana and light up in the comfort of their own home since February 2015, thanks to the passing of Initiative 71. But marijuana is still banned on campus. Any student found with any amount of weed or drug paraphernalia on campus will be subject to a drug violation, which will send the student on a trip to Student Rights and Responsibilities where they’ll receive consequences ranging from a fine to possible suspension.
