Promises of “something happens here” and “you will go far” dominate GW admissions literature, enticing parents to spend more than $110,000 over the course of four years.

Many graduates’ parents agree that their money was well-spent and that something does happen here as their children near the end of their years at GW.

Barbara Schoeneman, whose son Brian is graduating this month, said Washington, D.C., allowed her son many opportunities, opportunities she said other schools could not offer.

“(He was able to live in) a big city and have a small campus and have access to everything in the country,” Schoeneman said. “He’s been able to do so many things. He worked inauguration at the White House, and that’s something that wouldn’t happen at any other college.”

Schoeneman also said she thinks the University helps parents to be part of their children’s education, and she said she has enjoyed GW with her son.

Ira Hosid, whose son Jared is graduating at the end of his third year at GW, said learning in the nation’s capital complemented his son’s studies.

“Just the experience of being a political science major in Washington, D.C., helps make the education worth it – location, location, location,” Hosid said. “I have nothing but good things to say (about GW). I think it’s a great school.”

Ginny Loiacaho, whose daughter Theresa is graduating Sunday, said she was glad her daughter attended GW.

“(GW) was a very comfortable place to leave my 17-year-old off when we first dropped her off freshman year,” Loiacaho said. “If she were starting all over and wanted to go to GW, I’d send her again.”

Loiacaho, a resident of Massachusetts, said nearby Boston offers many cultural advantages, but GW and D.C. offer diversity that cannot be compared.

Bob and Jane Smith, parents of senior Brian Smith, said they were happy with their son’s education but said they were surprised at GW’s expensive costs.

“My opinion is that we got our money’s worth, but it could have been a little less,” his father said. “With schools like Harvard and Yale, you expect to pay a lot because of their reputations. At GW, you don’t expect to pay that much.”

Despite the costs to attend GW, Brian’s parents said they were glad their son attended GW.

“It wasn’t a hard decision,” his father said. “We were willing to commit that much money if it seemed to be the place for Brian.”

The Smiths agreed that GW’s location played a major role when they were deciding where Brian would attend college.

“Being in D.C. afforded him the opportunity to work at the White House and do other things he never would have been able to do anywhere else,” Smith’s mother said.

“The whole environment – it’s the seat of power,” Smith’s father said.

Laura Ware, a graduating senior, said she, rather than her parents, paid for tuition and expenses at GW. Ware said living in D.C. justifies GW’s high cost.

“I could have gotten just as good an education in the classroom anywhere else, but being in D.C. made the price tag worth it,” Ware said. “If you put GW in the middle of nowhere it wouldn’t be worth it.

“I would definitely do it all over again,” she said. “So much of college for me is social, and I’m in a place where so many wonderful things happen.”