Washington University in St Louis

3rd Year Male -- Class 2008

Education Quality: A+, Faculty Accessibility: A

When I came here, I knew that WashU was really good in fields like anthropology, biology, philosophy, psychology, business, political science, chemistry, English, etc., but I was not too sure about physics. Thankfully, I have been very satisfied with my experience in the physics department. The physics course I'm in right now is easily the best educational experience I've had of any type; the professor is funny and engaging, he explains things very clearly, and he emphasizes understanding. Additionally, he's always accessible after class and has very lenient office hours. It's been a great experience.

I've done both physics and economics here, and I can say that both programs here are excellent. I've had great professors in both departments and the courses have been very challenging. I have four academic advisors who give good advice about what classes to take. Research opportunities abound here; if you are interested, you have a very good chance of being able to do cutting edge research with professors here. Additionally, the students here are typically very cooperative; I haven't sensed any hint of competition among students within my departments. I understand that pre-med students may compete just to survive the curriculum, though. Nevertheless, students here are always willing to help others with homework assignments and study for exams.

Campus housing and food are by and far excellent. The modern dorms are especially nice--air-conditioned, carpeted, nicely furnished, laundry facilities, common rooms on each floor. By 2010, all the big dorms on the South 40 (the residential area for underclassmen) will be modern. Food is also great here; most places serve things made fresh to order, and they usually taste good. Still, it's not the same as home-cooked meals, so students here tend to get sick of the food after half a year or so. The campus is quite nice, with big green areas and flower-lined pathways and trees everywhere; the campus is sort of modeled off the quads of Cambridge and Oxford, and it works well.

There's a ton of EC's here, more than 200, each benefiting from the Student Union's budget of about $2 million per year. It's pretty easy to start up a club if it doesn't exist when you get here. NCAA athletics aren't that popular here; this is a D-III school with only a few really competitive teams, like volleyball and soccer, and students generally don't go out to sporting events that often. The social scene here is good; students tend to work hard during the week and then go out and have a good time on the weekends.

My only gripes are that everything here is very expensive; in addition to the whopping tuition, the University charges students extra money for in-room Internet service and cable TV. Food is also very expensive; you pay a premium for the good quality. Another problem is that there's so much construction. The University is bringing up two new buildings right now on main campus, and that means there's two giant holes where there were once either an old building or grass. Finally, St. Louis isn't the most hopping city. There are some good museums in Forest Park and excellent shops and ethnic food on the Delmar Loop, but besides that the city is not safe to be in by yourself. Thankfully, the University isn't located right in St. Louis city, but rather in University City and Clayton, the latter of which is a rich, up-scale suburb of St. Louis. On the whole, campus itself is very safe, and I never feel unsafe walking around campus at night.Still, on the whole, my experience here has been very satisfying. It's a challenging but cooperative academic environment with great professors, excellent quality of life, and good social atmosphere.

1st Year Male -- Class 2010

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Social Life: B+

I am a freshman this year at Washington University in St. Louis, and I am so happy I decided to come here. I had a very tough time deciding last year because I had a lot of good options, but I could not have made a better decision. The university is a beautiful place; there are trees all over and the buildings look exactly how I always thought a university should look. That may sound really shallow, but it really does make a difference... when I walk out of Chemistry I may feel concerned about understanding the material or doing well on tests, but then I look around me at the cool Gothic buildings and I am so amazed that I am here. A lot of people don't know of Wash. U or may not like the idea of going to school in Missouri (I'm from California, and the lack of a well-known name was a big concern for me and I was temped to choose Cornell instead because going to New York sounded so much better) But I have found that the name doesn't matter so much now. Everyone here in this part of the country knows Wash. U is a spectacular school, and so do the med schools and graduate schools. So I wouldn't worry too much about the name. One of the big plusses of this school is the scholarship policies. First of all, there is merit based aid available which was a big factor for me. If you apply to the university, make sure to apply for the scholarships! There are a lot of scholarships available, and so apply and do a really good job on the application. For me, it certainly paid off; I've got a full scholarship here with a stipend each year. Then, the policy for outside scholarships is great too... if you're a National Merit finalist, the school gives you money depending on what type of National Merit scholarship you get; I got a $2500 one-time scholarship from NMSQT, but Wash. U is continuing that for my sophomore, junior and senior years. Additional outside sholarships are also yours to keep; financial aid doesn't just sink your scholarship money towards your need based aid at all! That's huge. In fact, this semester the university wrote a check to me because I had more money scholarship money coming in than the semester 's tuition, room and board were costing. Of course, I have been very lucky and I worked very hard. I don't want to give the impression that everyone here has full scholarships or anything. All I mean to say is that need and merit based aid is very very reasonable at Washington University relative to other universities and that you should apply for scholarships! The people here are very nice; most the teachers do care very much about their classes and teaching well. In the big classes like chemistry, it's not very personal, but you can always go to help sessions, office hours, or talk to the professor after class. I like my smaller classes a lot more though, because you really get to know your professor and the other students. For example, my writing professor has individual conferences with us every couple of weeks. That may not sound that important, but I always leave more encouraged and ready to go write my intimidating essay. Lastly, the location of Wash U is really beautiful. Perhaps people from green areas might not find it that special, but I am from a dry area of the country and I am so excited by all the trees and the beautiful fall colors. Wash. U is right beside Forest Park which is an enormous green park full of trees, a free art museum, and the free St. Louis zoo. It's a great place to wander around in when you're sick of studying. In fact, last month, there was a big hot air balloon event and my friends and I went and saw all these huge colorful hot air balloons getting lit up. Now, I hope I do not sound falsely positive about Wash. U... I just am enjoying being here so much and I really haven't found anything bad about the school. I never expected college to be so inspiring, full of so many good smart people, and so beautiful. The academics are extremely challenging, but it helps to be in a place that constantly reminds me that I am getting an super excellent education.

1st Year Female -- Class 2010

Education Quality: A+, Innovation: B+