Washington University in St Louis

When I first applied to Wash U I had no intention of actually coming to the school. But after being accepted and having the school fly me down for two different weekends in the spring I was hooked. The students I met were so friendly and intelligent. Everyone had something great to tell me about the school.

Now after being here for a year I can definitely say that this school does not disappoint. Professors here are incredibly friendly and accessible, they all hold office hours and if you can't make them they're more than willing to meet with you at other times. The professors in Olin definitely focus on teaching undergraduates and all the TAs they use for subsection are incredibly knowledgeable. And in the b-school you can always find them hanging around the undergraduate lounge so it's really easy to get to know them or ask them for more help. The classes I'm taking are all interesting and it is so easy to get involved on campus. There is a club or group on campus for everyone, and if there's not, it is very easy to start one yourself since this school has one of the largest student budgets of any comparable school. Finally, the food and the dorms at Wash U are some of the best in the country and with SoFoHo opening up this fall, the South 40 is going to be even better.

However, there are a few downsides to Wash U. First, there is very little school spirit. While there is a hard core group of students that attend sports games and our teams consistently win national titles, no one bleeds red and green here. While we all love the school and all it offers, you'll routinely see students sporting other schools gear and the football stands are almost always empty. Second, is the party scene, while there are always parties going on even during the week, they are no where near as crazy as they would be at a state school. The parties here are much more laid back and you'll realize soon after freshman year that the frat scene isn't that great. For everyone who can get into the bars that's where you'll find people Thursday night, otherwise there are some great off campus parties happening every weekend. On the plus side, the campus drinking policy is very lax, basically as long as you act responsibly the cops are not going to care. And also, almost all parties are free to get into, not exclusive, and the alcohol is usually free.Overall, Wash U is an amazing school and I have absolutely no regrets about choosing to attend Wash U.

1st Year Male -- Class 2013

Education Quality: A+, Useful Schoolwork: B+

Wash U is a great school- great resources and facilities, lots of engaging professors and smoothly run. A little too smoothly--Wash U feels very corporate in a lot of ways. They really pamper you, at the expense of experience of coping with anything outside of the heavy workload. I've made a handful of good friends here and if you are reasonably social there are always plenty of things to do. But I'm not sure there is anything outside of maybe smaller classes and good dining hall food that I couldn't have gotten at a public school in Virginia, where I'm from. That route would have saved me lots of money, but even with the drawbacks I have discussed, Wash U gives an outstanding, heavily guided education. It's hard to fall through the cracks here.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2010

Collaboration/Competitive: A+, Social Life: B