<p>Hey everyone. I recently got accepted RD and received enough financial aid to make WUSTL my top choice. From what I have seen online it seems like a really great place and it's one of the only schools offering the major I really want to pursue. I still want to make sure it's a good fit for me and get some input from people a little more experienced with WUSTL than I am. </p>
<p>Basically, I look for four things in a school. They're kind of hard to gauge from a website or campus visit alone, so I'd love some input. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does the school have active Christian fellowships?
-I really want to grow in my Faith in college and I'm genuinely looking forward to being a part of campus fellowship groups. I've read about some of the groups and Churches at WashU (like overflow) but I haven't been able to find any information about their size or prevalence. </p></li>
<li><p>How active are students in community service?
-I really want to get involved with local non-profits and schools. I especially want to volunteer with the special needs community and teaching english and literacy to recent immigrants. If anyone has any information on how active community service groups and projects are at WashU I'd love to hear about it. </p></li>
<li><p>How are the study abroad and foreign language programs?
-I will be doing foreign service work after college and I really want to develop fluency in two or more languages while in college. I also hope to study abroad for a semester and then again for a summer or another semester. How encourages is studying abroad and how good are the programs?</p></li>
<li><p>Is the campus genuine and friendly? How big of a role does greek life play in campus life/culture?
-I really want to go to a college where I can make friends easily and have a good time. I know that at some colleges (like my brother's southern alma mater) place a huge emphasis on greek life and IR sports culture and those not involved often feel kind of left out. I'm a pretty open-minded person when it comes to meeting others and I really want to go somewhere where people really care enough to get to know each other.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm really hoping WashU could be the school I've been looking for. If anyone has any input, please don't hesitate to post your opinions or experiences. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don’t know much more about the Christian fellowships and the community service opportunities other than the fact that they exist. Foreign language programs are decently strong, and most people seem happy with the study abroad options. Greek life at washu isn’t that big, but I would say that the students are pretty friendly and outgoing.</p>
<p>Tl;dr: you sound like you would be someone very happy at WashU - it could definitely be a good choice for you.</p>
<p>1) What denomination are you? I know the leadership for quite a few of the groups (although I’m not very religious myself), and they’re all wonderful.</p>
<p>2) Opportunities for community service are enormous. And there are TONS of groups I was quite active in that circle, so let me know if you have any specific questions. Each One Teach One would probably be a good fit for one of the things you listed, but if you expand on “local schools” I may be able to pick out a few other groups.</p>
<p>Another note: Campus Y in general may interest you (they’re the umbrella over EOTO & other groups). Even if you’re protestant, it still combines a lot of christian fellowship & is in charge of some of the largest community service projects on campus.</p>
<p>3) Those interested in foreign languages are all but required to study abroad… so yes, it’s highly encouraged :)</p>
<p>4) The campus in general is very friendly. Greek life here is what you make of it. Greek life by no means ‘dominates’ campus culture, and greeks are friends with non-greeks. So you can really be happy and find your circle at WashU regardless of your choice to go greek (or not).</p>
<p>There are many Christian fellowships, all of which are great and have a lot of activity. The Catholic Student Center is by far the largest (mostly because the Protestant groups are split by denomination, making fewer members in each group). The CSC is welcoming of people of all backgrounds, has a chapel on campus, and hosts a lot of events.
Overflow is a non-denominational group. I would say there are at least 40 members. They have large group, small bible study groups, and give rides to a local non-denominational church nearby.
ACTS (Association of Christian Truth Seekers) is another non-denominational group on campus. They go every Friday night to someone’s house for dinner and Bible study. Many of their members go to the same church as Overflow.
Campus Outreach is a new ministry associated with the Journey (the nondenominational church I keep referring to). It is more focused on the evangelical aspect.
Asian Christian Fellowship is a nondenominational group for Asian Christians.
Let me know if you want more information on any of these groups or on a specific denomination (there are many more groups); I’m pretty familiar with most of them.</p>