<p>Hi Feliz! Congratulations to your daughter. I love the questions you asked, because you will very soon discover that WashU has the perfect offerings for each opportunity you are curious about. So here goes…</p>
<p>1) How is the religion/spiritual life on campus? VERY TOLERANT, welcoming, and diverse. Since you mentioned your daughter is Christian, I want to say that I know at least three different Christian groups on campus. I have attendend events and church with them, and they are some of the most loving and caring people I know. </p>
<p>2) How are the extra-curriculum activities on campus? How is St. Louis?
On campus, the activities are endless. I could go on and on.
Volunteer opportunities? Check out the Campus YMCA or the Student volunteer office (they have a website too) - there are at least 20 different Campus YMCA programs, and even more volunteer groups like APO not affiliated with the Campus Y. Some examples of volunteer groups are Alternative Spring Break (which has gone to New Orleans to help fix up after Hurricane Katrina), Feed St. Louis (provide food for the hungry), and Project Sunshine (visit children’s hospitals and host parties for the kids there). WashU also offers the Social Change Grants- write a proposal for changing a social situation, and you may win funding to make your vision come true. </p>
<p>Singing and musical performance? Check out the chamber orchestra, the symphony, the piano concerts, and also the numerous award-winning a capella groups. </p>
<p>Theatre? My friend directed a student production- a musical- last semester. It was a great performance with talented actors (and singers!)</p>
<p>Writing? - Monthly poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction readings, showcased by both faculty and students. Enjoy appetizers afterwards (very delicious appetizers, might I add)</p>
<p>Research- You really can’t find better-stocked and cutting-edge laboratories elsewhere. WashU IS one of the top places for science, and hands-on undergraduate research. This school has got the money rolling in to fund its research project, and a good amount of that money goes to fund undergraduate research. Besides scientific research, my peers also are active in original humanities research, such as helping to transcribe the writings of an early English writer or to research the underpinings of a health problem in medical anthropology. Every semester there is an undergraduate research symposium, and the projects displayed I’ve seen are always the acme of quality. </p>
<p>There are also numerous clubs and ethnic student groups that host fun, multicultural events (like the Asian Night Market in April and also Diwali in the fall)</p>
<p>Tutoring? - Stop by Cornerstone. They have a free tutor and study groups for every subject (name it, you got it, and if they don’t have it, they’ll get it). The residential halls also have their own in-dorm academic mentoring system. They are the Residential Peer Mentors, and they really work with the students in subjects such as Writing, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus. The tutors are not only great students, they are great mentors- they don’t just give you a problem and tell you how to solve it, they are trained to make sure you understand the concepts. Your daughter sounds like a great candidate for a future tutor!</p>
<p>The list goes on and on and on…</p>
<p>St. Louis has its own share of offerings. It is not as bustling as say, New York City, but you can imagine it as a quaint town with lovely shops and cordial people. Flush with WashU is the Delmar Loop- an exciting avenue with restaurants, shops, and cafes. Then, via (free) public transportation, you can reach the Galleria, an upscale and beautiful shopping complex with everything from Macy’s to Godiva. </p>
<p>I think it’s good St. Louis is a relatively quiet place with a solid, vibrant culture. It really cultivates your world-view as well as allow you the right mindset to study for those WashU exams!</p>
<p>3) How competitive is the student body? Oh gosh, this is one of the happiest places to study. I was in the premedical classes, and while people do stress out, it’s not because of “That jerk is trying to sabotage my grade.” It’s more of a “Professor X is going to write a hard exam, and I want to rise up to the challenge.” Premed students, for example, help each other out all the time ( I personally have shared my notes and have gotten the favor returned) Engineering students work together all the time on problem sets and to build some innovative contraption. Visit Whisper’s Cafe- students there mingle, converse, and encourage each other. When I think “WashU” I think “motivated, intense students” but not “cutthroat.” </p>
<p>4) How is food on campus? How are the restaurants close to campus? Year ago, before I visited the campus, I read in The Princeton Review that WashU’s food was rated in the top 5 in the nation. When I visited the campus, I could not stop eating. I remember eating a pizza with a savory crust that was crispy on the surface but chewy on the inside- topped with fresh mozarella, fragrant basil, and succulent tomato slices. I was soon to discover the wealth of food- the choices, the aromas, the tongue-tintillating flavors. Okay, so now I may be exaggerating, but the end point is- the food is delicious. And if you’re bored, you can always eat at Ibby’s, the on-campus ‘fancy’ restaurant, or Subway’s (ie $5 footlong and macadamia cookie, anyone?)</p>
<p>5) How preppy is the student body? Hmmm. I think this one goes both ways. There are the preppy students, and there are the students like me (T-shirt wearing, flipflops during winter). The students here are generally financially well-off, but they also come with etiquette and sensitivity (not a ‘preppy’ condescending sneer, haha). So it’s not that preppy here, and you find students on both ends of the economic scale. </p>
<p>Lastly…
Cool to know your daughter applied to MIT also- I’m assuming then she is quite the science whiz. I actually was (and still am!) crazy about science, and applied for WashU just for that reason. The hard sciences offerings at WashU are top-notch. I have done at least three independent research projects in the lab so far, starting my freshman year; a large proportion of undergrads do research in every department (engineering to basic research) WashU also has one of the top number of undergraduate funding for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Foundation. It’s really hard to go wrong with the WashU science program, and every year, WashU undergrads attend top graduate school programs (for example, I know several undergrads who eventually got into WashU biology department for graduate school as well as to Duke, Stanford, UNC, etc). The professors here are at the forefront of their research but are really caring teachers as well!</p>
<p>Hope this answer helped!!! I really enjoyed answering your questions about WashU, simply because the answers were easy to give! Congrats to your daughter again!</p>
I mean she really loves to eat. That is why she works out a lot at the gym!