<p>hi, sorry i haven't been paying attention to this thread because i've been so busy. i'm a current AU student and i just want to say i LOVE AU. yes there are people who do not, and people who transfer, but that is true about every college that exists. all of my friends love AU as well. it's a great school academically and socially in my opinion. i was accepted to both GW and AU, got merit scholarship to both schools, and chose AU. my friend chose GW. so it's really "to each his own". DC is amazing no matter which school you attend, i'm interning at the White House and love it.</p>
<p>as for dorms etc, yes there are 5 dorms to choose from. a lot of sororities and fraternities will live in "suites" in centennial (the upperclassmen hall), and there will be multiple suites for one fraternity or sorority next to one another so that it's like living with your sisters/brothers. i will be living in a delta gamma suite next year and i'm super excited! as for houses, most greek organizations do have houses off campus that members can live in, but they are not "official".</p>
<p>if you have other questions let me know, but i can't promise a prompt response :)</p>
<p>I just wanted to say thank you to Ryan and Greenface for helping provide different opinions and point of view on this thread. American is still on my list of schools to apply to but I have to say that I'm a little afraid now after reading so many crazy people's posts.... I shouldn't even have to mention names. </p>
<p>I like to know EVERYTHING about a school - good, bad, how it compares, etc. It's called making an informed decision. I support diversity in this thread. Keep it up - let's all be open here.</p>
<p>yeah,
the only thing that I have noticed about AU is that most people spend most of their time defending their schools reputation and although this is very normal.. look at the MSU and FSU threads... both at war with UM and UF .. I would like to know why you feel the need to do so.</p>
<p>Also, it looks like AU doesn't have alot of school spirit, I can see that a few definetly do on CC but do the majority ?
Could someone also tell me how campus life is at AU, like what happens there and what there all is to do on and off campus.
Thanks</p>
<p>Let me put it this way. There are two occasions when AU students are full of school spirit. First is when you compare this school to GW or Georgetown. AU students will become furious and extraordinarily proud in defending their school. Second is when AU basketball team plays Holy Cross or Bucknell. Crowd turnouts at other games are rather underwhelming.</p>
<p>Other times, most students are rather indifferent about AU. They don't love it or hate it. However, it is fairly true that many people find intro-level AU academics sub-par and disappointing, so the freshmen retention rate is rather low. This also has to do with the fact that some AU students are much smarter than their peers (really, this school has really smart people and really dumb people, a wide spectrum of intelligence). Sadly, it is usually the smarter bunch that ends up leaving the school because they feel frustrated with all the dumb classes they are required to take and many incompetent students around them. I am a freshman at AU myself and find many gen-ed courses completely unnecessary and perhaps absurdly easy (some people say that being a freshman at AU is being a 13th grader; although some professors will require you to do a lot of work, generally speaking, don't expect too much challenge from intro level courses). AU really needs to do something about it if it wants to bring up its retention rate and thereby be considered a more prestigious, premiere academic institution. AU has great higher-level course offerings, especially in SIS and SPA. But if its best and brightest students transfer out before they have a chance to take these courses, AU is shooting itself in the foot.</p>
<p>And regarding Blue Crew, I have not much to say but that it is not that big a deal. Don't expect Cameron Crazies or anything like that. Most of the time less than 100 Blue Crew members show up for the game while others just sit down and watch the game rather passively. If they show up at all, that is.</p>
<p>i'm not particularly liked around here, but i don't care. what DOES occur to me is that the kids IN ANY SCHOOL whoare the involved, happy, well-adjusted ones don't have the time or desire to waste away on this website! i've never read so much BS on most schools sites in my life! i originally came on out of curiosity(one of my patients told me about it) and i thought i might be able to add something. instead i've found erroneous info, kids who should be out there doing their own research, egotists, to name a few.</p>
<p>hey all~
i spent my freshman and half my soph year at au, and am now a second semester soph at usc (southern ca, not south carolina)..one of the main reasons i transferred was the lack of school spirit..and sc definitely filled that void, but created a few others..practically all my classes (and only two are gen eds!) are graded by tas..this sucks (for lack of a better word), as i don't trust grad students to grade my papers..also, while i was on track to graduate a semester early at au, at sc i'll need to take summer courses to simply graduate in four years - mainly bc au allowed me to opt out of 6 gen eds/university reqs/major reqs due to ap scores and a college course i took in hs..sc's also huge, and although i grew tired of the incestuous atmosphere of au, i sort of miss being greeted each time i step outside my dorm..obviously, la's weather (i'm a ca native, so i've got a snow bias) and sc's social life top au's..and la is a great place to get entertainment internships, which are the type i'm seeking..but at au i was accepted to my major prior to attending, whereas at sc, whether i get in is up in the air..so while i'm really enjoying la and sc, i'm still a little nostalgic for au at times..anyhow, just wanted to give an anecdotal comparison, bc i'm sure some of you are weighing au against schools similar to sc..good luck to everyone, and remember that you can always tranfer!</p>
<p>Happycollegemom is unbelievably defensive about AU....no negative comments allowed! It's great that she loves AU, and, far more importantly, I hope her student does, too. But what she doesn't seem to get is that it's just not going to be right for everyone, and there's nothing wrong with those who were not Happycollegestudents at AU describing the issues they had while attending.</p>
<p>For my part, my son is a senior at AU, graduating in May. He's been very happy there, and has some great experiences, including a semester in Prague and a summer internship in LA. I'm particularly relieved that he found a good home in AU, as I personally had a not-so-great experience at the first school I went to many moons ago. I ended up transferring, which was emotionally and socially a very hard thing to do, but ultimately worth it. Transferring from a school is not necessarily an indictment of that school....it just means it wasn't right for that particular student.</p>
<p>Happycollegemom, your responses to the students here are way out of line. You dismiss their opinions and imply that they're maladjusted and egotistic. Most all of them sound far more mature and reasonable than you do.</p>
<p>The history of this thread is one of negativity from "ugly girls" to "gay boys" to inferior academics. The originator of this thread, doublelayer, and others like her have left this thread because of the off-putting comments. Yes, I agree AU, as any other college, is not for everyone; however, the bashing that goes on regarding the academics has not been substantiated by facts. As far as school spirit is concerned, it is what you make of it. You must engage yourself in the social environment. Most of the "bashers" are still at AU. Not quite sure why they have not transferred. Other comments come from non-AU students who do not have any way to justify their outlandish comments regarding AU's programs such as communications, School of Public Service and IR. On what basis is their comparison?. AU offers a world-recognized IR, a lot of diversity, great guest speakers and an upbeat environment. It would appear that jkazoo has taken HappyCollegeMom's message out of context. Jkazoo should start from the beginning of this thread and will see that that HappyCollegeMom is not the immature one, but those at AU and outsiders who continue to bash the school. Yes, everyone has an opinion and there are pros and cons to every college, but the bottom line is that this thread is filled with the same users who don't belong or never belonged at AU. Most of us don't have the time to engage in this disdainful site as we are busy getting the most out of our college experience. So, I, too, will not revisit, and I join HappyCollegeMom in her statement that this particular thread is generally an unhealthy thread as may be the website.</p>
<p>acarta07, I am a golfer too, and was pretty bummed when AU cut their golf team last year. After I got in, I did some research and there is a muni in Rock Creek Park, which seems to be pretty close to campus, but then you have a problem of getting there (with clubs) without a car. What I am probably going to do (if I go to AU) is get a job or caddy at one of the clubs right around AU (Congressional comes immediately to mind because it is a US Open/Am course and has a caddy program, but others like Chevy Chase would probably work). But caddying can be a tough gig to break into if you haven't been doing it for awhile (luckily I can get a great rec. from some of the members at the clubs I caddy at in the San Francisco area). Good luck to you, and if anyone who attends AU can chime in about the presence of golf around the campus, that would be a big help.</p>
<p>My son just got accepted into the AU Honors Program. He's leaning very heavily towards attending. (It's between AU and U of MD at this time).</p>
<p>Regarding the location, very NW DC, where AU is located, is possibly the safest part of Washington. The area is very rich and residential and borders Chevy Chase, MD which is a well-to-do area. </p>
<p>that said, it's not too difficult to get around DC from the AU campus via the Metro (and DC's subway system -- the Metro -- is one of the cleanest, safest and efficient in the country). </p>
<p>Perhaps the AU campus is like being in Palo Alto, not Oakland by any stretch of the imagination!</p>
<p>FJG~ my d. chose AU over UMD, and couldn't be happier. feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. looks like you've done your homework, as your reported facts are accurate!</p>
<p>Happy College Mom, it was nice to hear your daughter chose AU over MD. What is/will she be majoring in? Also, why did she select AU over MD? At this time, I feel my son is fine with either school. AU's Honors Overnight program was quite good, in my estimation, and the quality of the prospective students top-notch. On the other hand, I've never met anyone who attended MD who hasn't sung its praises. </p>
<p>Since both schools are offering my son Honors Program acceptance as well as scholarships resulting in both schools being about the same price, it's really a toss up. My wife's brother and sister went to MD; my wife's sister brother and his entire family went to MD; so there's a lot of family "pressure" if you will. On the other hand, my son likes the political awareness of the AU campus as well as the fact that it's located in DC proper.</p>
<p>Oregoniamom, my son is going to be Journalism major. He visited AU in August and attended the Honors Program in late March, which was very impressive. He attended an open house at MD in Octover; attended a Journalism class in November; and plans to attend a Spring preview day in April. He wants to attend an overnight session but there are no longer spaces remaining.</p>
<p>It appears that my son is fine at either school. Just waiting for him to decide. However, Fordham is still in the running and believe it or not, we got a call from Syracuse this morning indicating they may have made a mistake regarding not accepting him. Just when I was hoping the list of schools would be winnowing down it seems to be increasing again!</p>