Current Wash U freshman here to answer almost all questions

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I'm currently a freshman at Wash U. I used to visit these forums religiously when I was in highschool. I could not help but notice that the Wash U forum is slowly withering away even though the actual school is doing quite well. </p>

<p>I decided to reregister and help interested applicants with their decisions by providing information on MY experiences at Wash U. </p>

<p>Information on me:</p>

<p>I live in what Wash U likes to call a "modern dorm" (one of the new ones recently built to phase out the older ones) and am in the Olin School of Business. However, a currently of my classes are in art-sci as I am "experimenting" with my interests. As I said, I'm a freshman so there are a lot of things that are still new to me. However, I could probably answer any and all questions relating to transition/campus life on the South 40 (where all the dorms are located). </p>

<p>I would really appreciate if the discussion did not focus on quantitative issues such as GPA, SAT scores, etc. But just to satisfy curiousity, I had a solid B GPA at a competitive private school. My SAT score was 1480 and my SAT IIs were 740 writing, 690 math and literature. I applied regular and was waitlisted and then got admitted on the last day of highschool.</p>

<p>Let the questions begin (if there are any!)</p>

<p>What's the sex life like?</p>

<p>(Please know that was a tounge-in-cheek remark)</p>

<p>here are a lot of basic questions: so.. how do you like the new dorms? do you find them to be less social, or is everyone in the dorm in the same boat? also how is it being in a residential college with upperclassman. from what i figure, it would be great becuase you could meet more people, but whats your perspective.
hows the food? what dining plan do you find most of hte freshmen have/need, and how often do you eat off campus?
weekends-- in terms of going out, how often every week do you go and what would you say is the norm for social freshmen. drinking scene on campus-- how big. and i've heard a lot about kids being put in sub free dorms/floors even though they dont request it, how common is that? and if it does happen, do you get in a lot of trouble coming back drunk, that sort of stuff.
also, do you know anyone in the international leadership program? i am intersted in it and cant find too much information on it.</p>

<p>Thanks for the post. I am very interested in Wash U and also applied RD. Did you take a lot of AP or Honors classes? How were your ECs?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>altgirl:</p>

<p>How many hours per week do you study, on average?</p>

<p>What's your major?</p>

<p>What kind of grades do you get?</p>

<p>Do you live in the South 40? What are the activities there like?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>How was the transition from high school to WashU in terms of classwork and studying and such? </p>

<p>What made you choose WashU, and now that you are there what don't you like about it? And what do you like about it?</p>

<p>How competitive (or not) is the atmosphere, and how are the people?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>When did decisions come out last year?</p>

<p>hm..he is not answering any.. :(</p>

<p>Washu students are on spring break until Monday (March 14th) Still, where is Washustudent? He did offer to answer all questions????</p>

<p>How is the B-School (difficulty of the classes, the teachers, etc.)? I will be a freshman in Olin next year.</p>

<p>I have a very important question ? </p>

<p>In most of the floors of the dorms whats the appx time taken to go to the bathroom?</p>

<p>what time is the best time to get a shower errr alone? :D</p>

<p>First of all, sorry for the delay. I've been travelling/enjoying the beginning of my spring break. Here we go!</p>

<p>What's the sex life like?
(Please know that was a tounge-in-cheek remark)
</p>

<p>A very tongue in cheek question indeed. Despite popular belief, Wash U has a very active party scene. For freshmen, it mainly involves partying in our dorms and then going somewhere else on campus (usually the frats). We then party a little more there and if lucky, bring some lucky person back to our rooms for some more "partying". If you're looking to get laid, the opportunities do exist. There are tons of attractive, normal looking, and unattractive females for you to choose from. </p>

<p>What is also very common is two people hooking up consistently, but without any "titles" (e.g. being called boyfriend and girlfriend). While there are some relationships on campus, they are usually minimal. I would say on average, 1 out of ten Wash U students is currently in a relationship.</p>

<p>My final answer to this question: The sex life is good if you are into partying or if you're into relationships. Don't expect girls to fall all over you unless you look like Brad Pitt. But once the booze gets flowing, lots of interesting things tend to happen.</p>

<p>Next question:</p>

<p>here are a lot of basic questions: so.. how do you like the new dorms? do you find them to be less social, or is everyone in the dorm in the same boat? also how is it being in a residential college with upperclassman. from what i figure, it would be great becuase you could meet more people, but whats your perspective.
hows the food? what dining plan do you find most of hte freshmen have/need, and how often do you eat off campus?
weekends-- in terms of going out, how often every week do you go and what would you say is the norm for social freshmen. drinking scene on campus-- how big. and i've heard a lot about kids being put in sub free dorms/floors even though they dont request it, how common is that? and if it does happen, do you get in a lot of trouble coming back drunk, that sort of stuff.
also, do you know anyone in the international leadership program? i am intersted in it and cant find too much information on it.
</p>

<p>The new dorm/old dorm dilemma. It is very interesting how this theory developed and I would venture to say people in old dorms were simply jealous that they could not live in the new dorms and as a result had to pin some negative aspects to the otherwise perfect new dorms. They did this by calling the new dorms "anti-social" and "too quiet". </p>

<p>I love my dorm and room (Thomas Eliot House, formerly known as University House). It's a fantastic place because the people are very social and you can usually find a group of people ready to hang out. On the flip side, if you need peace and quiet, your room usually offers that. We are set up so that four people (two double rooms) share a bathroom and shower. The bathrooms and showers get cleaned twice and week.</p>

<p>In regards to having upperclassmen in your residential college, I would say that it's very difficult to actually see them. Our res. college is set up so that the three buildings are completely separate. There are never res. college meetings so I doubt I could name more than a couple people in the other buildings. That system isn't all it is cracked up to be, but it hasn't affected my time here at all. I meet enough upperclassmen in my classes/activities. </p>

<p>Food, a topic that is greatly debated at Wash U. There are a couple places to eat on campus. Bear's Den, located on the South 40, is the place you would go to fufill all your cravings very quickly. You will also end up here in a drunken stupor every weekend at around 2 am (it closes at 3). The food at BD is initially fantastic, but it gets old by the end of your first semester. Center Court, located just above BD, can create some variety. They have a lot more food (and healthy alternatives) than BD does, but it takes much longer to eat here as it is buffet style and most students want to get their money worth. CC is a great place to go on Saturday and Sunday mornings as they have one of the greatest breakfast buffets I've ever encountered. Finally, there is Ursa's fireside, located right under Lien. They have smoothies, wraps, and a Coldstone type ice-cream stand. </p>

<p>On to the meal plans. I'm on the second to biggest meal plan (I forgot the official name) and I am having no problem with points. I'm about 200 over which puts me in great shape. Each point equals about $1.33. I usually have two full meals a day and I buy a water bottle/smoothie and junk food (daily). However, many of my friends are on the smaller plan (one step down from mine) and they're having a lot of trouble with points. It really depends on you and I would say it would be better to err on the side of caution and buy a plan one step up from the one you think you need. Another alternative is you can buy a plan one step down and buy meal points from Bon Apetit (the company that supplies all the food to you) towards the end of the year. I have yet to hear how much cheaper this alternative is though, and I would recommend for the sake of ease that you don't do this your first year. </p>

<p>Off-campus dining pretty much indiscriminately involves "The Loop", a trendy street about a 10 minute walk away from the library. You can also take the shuttles which make the journey much quicker, but then you have to worry about pickup/drop-off times. I would prefer the shuttle if you're in a small group as the walk is very sketch and on the whole it is very lonely. There aren't too many options until you get a car. What gets me through the day is the Subway located on Main Campus along with the Mallinkrodt center food court which includes a Taco Bell and Wrap Center.</p>

<p>On to your question about social life at Wash U. A majority of kids study hard on the weekdays and get a good buzz going on the weekends. The sub-free dorms do not allow drinking in them. However, if you walk back drunk you should be fine as long as you don't get too rowdy and don't make some people mad. By the end of first semester, even your RAs won't care about behavior as long as you show respect towards others in your dorm. The cardinal rule of sub-free dorms are never get caught drinking IN one. </p>

<p>Thanks for the post. I am very interested in Wash U and also applied RD. Did you take a lot of AP or Honors classes? How were your ECs?</p>

<p>Oh highschool, so near yet so far. I took no honors classes because my school put little emphasis on offering those. I took the following APs: Macro/Micro/English Lit/American Politics/Physics B/Biology/World History. Important: Don't slack off senior year when AP tests come around. Get fours and fives and you'll get credit here that will help you avoid stupid calc classes etc. My ECs were solid, though I feel like colleges don't look at them unless you are recognized state/country wide in them. I played two sports (mediocrely) and was involved in debate. I wasn't thorughly involved in any one activity and that is definitely what hurt in me when applying to schools.</p>

<p>**How many hours per week do you study, on average?</p>

<p>What's your major?</p>

<p>What kind of grades do you get?</p>

<p>Do you live in the South 40? What are the activities there like?**</p>

<p>I try and make it a point to do homework for about 2 hours a day. It is very easy to fall behind here and I have done so a couple times. The workload does accumulate so be sure to get a little done every day (or a lot done every weekend). Sundays are my big study day when I pull 6 hours easily. I'm really involved in Student Union on the weekdays, so I don't have time to pull marathon sessions like that (not that I'd want to). I'm currently pulling a 3.83.</p>

<p>I am currently majoring in some aspect of business (not sure which one) and deciding between poli-sci and psychology. </p>

<p>**How was the transition from high school to WashU in terms of classwork and studying and such? </p>

<p>What made you choose WashU, and now that you are there what don't you like about it? And what do you like about it?</p>

<p>How competitive (or not) is the atmosphere, and how are the people?**</p>

<p>My transition was quite easy because of the extremely difficult cirriculum my high school made us go through. I find it fairly easy to do well here (Bs and above) as long as you dedicate a certain amount of time every day (at least 1 hour) to studying. </p>

<p>Here's the honest truth: I chose Wash U because it was the only selective school I got into. I didn't have the best high school career. I did not even visit the campus until I got here. Now that I'm here, I can tell you the campus is gorgeous and the people are pretty cool. You've got a great variety of people you could hang out with. The atmosphere is very chill and there is little blatant competition between students (unless you're pre-med, but that's a story for a different day). </p>

<p>I dislike Wash U's lack of school spirit. This stems from the lack of a Division 1 program. I believe that if Wash U wants to strike it big, they need to get their name known to the general population. D1 would be a great way to do that even though it does require millions to invest in new stadiums etc.</p>

<p>When did decisions come out last year?</p>

<p>I want to say decisions came out a few days before April 1st. They were up online before they were mailed out.</p>

<p>hm..he is not answering any.. **
**Washu students are on spring break until Monday (March 14th) Still, where is Washustudent? He did offer to answer all questions????
</p>

<p>Shadaaaaap! :)</p>

<p>**I have a very important question ? </p>

<p>In most of the floors of the dorms whats the appx time taken to go to the bathroom?</p>

<p>what time is the best time to get a shower errr alone? **</p>

<p>In new dorms, it takes approximately 2 seconds to get to your shower from your room. You're always alone since there's only one shower to four people (unless you want to shower with one of your suitemates to get the "old dorm feeling"). </p>

<p>In the old dorms, the showers are always on near. They are probably a 20 second walk max. I'm not too sure when the best time is to be showering alone, but it really doesn't matter since there are curtains and concrete walls between showerheads. Now if you need to shower for other purposes...I guess I would suggest going early in the morning or late at night...</p>

<p>Things that weren't covered but I'd still like to comment on:</p>

<p>Pre-Med. When I first got here, it seemed like 60 percent of the kids were pre-med in one form or another. These numbers quickly dwindled down to what is now about 35 percent. It's supposed to dwindle down more (when kids take Orgo etc) to 15 percent. A lot of kids enter Wash U thinking they want to be pre-med. To be a good pre-med student here involves studying for copious amounts of time and sometimes not going out on the weekends. Always be open to other alternatives if you find yourself not liking it as much as you thought you would. </p>

<p>Regarding scheduling and class-times:
Most kids schedule classes to start at 10-11. However, a required freshman course for all but engineers, called English Composition 100 (you cannot place out of it) might require you to wake up early since they offer a limited amount of sections. Be sure to choose a later time since attendence is counted for a grade in this class.</p>

<p>i thought i read somewhere that the b-school doesn't have class on fridays. is that true?</p>

<p>WUSTL is my number 1 choice but paying 40+k for undergrad is not feasible to me...im constantly hearing rumors about how wustl is not generous with financial aid...while their website conversely contends something alogn the lines that if you are in they will do everything they can to help you pay and that most attendees get full tuition...and at the same time i hear from my school counselor and ib teachers that they are generous with scholarships...so waht is the deal/did you get any aid?</p>

<p>Also, it seems that all anyone ever asks about in these threads as chance factors are the sat/gpa stats but how considerate is the school of extracurriculars such as clubs, athletics, volunteering, accomplishments and students who really express interest of going there, cuz i have a lot of those...and do you know if being in ib helps any..even though i only have a 3.8 unweighted right now because of 9th grade..but ive also taken considerably harder clases such as ap calculus which ive gotten straight a's in, and will be taking ap physics next yr...one of my teachers who recommends students to the school every yr (most of which have gotten in) has recommended me this yr but it seems like that wouldn't make any difference</p>

<p>Any internationals there? thks</p>

<p>I know the thought everyone is focusing on people not getting in with high SAT's. What about the rest of the picture? They can't accept all purely academic people.</p>

<p>I think that Wash U looks at the person and their particular talent or talents. Yes, academics matter, but it helps if you have something special that you can bring to the college. For exmple: musician, artist, dancer, athelete, dancer, or a specific research endeavor just to name a few.</p>

<p>well in addition to the required academics ive been playing violin for 11 yrs and in orchestras and such mayb that could help..or that i play tennis...i dont know what the heck theyre looking for</p>