<p>I suspect that with most privates schools of SLU's size, the majority of kids come there knowing nobody, and take "pot luck" on roommates. This is a source of some anxiety for my son, I think. Is it pretty easy to make friends quickly? From the things I have seen and read, it looks like Welcome Week is a good opportunity for that.</p>
<p>Also, would someone please explain how the student body is? Are they more preppier, tend to the geekier side, or what?</p>
<p>My daughter knew a few kids from her hometown but they were not close. All the freshman are in 2 dorms for the most part so they do tend to make friends quickly on their floors/dorms. My daughter did random roommate selection and it worked out well. She made more friends through an activity she chose. She entered the school with no close friends there and left with several. </p>
<p>My daughter is not preppy or geeky so I have no idea about that part of the student body.</p>
<p>Hello all! As far as knowing people on campus, you tend to see that there is a solid contingent of people from the St. Louis area who all know eachother, but the rest of the students tend to know 0-5 people when they arrive. (My rough estimate, lol.) This is in no way a problem because SLU has so many “Welcome Week” activities that create situations for meeting tons of new people. Also, SLU tends to attract many outgoing types, so there’s always someone coordinating some type of random activity that draws a bunch of people in. </p>
<p>I did the random roommate thing twice (first year I didn’t know anyone, second year my 2 friends and I ended up in a quad with 1 girl who was placed with us), and both randoms are now some of my best friends. SLU tries to match people up based on a survey that is filled out before the housing process begins (incentive to be honest in the survey!), and even if the situation turns out to be less than ideal, there is the opportunity to swap roommates about a month or two into the school year. (Res Life organized a “speed dating” style roommate swap.)</p>
<p>The student body has a lot of different groups that make up the population, but for the most part I would say that SLU students are intelligent folks who buckle down during the week but have a great time on the weekend. SLU might be described by some as “preppy”, but that’s probably because the dominant dress on campus is jeans and a North Face… sweatpants are a rare sight. Overall, the campus is INCREDIBLY friendly. Friendly enough that when I first visited I thought “Is this place for real?” After 4 years I can tell you that YES, it is real, and its one of the things that makes SLU such a great place to be.</p>
<p>I graduated last May, and I’ll share with you something I saw on Facebook from one of my fellow recent alums:
“SLU kinda ruined me. Now I go around expecting everyone to be as brilliant, compassionate, and inspiring as the people I met there. It’s just slightly ridiculous how many future professors, lawyers, engineers, social workers I met there that are going to impact the world in some crazy, beautiful way. Beyond blessed to have this experience in my life.”</p>