Is UW Seattle really viewed as negatively by students as the Internet makes it seem?

Hey everyone,

I really really really loved UW’s campus and the Seattle area and I believe I could really end up living near there. I am from the Midwest and have been admitted to several universities such as UMich, BC, and Tulane, but I really felt at home in Seattle. I applied to major in Neuroscience and am planning on applying medical school (I also applied for UW Honors). Every time I go online to read about UW, all I see is students hating on the school. Would it really be a bad experience to go premed from OOS?

Pre-meds (or anyone) going to out of state public schools usually find higher costs than at their in state public schools. If this applies to you, that may not be a good thing, because it is best to avoid undergraduate debt and save money for expensive medical school. Even applying to medical school is expensive, since it includes short-notice travel to medical school interviews. Since pre-meds commonly apply to their in state public medical schools (which usually cost less and may prefer in state students), doing undergraduate in state may make that interview travel easier and less expensive.

@ucbalumnus Yes, I agree with what you are saying — but my in state schools suck. And the one school that is good costs a a lot despite being a public school and I disliked it both times I visited.

Which state? Midwestern states typically have state universities that are considered good.

If your in-state public costs a lot, how does it compare to the out-of-state public schools and private schools you mention in various threads?

Here are some UW students who seem to have enjoyed their time there:

https://honors.uw.edu/community/grads/

https://www.washington.edu/husky100/

With admissions to Michigan, BC and Tulane in hand and an application pending to the UW Honors Program, you should be aiming for an experience like those described in the linked profiles.

For pre-meds (even those who are not residents of the “WWAMI” states served by the UW School of Medicine), it is helpful to have facilities and resources like the UW Medical Center and the UW School of Medicine right on campus:

http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/shadowing

https://globalhealth.washington.edu/connect/internships-and-volunteering

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/primary-care-rankings

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings

Additional info:

https://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/at-the-uw/pre-health-advising/fields/medicine/

Lots of undergraduate research opportunities to enhance your medical school application, too:

https://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/

https://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/students/

https://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/about/

https://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/symposium/

Congratulations and good luck wherever you choose to enroll!

@ucbalumnus I’m from Illinois. It would end up costing about $60,000 less to go to UIUC, but I really just didn’t like the campus vibe.

@UWfromCA thank you so much for all of those articles!!! I will definitely check those out. I really appreciate you taking the time to send those.

My pleasure. Maybe you will be able to cut into the cost differential with a Purple & Gold Scholarship:

https://admit.washington.edu/costs/scholarships/#purple

Here is some other scholarship information:

https://www.washington.edu/financialaid/types-of-aid/scholarships/undergraduate-scholarships/

https://honors.uw.edu/scholarships/freshman

@uwfromca I am hoping that I will receive a Purple and Gold Scholarship. That would be super helpful! But thanks again for all the help I really appreciate it.

I think if you can avoid debt, go where your heart takes you. My family visited UW last year and loved the campus and Seattle. Good luck to you!

My son is a freshman at UW and really enjoying it! Please take anything posted on the web with a grain of salt. UW is a big public school, but the flagship school of the state with a lot of spirit and community in addition to rigorous academics.

One thing that was icing on the cake for my son was that he has own single room and private bath in the engineering dorm! I wonder his out-of-state status gave him any priority.

As the previous poster mentioned, UW Medical Center is top-notch, and right at the front of campus across from the light rail station. If you are pre-med, I would imagine it would be good to find a campus with a major hospital. I was pre-med at Cal decades ago, and remember how hard it was to find any internships close by. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck!

@dunnowheretogo: UW-Seattle is not a party school.

@BayAreaMom15 thank you so much! I’m glad that your son is loving it and I totally agree with you about the UW Medical Center. I’ll definitely look into the dorm situation too.

@dunnowheretogo , what negative comments do you see about UW? If it’s about lack of party or courses too hard, that’s true. As @publisher mentioned, UW is not a party school. The courses, especially the first year “weed out” classes, are hard. However, if you are a serious student, you will find a lot of like-minded friends and have a good experience.

My son is a freshman at UW. He is OOS (So Cal). He loves UW so much and is the happiest he has ever been.

He went in as a bio major but is truly undeclared. He loves the quarter system as he has more opportunity to try different classes from Econ to psych to nutrition to anthropology.

He lives in a newer dorm with private bath, goes to tons of Div 1 sporting events, has made great friends and is having a blast.

Go where your heart leads you!

@bogeyorpar I don’t like to trust the internet, but most of the comments online on various different sources basically say “don’t come here it

Is so hard to get your major and everybody only studies”

@CaBeachMom that’s great to hear!! I am planning on going into a similar major so that makes me feel a lot better — thank you!

Lolwut. People say UW is bad?

I love UW, it’s honestly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I’m a first year living off-campus (in an apartment with my friend) and an intended psych major, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m surprised I kept most of my friends from my in-state high school while also meeting new friends here and making even better connections.

It’s a terrific school community with lots of awesome opportunities!

Go where you want, don’t let the Internet shape your opinion on something.

@JoeLollo21 people just like to say its too competitive online and that nobody has fun but I have a hard time believing that — and you are evidence that it’s not true so thank you!!!