<p>AU is my daughter’s first choice; however I am concerned about the apparent lack of organization and communication from this school. The admissions notification processhas been a fiasco. The website is difficult to navigate- admissions letters have been sent out but I still can’t find an amount for 2013/2014 tuition.
Although my D has not received a letter it appears after logging in that she has been accepted with an $18000 scholarship. If that is indeed true AU is still a costly school to attend. Do parents who have kids that are current or former students feel that the school is worth a premium price? How is the school to work with in terms of communication and processes? She has been interested in this school for years and we had a positive visit this summer; however, after this week I have several reservations about this school and would be interested in what others have experienced.</p>
<p>On my Acceptance Letter it said the cost of attendance, tuition, housing, meal plan, books
and misc. is $56,808 per year.</p>
<p>Dockdog, in my experience as an AU parent, it gets much better after the notification. Notification was a complete train wreck when my daughter applied in 2011, and I’m kind of stunned if it hasn’t gotten any better. The web site has been a mess–essentially the same mess that it is now–since the first time I visited it in 2010. (Hint: you can find most anything you need by using the search feature. But you’ll probably have to use it if you’re going to find anything.)</p>
<p>And if your daughter plans to take a gap year, I’ll tell you that the re-entry may be buggy. My daughter’s was. But everything that went wrong, AU fixed quickly and without an argument. We just needed to make sure that she got in touch with admissions in the spring, and needed to send email to the right people at Housing & Dining.</p>
<p>Once she got there, though, my daughter’s been having a great experience at AU. She’s having fun, she’s made friends, she’s learned stuff in her classes, and she’s thought her professors were smart people with a lot of knowledge and wisdom to share. She’s also liked being in Washington.</p>
<p>I guess what I’m trying to say is that, although I have experienced all the same frustration and incredulity you’re talking about, I have also become a happy and satisfied AU parent.</p>
<p>YMMV, of course.</p>
<p>Oh, and congratulations (apparently) to your daughter.</p>
<p>I’m a current student at AU (though looking to transfer). What is she planning to study?</p>
<p>It appears that AU advised applicants that decisions (including costs and aid) would be supplied by snail mail sent out at the end of this past week. No one was told to go through a portal or any other online method, but many, understandably impatient, tried to find a way to get more information. However it appears that information acquired in other ways is not necessarily complete or accurate and shouldn’t be relied upon. I don’t think it’s fair to complain when you’ve purposely ignored the official advice about how notifications will be made and tried to make an end run around the process. I understand it’s hard, but people just need to wait for their mail. And maybe stop all the complaining. As for the website, yes, it’s lacking, but if anyone needs particular information and can’t find it, a simple phone call will usually provide the answer. Lots of molehills being made into mountains here.</p>
<p>As for whether AU or any other school is worth its cost, that’s a determination that’s different for everyone, and involves many subjective factors, including the family’s financial circumstances, how well the school meets the students needs and desires, what alternatives are available, etc. I don’t see how anyone else declaring that AU was or wasn’t worth the cost could be helpful in making your own decision.</p>
<p>dockdog, I also find the website to be lacking and was a little hesitant about the efficiency I would find organizationally based on that. However, as we near the end of my D’s freshman year, I can tell you that our family is very pleased with her choice. In this world of immediate gratification and online communications, I think we assume that the website would be a top priority, although clearly it is not. </p>
<p>I would encourage you strongly to attend the summer orientation session, if your daughter chooses to accept her offer of admission. The warmth and professionalism I experienced as a parent during those couple of days convinced me that we were headed down the right path. My D’s participation in University College was another completely positive experience. We had some initial issues with roommate selection (my D’s assigned roommate was saying all over FB that she was no longer coming to American, etc. etc.) I picked up the phone and called the head of University College and she could not have been more gracious, responsive and helpful. Truly, a real live human being on the phone! She called me back daily until it was all worked out, even while she was working from home on a vacation day! In addition, the personal commitment and accessibility of all of her professors has been quite impressive…above and beyond our expectations in many cases.</p>
<p>I could give a number of other examples, but suffice it to say that I absolutely hear your concerns but we have been extremely pleased that we made the choice we did. Feel free to message me or ask here, if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to answer. All of the personal interactions that we have had with AU have been positive so it is good to know that is the norm not just during the “selling” phase. I feel they could have been more open and direct about when and how the notifications were going to be sent. Thank you for the reassurance that it gets better!</p>
<p>@KellyLJ1 Since we are on the west coast we haven’t received a notifications letter yet so I am unaware of an orientation session. She’s returning from Boston today having visited another school. Not sure how many times we can fly her across the country :0. I am happy to hear that your feel the school is responsive and organized and that your daughter has had a postive first year experience. AU has been at the top of my daughter’s list since she firsted started looking. We visited in June and it appeared to be as great as she expected. I will be glad when the decision is made!</p>
<p>As a current AU student, I honestly feel that the admissions department must be grossly understaffed or something. They are TERRIBLE at notifications around this time, but I promise it gets better. On the bright side, it shows that our tuition dollars are being spent on an awesome campus expansion plan and getting world class speakers and professors instead of hiring more admissions staff (though that might be a good use of money too).</p>