<p>Hi! this is awesome, i never knew that American had its own thread. So, I’m not asking anybody to chance me (not yet!) but I’m a current junior right now and I have a couple of questions. American is right now my #1 choice and i think currently the school fits me.
- So, whats the ED plan all about? well, I know what ED is and its binding, but is it rlly true that it’s better to apply reg. decision than ED? That confuses me b/c I hear different things, and I always thought ED has a higher acceptance rate.
- How good is the journalism program at AU? which is what I want to major in. Would u consider it one of the “top elite journalism schools” in the US?
- Can anybody tell me how good American athletics is? Specifically cross country and track? (PR for cross country is 18:25 5K)
- And lastly, are there rlly a lot of gay ppl at American? I honestly dont have anything against gay/lesbians (in fact, I know some that are rlly cool) but was just wondering…
And do you HAVE to have strong political beliefs and be rlly interested in politics? b/c I rlly am not. Although I plan to become a little more involved in such and internat. affairs.
Thanks in advance. Any advice would be immensly appreciated!</p>
<p>oh I forgot to also mention this in the original post. What are their ACT and SAT subject test statistics? I’m aiming for a 34 on the ACT (took a practice test and projected score was 32)</p>
<p>Hey, I’m currently a junior at AU (and a leader of the student athletics fan group, the Blue Crew), so I hope I can help.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ED does have a higher acceptance rate, but if you’re relying on financial aid and you don’t get a satisfactory aid package, you’re kind of stuck. That’s probably why you hear conflicting things. If it’s your top choice and financial aid is not an issue, then go for it!</p></li>
<li><p>While there’s no formal rankings for communications programs, I’ve heard that we have a “top 25” communications school, so take from that what you will. Not sure if it’s considered up there with programs like Northwestern, Missouri, etc., but it certainly holds its own, and I’d definitely say it’s the best one in DC, which is a big town for that sort of stuff. The location is definitely a HUGE plus. They’re currently planning to build a new building for the school too, which should help a lot, since currently they don’t have their own. There’s a lot of great internships for journalism students, lots of famous alumni, and some pretty famous professors (like the founders of USA Today and George Clooney’s dad). Although I’m not a journalism major (or even in the school of communication), I did take a journalism class to fulfill a general education requirement and LOVED it. The program is fully accredited, and as a result of one of the accreditation requirements you’re required to have a second major or a minor in a field outside of journalism, so you’re pretty free to explore other interests as well.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m probably biased because of my position in the Blue Crew, but I love AU Athletics and I think they’re pretty good. While we may not be a national power in the big sports like basketball (and we don’t have football), other ones like field hockey, volleyball, swimming, and track tend to be pretty good. I believe XC won our conference 3-4 times in a row in the past few years, so I’d say they’re pretty good. I’m not too familiar with what’s considered a “good time” in D1 track though, so I’m sorry I can’t help more there.They’re also pretty serious about athletes doing well in school (kind of a highlight of the Patriot League), for example our wrestling and swimming teams have had the highest cumulative GPAs in the COUNTRY in the last two years. </p></li>
<li><p>There’s a relatively high population of gay/lesbian/transgender/etc etc. students at AU and it’s certainly a very accepting campus (big GLBT resource center, lots of offices are certified as “safe spaces” for GLBT students) but in no way is it overwhelming if you’re straight. Straight students are still the big majority. There is a bit of skew in the male/female ratio (about 3:2 in favor of female), but that’s the case for most liberal arts-oriented schools in the US right now. I rarely even notice that, though, and it depends on the school. If you’re male, it’s certainly in your favor.</p></li>
<li><p>No, you certainly don’t have to live and breathe politics. I’m a great example of someone who’s barely involved in that sort of thing. Even if you aren’t, it’s still really cool to be in the middle of everything, and because a lot of other people are so into it you always end up knowing what’s going on in the world without even trying. But no, you don’t have to be very politically involved (or even at all) to enjoy yourself here. Lots of other stuff going on as well. </p></li>
<li><p>I believe the average SAT score is a 1280/1600 and ACT is somewhere in the 30-32 range. Don’t quote me on that, but all of those numbers should be on collegeboard or a similar site so they’re easy to find. It’s definitely gone up since I applied a few years ago. They also look really heavily on things like extracurriculars and leadership experience though, so luckily if you’re a bit below those numbers you still have a chance if you’re active in other stuff.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>