Questions on AU + Current chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>Hey, I’m a White male from rural upstate NY, living in a middle-class household, currently a junior at my school.
I’m very interested in politics, want a career related to politics and possibly journalism. Honestly, I’ve fallen in love with AU (from just reading about it), it sounds like the perfect school for me.
I plan on visiting the school this spring (I know seems kind of strange I love the school so much and I’ve never even seen it). </p>

<p>Chances?-
Average small public school, my class is a little under 100.
GPA- 3.7 (Unweighted), struggling to keep it there right now, but would love to get it to 3.8
Rank- 18/97 (not sure if 97 is exact # in class) – should go up once weighted averages come out.
Rigor- I’ve taken every honors/ace course available at my school (which isn’t as many as would be at a larger school, but hey).
ECs- NHS, 2 season athlete, decent community service hours, PTSO Member (parent-teacher-student organization), work throughout year as indoor pool lifeguard, and during the summer at an outdoor pool aswell. I also plan on taking an internship (possibly a paid job) at the local newspaper, and have also worked on the campaign for my district’s congressman this past election season. </p>

<p>How Urban is the campus?
I understand the campus is obviously in D.C., but from what I read it’s actually in a more suburban area, and the campus has a traditional “campusy” feel, which is important to me. Also, although I’ve visited plenty of big cities and loved them, would the change be a hard one for me? I live in a very small town in rural upstate NY – as I pointed out about 100 in my class. </p>

<p>How is the financial aid?
My mom is planning on paying for nearly all of my expenses, which I am very thankful for, but she can only afford so much, and from reading through the Princeton reviews rating of AU’s financial aid it seems only mediocre. (My other brothers attended Haverford and Bates and she was able to afford it with the financial aid, if that helps determine if we can afford AU).</p>

<p>EA/ED?
If I truly love the college when I visit and have visited other colleges and am certain this is the one for me, I will consider an EA/ED application. My only worry is with an ED application I will get stuck with a school that I cannot afford. I also understand from talking with others that EA is different depending on which school you apply to, how does it work at AU? </p>

<p>How does applying to the different schools work?
Would I have to send separate applications to each school? How does EA/ED work with each school, can you only apply EA/ED to one school or does it apply to all schools? Sorry if these are silly questions, both my brothers went to small LACs so I know little about separate school systems. </p>

<p>Student Life?
How cliquey are the students? Is the greek scene large and/or exclusive/elitist feeling? Are intramurals popular? - I’m interested in trying sports my school never offered. Also do students tend to just go off into D.C., or does the campus have plenty of activities that keep the students around? </p>

<p>Thanks a ton!</p>

2

<p>I am answering only because no one else has. I have limited info but can tell you that the campus is very much a traditional campus in layout and feel. It has a great open quad area with some very nice buildings surrounding it. When you are in the quad you would be surprised to realize that you are within walking distance of the DC Metro system. You are in a great area of DC. I believe it is the home to lots of diplomats and such. Very wealthy area. For my son, who wants an urban school for internship opportunities and other things and my hope that he would have a more traditional campus atmosphere with on campus activities and a focus towards rather than away from campus, American was a very pleasant surprise. I think you could attend American and not take part in city activities and be perfectly content. On the other hand, it is all there if you want it. Maybe I am off base here, but it seems like the best of both to me.</p>

3

<p>You should have no problem getting in as long as your test scores are decent, (around 1900-2100 SAT).
I went on an official visit there and absolutely hated it and it had previously been tied with GW as my number 2 after Georgetown and now I would only go there if financial stuff did not pan out.
Its really far out of the city and basically a huge drag to get into the city from American. You have to take the bus to the metro and then ride the metro forever before you get anywhere you actually want to go. The campus feels like a campus but its really ugly, the dorms are crappy but there is a lot of construction going on. </p>

<p>I hate sounding shallow but the majority of the student body was rather unattractive and everyone got very dressed up for class. </p>

<p>When you apply to the school you select a major or a school within the university but you don't have to do anything special.</p>

<p>There seemed to be a lot going on on campus, the frats have parties two or three nights a week and there are various other things going on all the time. I went to see an acapella concert which was decent. The ultimate frisbee team is a really big deal as far as intramural sports go but I don't know much else about them.</p>

4

<p>My S has just completed the Washington Mentorship Program, and has had nothing but good things to say about it, his professors and (most of) his classmates. He lives on the Tenley Campus, which is two blocks from the Tenley metro stop and approx. a ten minute walk to the main campus. We've used the metro to get downtown and the trip takes about 20 minutes/half hour. On those days when he's in a hurry, he rides his bike to the main campus. While AU's campus does indeed have a lot of construction going on (including a new "green" international studies building), the fact that its grounds are designated as a national arboretum due to its collection of exotic plantings says much about the campus and AU's commitment to making it a pleasant place to be.</p>

5

<p>My son chose American over GW because he wanted a traditional campus feel and experience while having all that DC has to offer--he wanted toboth have his cake and eat it too.</p>

<p>The campus shuttle goes to/from the Tenley metro stop every 10-15 minutes, and the Tenley stop is only about 3 stops from the Van Ness stop (lots to do, eat etc), 4 stops from DuPont Circle ( alot of places to go/things to do/nightlife). It's not like being stranded in the boonies--it's more like a bit of an oasis with a quick trip to other stuff.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for your responces. What I have mainly heard have been great things on these boards, but I have also heard responces similar to sict's (thanks for your honesty!), I guess I will have to see the college for myself to see what I think.
Anymore responces?</p>

7

<p>I'll just stress again that I really didn't like it when I went on my official visit.
The first time I visited it on an open house during the summer and loved it but when I visited it again and stayed with a team i came back with no positive feelings whatsover.
That being said, everyone there seems to like it. It was good for me to see that it really wasn't the right place for me though.</p>

8

<p>Hi,
Will just say that my S is a student there and is very happy. It is very easy to get from campus into the city. The school has shuttle buses which go directly to the metro. I think the campus is very pretty but at the moment there is lots of construction going on - a good thing in my view. The dorms that I have seen are very nice. As an aside, going to school in a major metro area makes traveling to and from home very convenient - always mass transit options. AU arranges amazing speakers and the opportunities that come from both the campus and being in DC are really incomparable. Any questions, feel free to ask - can offer a parent's perspective.</p>