<p>Hey guys; I'm looking for more information about AU. I want to know if this could be a possible fit for me. I've tried looking back at old threads but there isn't an amazing amount of information there.</p>
<p>So can someone tel me more about AU and its students? What is its main focus (ie Academics, placement, etc)? Atmosphere? Especially for a midwesterner?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Jespere, I don't know too much about it but I know of someone who attends and likes it very much. There are more women than men and the school is located in a very nice section of DC. From what I was told, it seemed pretty easy to get into downtown DC. The train is nearby and I think there is a shuttle that takes kids into DC. You might want to post this on the American Forum under the Colleges and Universities section. I think its a pretty active forum.</p>
<p>I visited over the summer and was not impressed. The campus was nice enough, especially considering it's trying to fit itself into DC. However, the students didn't seem all that interesting. It didn't have any advantages that the other big DC schools (Georgetown and George Washington) didn't. If you're interested, it couldn't hurt to make a visit. Make sure to check out some other schools on that trip, though, or it could end up seeming like quite the waste.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for answer. </p>
<p>Anyone else have better insights?</p>
<p>I visited DC in November and American University was (is) my first-choice school and so I spent a lot of time in the area.</p>
<p>Just some general insight from my visit...</p>
<p>I found the American University students to be very welcoming and very professional. However, my tour guide indicated that there are two distinct groups of students at AU - the people who like to socialize and party and those who are more intellectual. They actually tend to reside in two different resident halls on opposite sides of the campus. Regardless, I think that even those who like to socialize are still focused individuals.</p>
<p>It seemed to me as if everyone was off doing their own thing, which may be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. There's a lot of pride in the school by its students, and I didn't meet a single person who had a "bad" thing to say about AU (And I asked locals, etc. too). But again, it seems to be a very career-oriented/focused student body. </p>
<p>I found the location to be great, it's located in Northwest D.C. at the end of Embassy Row, and in case you're not familiar with the area, this is BY FAR the safest/best area to be in while in D.C, it's very upscale. This area around AU is called Tenleytown and is sort of its own little suburb in itself. That is, there are plenty of shops (Big chains and small shops too)/restaurants/etc. around the area that cater especially to students. I LOVED this fact about it, because you get both the campus/suburban atmosphere and the big city feel. AU offers a shuttle bus from the Tenleytown metro station (and it's only about a 5-10 minute walk from the campus) routinely, so it's easy to access the station. Tenleytown metro stop is about 5 stops away from downtown D.C. and I was able to travel with ease (and it's cheap - only $1.00 one way or $6.00 a day!). It only takes about 5-10 minutes to get into D.C. from Tenleytown. </p>
<p>I liked the traditional campus feel versus George Washington too, because it's a small campus and busy streets don't run right through it, etc. It was a very clean campus, and had relatively average facilities - nothing too special about them. But I did like the Kogod School of Business facilities, they seemed very modern. The campus is also expanding and improving (They're in the process of several building constructions).</p>
<p>I met with a few professors and people from the admissions office and I was thoroughly impressed by their professionalism and overall how friendly they were towards me.</p>
<p>The overall impression I had from talking to people who weren't affiliated with American (just locals), was that American and GWU seem to be the schools where people go if they're not able to get into Georgetown, and I was also told that (obviously) Georgetown is a much better school. But every person I talked to did emphasize that both American and GWU are great schools in their own right, it's just that they think that highly of Georgetown. (It is a top 20 school after all - it puts most schools to shame!)</p>
<p>Anyhow, let me know if you have any questions about D.C. or American University and I'd be more than happy to help!</p>
<p>By the way.. I'm from the Midwest (Nebraska) - so this is a Midwesterner's perspective</p>
<p>To the top.</p>