<p>Here's the deal, I'm currently attending a small liberal arts college in which the majority of people are commuters and the rest go home on the weekends and being an OOS it is really an unenjoyable experience. So I've been doing my research and I like U Dub for its good science departments and its location in Seattle. But I've read a few places that there are lots of commuters. So I was wondering are the commuters that big of a problem is there still an active campus life and how is life in general at U Dub?</p>
<p>The majority of the students do live on campus. Sure, some commute but most of the commuters go to either the Bothell or Tacoma campus. I know lots of kids who live nearby that live on campus but go home on weekends. It can feel pretty dead some weekends. But plenty of people live far enough that they have no home to go for on weekends, so no, it’s not considered a commuter school.</p>
<p>thanks, that’s really good to hear I love Seattle and U Dub has great academics it really would have been disappointing to hear that its a suitcase school.</p>
<p>Hey! Yeah I was really worried about this too before coming here, but it isn’t a problem at all. One good way to think of it is that there are 30,000 students here. Even if 3/4 of the students commute, then there are still 8,000 students on campus all the time! There is always a lot going on and I’ve never been bored.</p>
<p>Yeah there are a good share of commuters, even many who live in the dorms but go home on weekends. But there are also many who don’t. There’s always people around even though it thins out during the weekend sometimes but I kinda like that.</p>
<p>That is good to know. Is HUB the place where all club activities take place? I read that they are going close it down for couple of years to rebuild. Do you think it will have an adverse impact on dorm/campus life?</p>
<p>Right now my main worry is those large classes. Some tell me that it is only during freshman year that you end up in classes with 200+ students and during jr and sr years they are much smaller.</p>
<p>They are closing the HUB. Personally, I don’t care, because I rarely go there. There are restaurants in the dorms, so I always prefer to get lunch before/after class. Many of my friends eat lunch there, and I know their upset, but I figure they’ll just walk the block to our dorm (Mcmahon) where there is a restaurant. </p>
<p>The clubs are housed in the HUB basement. I’m not a big person w/ the clubs on campus, so I don’t see it affecting me much. I’m sure they will find suitable replacement location. </p>
<p>Large Classes… </p>
<p>Ah, this seems like everyone’s fear. What is your major? Many majors never even have to deal with large classes at all. They’re mainly in the sciences- bio and chem. I have had a 700 person class at UW. I have had a 6 person class at UW. It is what you make it- it is up to you to succeed if you want to. I love learning from lectures, so I loved those big classes. No matter what, you always have a group of 25 people in your quiz section that meets once a week.</p>
<p>@uwisthebest Could you tell us more about the quiz sections? What is the format? Who conducts them? TAs? Thanks, -M</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not happy about the closing of the HUB (it’s not permanent, they’re just remodeling it). It will be closed for two years although I’ve heard they’re moving the food places to other spots around campus so that should be good. And there are always other places to eat around. I don’t think it will really affect things that much, it’ll just be a minor inconvenience.</p>
<p>Yes, so as I said many majors don’t have large classes. All language classes - including English writing classes- are 25 people. Many lecture classes for like psychology, anthropology are 150-200 people. I think math classes are like 30-50 students, but I’m not sure. </p>
<p>My first year of Chemistry (called 142,152 and 162 at UW) and Biology (180,200,220) were pretty big. How it works is you have lecture 3 or 4 times a week for an hour in Kane Hall. Then once a week you have a 3 hour lab. For Chemistry you also have a 1 hour quiz section. The lab and quiz section are with the same 25 people and taught by a T.A., usually a Chemistry grad student. The labs are complicated (a pain, really) but in theory they reinforce ideas from lecture along with getting you familiar with the scientific method and chem lab skills (titration, pipetting, patience…). The quiz section is time for a short quiz and questions about the lecture material. If you have a good t.a. then they will give a mini lecture or review important things. </p>
<p>In Biology the labs are a lot more constructive and really reinforce what you do in lecture, although they are sometimes more explorations than actually working with scientific things. T.A.'s give mini lectures and there is lots of time to ask questions if you are confused. </p>
<p>These T.A.'s are always available to answer questions via email, or meet with you during or outside of their office hours. </p>
<p>Like professors, T.A.'s come in all shapes in sizes. Some are phenomenal, some are terrible. If you have a terrible one, you can email the other t.a’s or the professor for help! Not to mention asking your classmates- there sure are enough of them! </p>
<p>Any other questions?</p>
<p>@uwisthebest Thanks for taking the time to explain! It was very helpful.</p>
<p>Just to clarify a point–a majority of freshman live on campus, a vast majority of undergraduates do not. It is around 20 percent.</p>
<p>imo Many sophomores still live on campus. But after that you’re right, the cool thing to do is to move off campus. People look at you kinda weird if you’re a junior still living in the dorms. Most people move into houses shared with a bunch of friends, or apartments shared with a couple of friends. I agree that it is a bummer. I personally love dorm life- I would be happy here for two more years (I’m a sophomore), however I’m moving to stay with my friends, who want to move off campus to save money, smoke weed easier, and have a kitchen. (Although there is on campus housing with kitchens).</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I am a senior at UW and have commuted the entire time from the east side. I take the bus to and from campus. In the morning, I take the bus to the evergreen point freeway stop, and then pick up the 540, 271, 272, or any of the other buses that that go to the u-district.</p>
<p>I tried living in the dorms… but I hated it. They well small and dirty and extremely over priced. I also got a room in Mercer, which is so far away from campus that I wouldn’t even consider it “on campus” housing. I did not feel safe walking back to the dorm from campus after dark, and someone a few doors down from me got mugged during the first week of class. So… needless to say I moved out. </p>
<p>But if anyone wants any info about commuting, feel free to ask!</p>