University of Washington (no, not WUSTL)

Parents Forum
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<p>I have heard good things about the University of Washington, but as someone living in Illinois, I don't have a real sense as to what it's like, how it stacks up as a state flagship, etc. Could someone who is familiar with both Univ of Washington and the Big Ten midwestern state schools (particularly UIUC, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, etc.) help me understand which of the Big Tens it's most like (if at all) and what level of recognition does it have? IOW, is U of Wash as big of a deal in Wash State as UIUC is here in Illinois?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance. I truly know very little about it, but I have a son who is interested in the Pacific Northwest.</p>

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<p>Yes, probably a bigger deal…………because Washington doesn’t have high ranked privates like U Chicago and Northwestern, to compete with. UW is clearly the highest ranked U in the state, and the surrounding states. Keep in mind that UW is in Seattle – an urban campus.</p>

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<p>I'm not an expert on midwest schools, but I did go to the U of Washington, so I can try to help you better understand UW. Basically, when you think about it, if you take the portion of the country west of the Mississippi and north of the bay area, UW is probably the best University in that region. As a whole, I'd say that west of the Mississippi, the ranking of Universities (not counting LACs) is something like 1. Stanford, 2. Cal Tech, 3. WUSTL, 4. Rice, 5. UCLA, 6. USC, 7. UW. In the Pacific Northwest, I'd say that it's hands down the best and most sought after University. </p>

<p>Campus- It has a HUGE, sprawling urban campus. To walk from one end of campus to the other takes a while (and is not always pleasant in the rain). The campus itself is quite beautiful (architecture, landscaping, etc), but the area of Seattle its in is not the best. The "U District," while charming in it's own way (lot's of cool coffee shops, bars for students, Indie theaters, etc), it does have a lot of homeless and otherwise unsavory people (aside from students). My first day on campus, I asked myself what I got myself into. The U District ended up growing on me, and I realized that it's safer than it appeared at first, but I can tell you that it's not for everyone.</p>

<p>Students- I met some brilliant kids that could've easily gone to the Ivies, and I met some kids that went to UW because it's the best and most popular college close to home and college is expected of them. With such a huge student body, you will have your mix of students, but in the Business school anyway, I found the students to be very professional, smart, ambitious, etc. Many of my classmates went on to go to elite grad schools and/or work for prestigious firms. Students on average tend to be outdoorsy, politically liberal, into UW sports (football), and pretty eclectic and diverse (lots of minorities, especially Asian). </p>

<p>Reputation- Depends on what major. UW has the #1 Medical School in the country, it has a top 20 business school, is strong in international studies, and with Bill Gates donating a TON of money to build a state of the art computer science facility, that area is very strong too. UWs admission for freshman is not as highly selective as, say, UCLA, which likely prevents it from cracking the top 20. But many of it's progams are very highly regarded and prestigious. </p>

<p>Opportunities- There are many opportunities in Seattle for internships (Microsoft, for one, offers an extremely prestigious internship opportunity for top juniors). After school, you have Harborview (one of the best Hospitals in the country) and a great medical district if you're into medicine, Microsoft and other tech firms if you're in the sciences, as well as a VERY lively financial district if you're into business. After I graduated and entered the professional world, I can tell you that firms in the NW hold UW grads with very high regard. </p>

<p>Maybe I'm biased, but I feel that UW is a bit underrated and overlooked. For much of the country, Seattle and the Pacific NW in general might as well be another country, but I LOVE it; it's a real hidden gem up here. UW is in a great city with TONS of opportunities no matter what you major in, and it has some really prestigious programs. My only complaints are a) the area UW is in isn't the best and b) there were more TAs teaching lower level classes that I'd like, but what do you expect with a 30,000 student body?</p>

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<p>Ummm . . . you may want to slide a place for Berkeley into your west-of-the-Mississippi hierarchy, somewhere north of UW</p>

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<p>Oops. That list was off the top of my head and it felt like I was forgetting one. Yeah, Berkeley definitely ranks higher than UW.</p>

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<p>I think it most resembles UWisconsin, if that helps. It has an "urban" campus to be sure, but not in the most urban area of the city, and surrounding area looks very much like Madison.</p>

<p>It has the best public health school in the country, as well as the nation's best medical school for primary care, and serves the entire region. Business school is good, but note that for most students, it is junior entry only. Good language departments, pretty good music school, excellent computer sciences (no surprise). Campus housing is relatively poor. Other than a very large number of Chinese and Japanese students, it is extraordinary in its lack of racial/ethnic diversity. Students regularly complain they can't get into required classes, and many take 5 or even 6 years to complete. The usual sports. Fraternities often out of control. Student body ranges from football players to neo-hippies to Future Business Leaders of America. Outside of getting away from home, I can't see why one would spend big bucks to go there if one can access one of the better flagship Midwest state u's for in-state tuition.</p>

<p>Oh - to answer your question, UW (despite a good reputation) is not to Washington what UIUC is to Illinois. This is because 1) Washington State is very well-established, and in certain fields is equal or even better than UW; and 2) Many students on the west side of the state actually prefer Western Washington University (or Evergreen) to UW for, among other reasons, the quality of undergraduate campus life, better advising, and availability of courses.</p>

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<p>Don't know how people think about UIUC. In the PNW, there are OR, WA, ID. These are Big States in terms of physical size, but with a population of maybe 8-9 million total. So in a radius of 300 miles, how many schools and states can you get from Illinois. A radius of 300 miles from Seattle, gets you in British Columbia, barely into Idaho, and fifty miles into Oregon.</p>

<p>PAC10, PNW schools can hold their own without making any comparison, in most areas that concerns students. </p>

<p>I am personally giving even odds that S will attend UW, either PT as a post grad to get business courses; adjunct assistant to his CMU advisor, now at UW; or as phd candidate with his internship mentor who was a prof at CMU.</p>

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<p>Super helpful ... thanks to all who responded! Anyone else care to chime in?</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Outside of getting away from home, I can't see why one would spend big bucks to go there if one can access one of the better flagship Midwest state u's for in-state tuition.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Would others (who are familiar with UIUC or other Big 10 flagships) agree with this assessment?</p>

10

<p>^^P-girl:</p>

<p>While U-Dub (as it's known on the leftcoast) is an excellent college, it just doesn't offer the same value proposition as does UIat instate rates; I'd even recommend Illinois over Cal and UCLA (and what about Pomona, Payton?) due to price alone.</p>

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<p>I agree with mini and blue. For the dollars for an OSS, a good private would be competitive.</p>

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<p>Yes, I would agree with mini's statement. My D looked into UW since we're on the west coast and she likes Seattle, but for the cost for OOS it really didn't make much sense. And unfortunately there were only a couple of merit scholarships for OOS students and they did not make a very big dent into the higher tuition. Our in-state financial safety is UOregon, which is not as highly ranked as UIUC.</p>

<p>As far as the campus, my D up there right now for a pre-medical program and really likes it, she thinks it's even nicer than the UMichigan campus.</p>

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<p>I would tend to agree with the other posters in that while UW is a very good school, unless there was a compelling reason (a full ride, a program at UW that is much better than what you can get in-state, or simply wanting to get away and love the PNW), I likely wouldn't pay out-of-state tuition. If you're in Illinois, I would take UIUC plus $15K over UW, and it would be a pretty easy decision. </p>

<p>However, if proximity to home isn't a big issue, then unless you go to an in-state University and get in-state tuition (or have one of the aforementioned compelling reasons), I don't see the difference in Wisconsin and UW, for example. You'd pay out-of-state for both (roughly the same cost), so it would just come down to "feel" and what particular program your son would like to study. </p>

<p>bluebayou</p>

<p>I only ranked Universities and put the caveat that LACs weren't included. If I did include LACs, there would be several west of the Mississippi that would top UW (the Claremont colleges (including Pomona), Grinnell, Carleton, and possibly even Reed)</p>

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<p>And Whitman.</p>

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<p>I liked Mini's comments about the UW. Keep in mind that the UW is a major research institution, which means undergraduate education comes in second. And being a big school (at one time the largest on the west coast) an undergrad has to be aggressive to find his/her way to success. If an out-of-stater is determined to come west, I'd suggest looking at WSU alsi, were admissions are not quite as competitive. WSU does provide money for Honors College students. Be mindful, however, the the east and west sides of Washington state (and Oregon for that matter) are completely different from each other in terms of the weather/climate and demographically.</p>

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<p>Like most state-tax-supported schools, UW has very very limited financial aid and few merit scholarships for out of state students. This year the cost of attending (tuition, room and board, books, etc) for out of state was $34,137. Just a hunch, but next year will probably not be cheaper! If money is no object, then go ahead. If you will need help, your home state schools would be a much much better bet.</p>

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<p>Other posters make solid points about financial matters and various programs at University of Washington. But if money's not an issue, it's worth figuring into your equation that Seattle is a great city and the UW is a gorgeous campus (especially on a sunny day). As for the neighborhood, "The Ave", with lots of stores and restaurants frequented by students, has its share of problems. Nevertheless, we like to go out for dinner there because of its diverse and, well...cheap! cuisine. I wouldn't suggest walking alone on the Ave at midnight, but my D sometimes goes to the Ave with friends for bubble tea or coffee at night. The blocks to the west of campus have some run-down housing, but the other side of campus directly abuts a couple of the most sought-after and expensive neighborhoods in the greater Seattle area, with beautiful homes and gardens and a highly educated population. Bill Gates grew up in this neighborhood, just a few blocks from campus. Large numbers of students from these neighborhoods opt to attend UW although they have the finances and the stats to go elsewhere. My daughter has several friends who are attending Washington universities next year. While some have selected Western Washington U or Washington State U over the UW because of these schools' attributes, an equal number chose WWU or WSU after being denied admission to UW in a year of fierce competition among qualified applicants. The UW is viewed as the PNW's premier public university among my circle of friends and acquaintances.</p>

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<p>Just realized the "neighborhoods" part of my reply seems snooty. Not my intention! Nor did I mean to place my family within the expensive and highly educated and Bill-Gates-acquainted crowd. I was just trying to address the question of whether UW is located in a dubious area.</p>

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<p>Sons looked at Univ of Washington as they made their choice. A very good school but big. A lot of stories of not being able to get into classes and of freshmen falling through the cracks. Some programs have limited number of openings for juniors and seniors so be careful there. You are put in a pre program and selection is competitive for the professional program.</p>

<p>We actually liked Western Washington a little better and saw little drop off of quality in many programs.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your comments. Whitman is certainly in the consideration set as well.</p>