<p>for all the prospective AUers who are reading this, i will point out, which i frequently have to, that some posters are only on here for themselves. they love to support their own self-inflation, at the expense of others...other AU students, other possible applicants, other parents, other internationals(who may also be struggling with the english language.)
this discussion on the split between honors and regular instruction at AU gets extremely erroneous when one considers the increasing number of highly competitve applicants flooding the school. only the pre-ordained top percent can be offered honors and big money. there is a cut-off ; it may or may not be just, but what is? unless you're talking the lower end of the spectrum, the SATs differences and GPA differences between the honors and the top/regulars-regulars may not even reach statistical significance. ( this is exactly why many, super-high schools no longer rank their kids, as they are ALL good, and yet if ranked put them artificially in a less -than order.)indeed, this is all about sharing personal opinion, and this sharing is often mediated by less than kind and supportive motives.</p>
<p>Ryan, i've said this before i'll say it again. If you dislike AU so much, the money you're receiving should not make you want to stay even under the worst circumstances. If AU is so bad in your list why did you decide to go there in the first place? you didn't do your research on the school? the teachers? That doesn't sound very smart to me. Stop tearing down the school. I'm sure that there are some idiots everywhere... clowns etc. If you want a school with no atmosphere, no fun environment then please leave. I would encourage you to as you are definitely not one of the people that make AU great. You are surplus to requirements and you obviously don't like the university so why should it want you there? change your attitude or change your university as simple as that.
good day.</p>
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Ryan, i've said this before i'll say it again. If you dislike AU so much, the money you're receiving should not make you want to stay even under the worst circumstances. If AU is so bad in your list why did you decide to go there in the first place? you didn't do your research on the school? the teachers? That doesn't sound very smart to me. Stop tearing down the school. I'm sure that there are some idiots everywhere... clowns etc. If you want a school with no atmosphere, no fun environment then please leave. I would encourage you to as you are definitely not one of the people that make AU great. You are surplus to requirements and you obviously don't like the university so why should it want you there? change your attitude or change your university as simple as that.
good day.
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<p>So I do take this as a personal attack, but I am not going to get upset over it. With all due respect, sir, by my estimation you have yet to take a class at this university. However, for arguments sake, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and tell all of the prospective students who roam this board seeking honest information that your opinion on a university which you have never taken a class in, is in fact one which makes more sense than mine. </p>
<p>First, I never said I hated AU or had so many negative opinions about the school that I couldn't envision myself here anymore. It is true that I have mixed feelings about the university as a whole, but I think I have found my place here and am very happy with the rigor of my courses and the demands of my job/leadership positions. Combined with the financial aid that I do get, I find it to be a satisfactory undergraduate experience. Please do not misconstrue my perceived disrespect for some of the grading policies in certain majors as a reason for me not wanting to be here. In fact, I actually like environments where I can offer a place something new or unusual. I believe I do that at AU. </p>
<p>Second, I decided to attend AU because of SIS, the location, and the scholarship money. Looking back on it, sure I probably would have gone somewhere else, but I am happy with where I am today(although maybe not last year). Maybe I did not do as much research as I would have liked, but I did not exactly have the parents or the advisors who were very knowledgeable on things such as college admissions. I just wanted to get out of Georgia and go to a school that I could afford in an area that I loved. I would say that is pretty understandable. </p>
<p>Third, It is not my job to make AU "great". I am paying for this service. It is my choice to give students a different, albeit common, representation of the school from a different angle. </p>
<p>If any of you objective viewers notice, many of the kids who actually attend the university and try to speak their minds on this forum are suffocated by outsiders like kingston and happycollegemom. We are just trying to be helpful, and instead we get beaten down. In my mind, that kind of attitude does not represent the AU values of free speech and tolerance of opposing views. </p>
<p>Good Day.</p>
<p>HCM,</p>
<p>I agree with you about the honors distinction, I think it is rather meaningless with the exception of the general education level. I am glad we can agree on something. </p>
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for all the prospective AUers who are reading this, i will point out, which i frequently have to, that some posters are only on here for themselves. they love to support their own self-inflation, at the expense of others...other AU students, other possible applicants, other parents, other internationals(who may also be struggling with the english language.)
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<p>Now I really do not understand what this means. Apparently last year you were portraying me as some depressed loser who was not active enough on campus, didn't take advantage of these great "internships" and just was not embodying the AU spirit. Well since I answered your criticism with showing just how active I am, now I am inflating my ego?</p>
<p>Truth is, everyone, that if I am inflating my ego, HCM is doing the exact same thing. Why? Because she continually trumps AU while attempting to deligitimize schools like GW and Georgetown and programs like the honors program just because her daughter isn't in them. At the very least, if you are going to try and shoot down our credibility with this nonsense, then yours should be questioned as well. </p>
<p>I think we should just stick with talking about our experiences at AU. Which, last time I checked, you haven't had any.</p>
<p>Ryan~ you're right, I haven't taken any classes there. I guess I'm just really excited to go there next year and have been a tad bias against you. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Thus, I will now keep my judgements until i'm into my fall semester.</p>
<p>so a bit of a change of subject...but not really. im an incoming freshman, and i was not invited into honors. DEFINITELY not a surprise, my SATs were terrible (i wasn't even expecting to get in with them) and my GPA is a 3.4 (unweighted), just okay. i didn't try as hard as i could have my freshman year of high school. definitely could have tried a little bit more as a soph as well. also, i just struggle a lot with math, so some of my not so great grades were basically unavoidable.</p>
<p>so what about getting invited into honors sophomore year? i heard you only have to get a 3.3. the problem is, i feel like im going to be missing out on so much freshman year by not being in the program. all i hear people talking about is how great it is and how much better it is then just regular classes. the classes i will be in. as of now, i definitely have the motivation of an honors student and i know i could pull it off, although my stats wouldn't indicate that. so i guess my question is, have any of you gone into the honors program your sophomore year. or do you know anyone who has? and how much am i missing out on?</p>
<p>hi jesiee~ so this is exactly what i mean! you really are thinking you'll be getting an inferior education at AU because you didn't make honors! does it occur to you that you are basing your whole view and have a troubling mind-set as you enter AU on the postings of the same 3 or 4 kids?
and as for the other poster, this is getting silly. doesn't deserve the dignity of a response.</p>
<p>Jesieee, honors really is overblown. As a freshman you get forced to take honors 101(which nobody really likes anyway) and basically get to take honors gen ed classes. You will notice that many of the professors who teach the honors sections of gen eds also teach regular sections as well. It will be very important when doing you scheduling to use <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessor.com%5B/url%5D">www.ratemyprofessor.com</a> and the course registration section on my.american.edu to find classes and professors which interest you rather than letting your advisor build a schedule for you(which I know SIS does for incoming freshman). Do the research on your own, find the good classes, then email your advisor and tell him/her that you want to be registered in the specific sections that you want. </p>
<p>The only other real benefit to being in honors as an incoming freshman is living on an honors floor. I don't really think being allowed to live on a floor which is the exact same layout as every other floor is really much of a "benefit", so you are not really missing much. </p>
<p>Finally, the honors program usually accepts students with 3.7 + GPAs after one year but they definitely have made exceptions. </p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>-Ryan</p>
<p>I, for one, find Ryan's opinions useful. I think it's important to hear all sides about a school. Different students bring different perspectives, and it's difficult for incoming students to gauge how difficult the school is compared with their high school. Ryan has always been honest and, lately, has some good things to say about the school. I listen most closely to the opinions of kids from my son's high school because I know they come from his same background. When top students at our school tell me Georgetown is hard, then I believe Georgetown is hard (and I have heard this). In general, most of the top kids from my son's high school say that college is easier than high school, so when I hear about a hard college, I know it must really be hard. I do not get the sense that American is really hard. That can be a good thing. As Ryan says, you can take higher level classes and work more closely with your professors.</p>
<p>Jesieee- If you are interested in applying for honors while at American, you will need a 3.8-4.0 to even be considered.</p>
<p>I was admitted to UC, but NOT honors, and I was absolutely blown away a their decision. I probably should have challenged it, but I chose to take things into my own hands. I am not a member of honors, but I am able to challenge myself in both my majors and I have been really happy with my courses and extracurriculars. I live with two girls who are honors students studying Communications. I can confidently say that my course of study is significantly more challenging than theirs, hands down...even with honors designation.</p>
<p>Honestly, your experiences outside of classes will matter just as much when applying for jobs. My only regret in not applying for honors is the terrible GenEds I had to suffer through my freshman year. </p>
<p>Speaking of which- Never ever take all your GenEds in one year...I came with credits and decided to take Stats and Physics and a few other GenEds at the same time with the intention of finishing all of them so I could take the courses I was more intereted in the rest of my time at AU. Don't do this...I almost transferred.</p>
<p>I'll be an SIS mentor next year if you have any specific questions regarding the school</p>
<p>Britty's experience parallels that of my d, which is what i've been trying to say. (see my post on this thread, p.1,4/9.) thanks, as always, Britty for your clarity. :)</p>
<p>What school doesn't have a small percentage of students in honors! But to say that a school like AU which is of such high caliber has inferior students except for the honors program is ludicrous. The high academic rankings that AU earns is NOT based on the honors program. The average GPA for incoming freshman is 3.8, I most certainly wouldn't consider them idiots!</p>
<p>New to this particular thread but checking for a friend...In support of Ryan here because he does give an honest opinion. No one would likely downplay the location of American and the obvious opportunities that abound. Clearly, DC is a great spot. The questions are coming from students who are very talented and without the lure of the hefty scholarships would probably not be attending. They need to have a clear picture about the academics and the caliber and level of engagement of their fellow students. I think Ryan does that. For the record my daughter choose an OOS public university over an IVY and scholarship was a HUGE factor.</p>
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I was admitted to UC, but NOT honors, and I was absolutely blown away a their decision. I probably should have challenged it, but I chose to take things into my own hands. I am not a member of honors, but I am able to challenge myself in both my majors and I have been really happy with my courses and extracurriculars. I live with two girls who are honors students studying Communications. I can confidently say that my course of study is significantly more challenging than theirs, hands down...even with honors designation.
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<p>Very important point people, please take note.</p>
<p>Ryan - Your opinions are thoughtful, intelligent, balanced, and well-articulated. I really don't know why the usual cast of characters continues to try to keep you down and question your "allegiance" to AU. This has gone on for well over a year, and I admire your unwillingness to back down. Keep fighting the good fight.</p>
<p>I agree. As a second semester sophomore at AU, Ryan's experience definitely more or less parallels my experience at AU. Although I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, I do agree with him more so than the other usual cast.</p>
<p>support for one who a year ago called AU , "gayjew" and having "ugly girls, "etc. has PERHAPS annoyed a few folks. fight whatever fight y'all want...it's a democracy.</p>
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support for one who a year ago called AU , "gayjew" and having "ugly girls, "etc. has PERHAPS annoyed a few folks. fight whatever fight y'all want...it's a democracy.
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<p>Ah, it is a common trick for great orators to take others comments out of context. I can always rely on you, HCM, to try and throw me under a bus. </p>
<p>First of all, "Gay Jew" is an endearing nickname that many students use to refer to the AU campus community. At the very least, it is generally always taken as a joke and is actually quite factual. If AU is considered diverse, it must be noted that most of this diversity is rooted in our rather large homosexual and jewish population of students. This only enhances our campus community because it provides perspectives from different backgrounds and is just one of the things that makes AU unique. So, I don't think "Gay Jew" is a negative comment whatsoever, but actually should be embraced as a unique characteristic that defines part of our campus community.</p>
<p>Next, I did indeed mention that AU has ugly girls, but this is by no means unique. We also have many ugly or strange guys as well. I wouldn't put our campus on the high end of physical attractiveness, but I think people recognize that there is much more to a college than this type of superficiality. If you remember the post I was responding to, someone asked about how attractive people were on campus. I shared with them that from my perspective of growing up in the south, the girls here were not quite as attractive physically from what I was used to. That is not to say that they are worse overall, because I actually respect most of the girls at AU more so than what I experience back home because they are morally and intellectually better people and do not have to rely on superficiality to be confident in their own abilities. Is this a generalization? Of course, but we are all making generalizations to some extent here. </p>
<p>I will say that either I am just becoming more positive or recent classes have just become better looking, because I have certainly met my fair share of attractive women at AU this year. </p>
<p>HCM, I want to be your friend. We should understand that this is a world of codependent origination, based around the tenet of heteronomy rather than egocentricism(which i have been indicted with). I am willing to take the next step to stop relying on a perceived dichotomy between you and I and understand that while we are both different we are also the same. Will you join me?</p>
<p>Just to clarify from a much earlier thread...the big gulf between honors students and those without this distinction is the difference in their SAT scores. AU has used SAT scores as a major benchmark to make honors...they have set the minimum score at approximately 1440. That score is MUCH higher than the average AU student's and places a major emphasis on SAT scores as a criteria to make honors. It seems that they are barely considering GPA, course load, EC's and other factors that might distinguish a student. D got a $22K merit scholarship from AU and made honors at GW and Muhlenberg, but did not place in AU's honor program. She won a Dean's scholarship from Brandeis that is based on academics and leadership. Honestly, we were surprised that she did not make honors since her 4.0 GPA was based on taking mostly all honors and AP classes. As she is now making her final decision about what school to attend, American moved down the list because she was not offered honors, despite the fact that they offered her the most money of any college. Their message is confusing.</p>