<p>I am a junior from Tennessee and really want to go to Western. I'm interested in International Business. I've done a lot of research about the school and I drove through Bellingham this summer and I loved it, but I never saw the campus.. So I want to know what it's like. I read online that only like 30% of undergrads live on campus, so is it a commuter school? Is there stuff to do? I have a 4.06 weighted GPA, 29 ACT, top 10%, plenty of extra-curriculars, and hope to get the WAE scholarship for out-of-state students. Is it impossible to get, and what do you have to do after you apply for it? I know these are quite a few questions but I really would like to know about this school from a student's perspective. Thank you!</p>
<p>Hey there! Always glad to see someone from the eastern half of the country interested in Western, I’m from New England myself. </p>
<p>I discovered Western by chance and one of the things I love about it is the campus. The building styles are very diverse but the dominent theme is a lot of red brick from the alte 1800’s/early 1900’s. There are also a lot of modern buildings too though (3-4 new academic buildings, a new dorm and the new student rec center were all built in the last 15 years or so). We also have a great collection of outdoor sculptures and an arboretum with a lookout tower which is really fun to explore.</p>
<p>The majority of students do live off campus, but its definitely not a commuter college (I’ll touch on this later). There are a lot of people from the I-5 corridor though, so there is a decent amount of people who go home a few weekends a month. Almost all freshman live on campus, along with a decent amount of sophomores and a couple of upperclassmen. There are three areas (North campus, the ridge and fairhaven) on campus where the dorms are centered, each has their own dinning hall. Many students who are off campus live in one of two neighborhoods on either end of the university, definitely not hard to find a place. Most of us can walk or take the bus in. </p>
<p>I think Bellingham is a pretty kick ass place but I did move almost 3000 miles to go here, so I might be biased! But seriously, it is a neat place. There are a lot of local businesses, restaurants, bars, and activities that take place in town. A decent amount of musicians and performers come to town, whether it be on campus or other venues throughout Bham. We have an amazing farmers market downtown, that takes place every saturday from april through December, great place to get veggies/fruits, baked goods, locally made goods, awesome lunch and for entertaining performers. Also if you are an outdoor enthusiast this is the place for you! One of the reasons I chose Western was to be in such an amazing location for skiing, boating, hiking and everything else outdoors. </p>
<p>I would contact Western’s admissions office for specifics on the WAE scholarships, they’re really nice. You don’t have to do anything in addition to the normal application I dont believe.</p>
<p>Hope that answers some questions, feel free to ask more here or send me a pm and i’ll try to answer as best I can.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you so much that helps out a ton! Western is definitely a legitimate choice now, it sounds really cool. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Hi! Very glad to hear you’re interested in Western! I came up to Bellingham from San Diego and I absolutely love it! The previous poster covered most a lot, but I wanted to add in a bit about the WUE scholarship. I was hoping to receive that too, but did not get it. I didn’t send in any supplementary stuff (like essays or extra letters of recommendation) but I had similar grades/stats as you. Good luck with it, really! WUE seems more competitive at Western, whereas a friend of mine who goes to Northern Arizona Uni got it automatically. I guess it just depends.</p>
<p>Most freshmen seemed to live on campus, but after that, not so much. Sophomore year and on, most choose to live in Birnam Wood (on campus apartments) or housing near by. There are plenty of people on campus, even on weekends, working on schoolwork or going to events. That said, Freshman year, most of my Seattle friends went home one weekend a month. Not too bad, considering there are a few things to do in your free time. It’s not like being near a huge city like Seattle, and it’s a bummer that most of downtown closes after 5pm, but there’s always something to do in the residential halls or outside when the weather is nice.</p>
<p>Also, if you decide to go to Western, I highly recommend doing one of the “First Year Experience” Freshman cluster programs. Especially the group of classes about Monsters in literature and society (An English and Geology class, with Bruce Beasley and Thor Hansen respectively). Those classes were an amazing start to my college “career” and have set the standard for the rest of my professors and classes at WWU. I have yet to be disappointed (okay… maybe statistics and art history are downers, but it could be worse).</p>