<p>Hi, I've learned recently through the school site that this school offers financial aid to international transfer students (disregarding the competitiveness, etc), so I got interested. But I'm honestly clueless about this school, despite its good prestige and all that. Can you please tell me anything that defines WashU? It could be anything from good/bad facilities, dorms, social life, curriculum, etc., I just wanna be familiar with this school. I'll do my own research meanwhile, but I would also like to hear from the people here who are already enrolled or have looked into this already. Thanks in advance! :)</p>
<p>Here’s a short list of the things WashU is often known for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Extremely high quality dorms and dining services</li>
<li>Excellent pre-med and Biomedical Engineering tracks</li>
<li>Top-notch Division III athletic programs</li>
<li>Friendly and non-cutthroat atmosphere</li>
</ul>
<p>Obviously there’s much more to the university than just these four points, but I believe they provide a decent look at the college as a whole.</p>
<p>^ a great start</p>
<p>WashU is a great place, food and dorms aside. To piggyback on the last post, if you aren’t pre-med or interested in the sciences, it is still possible to get an amazing education. I am a social science major and the bredth of topics and intellectual depth of the classes offered outside the traditional “pre-med” course load cannot be overstated. </p>
<p>You should check out the 101 Reasons to attend WashU for a more complete list. It’s also in the forum</p>
<p>Many times when parents visit campus, I’ve heard them describe it as a country club, which is fairly accurate. However, this is definitely a “bubble,” as surrounding St. Louis isn’t this nice. When you’re on campus, though, it definitely is very comfortable.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys. I checked out the 101 Reasons and seems like I would love my time if I were given the chance to attend. While I’m not hoping too much, I’ll still apply this coming fall. Keep em coming!</p>
<p>I’m not a student, but I visited and went to an information session. I would say the school is well-known for:
being selective
there are many intellectual students/those interested in truly learning on campus
flexibility in having dual majors or dual minors
Also, know that it is a very walkable campus, unlike some larger universities that have roads and parking all between the buildings. Freshmen can’t even have cars.</p>
<p>I’ll add a little more…</p>
<p>WashU has all the advantages of a large university (lots of scholastic options, excellent funding, gorgeous well-kept campus), but it “behaves” like a smaller school (professors know who you are, smaller classes once you get past the intro courses, easy to meet people). That’s a big plus right there.</p>
<p>And by the way, it’s a top-notch school.</p>
<p>And something else that never ceases to amaze me: Everybody looks “happy”. People are friendly, smiling, and just happy to be there. It’s like they all took a happy pill or something.</p>
<p>And for the thousandth time, the surrounding area is GREAT. Delmar Loop directly to the North (voted one of the 10 best streets in the U.S.A.), Forest Park to the East (gorgeous park with golf, skating, and the well-respected St. Louis Art Museum), nice upscale restaurants and big, old, stately houses to the West, and then there’s downtown St. Louis (see a Cardinals game in a fantastic stadium). The “bad part” of St. Louis is in a different state and is actually called East St. Louis ---- which in Illinois on the other side of the river.</p>
<p>My impressions about WashU,
PRO
Intellectual students, a bit nerdy, a bit rich.
Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools
Beautiful campus-it’s a whole piece of property with no public roads running through it, therefore it can be a “tobacco free campus”.</p>
<h1>1 dorm and food</h1>
<p>CON
Too hot!
St. Louis is the only big city in the area, I worry it might lack of job opportunities.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s only the summer, though I feel like the Midwest in general is atrocious. Once fall semester starts, it usually drops down to the low 80s and high 70s. I think we had those temps till mid October last year.</p>
<p>There is one public road that runs between the South 40 and main campus, which is Forscyth.</p>
<p>There are recruiters every year from big firms on campus to recruit interns and job seekers. St. Louis may be the only big city in the area but that in no way limits your career opportunities to only St. Louis. Plus a lot of big companies are headquartered in STL. Just a few: Build-a-Bear, Sigma-Aldrich, Wells Fargo Advisers.</p>
<p>Is Computer Science here respectable compared to other top schools?</p>
<p>Can anyone elaborate more about the biomedical engineering program? How difficult is it to have research opportunities (also, relationships with professors, academic environment, etc.?) I’m currently trying to decide whether to apply to Wash U or Tufts.</p>
<p>WashU has one of the top BME programs in the country. It is difficult. Good research opportunities. I would rate it significantly ahead of Tufts.</p>