<p>I’ve just heard in general some people aren’t happy with their experience, but what in specific do any current students or transfer students dislike so much about AU?</p>
<p>They suck money out of you like a vacuum.</p>
<p>I spent all of my money saved from four years of working as well as a significant portion of money I received from my mom’s life insurance, and still needed my relatives to help me out with around $6,000. In addition to that, I have about $12,000 in loans. This is just for the first year. If I’d stayed, I would definitely have $80,000+ in loans when I graduated, and that’s unfortunately common at that school.</p>
<p>This happens at most D.C. schools, so the students who transfer tend to be the ones who are willing to relocate to a less expensive place. If you absolutely NEED D.C. (like you’re 100% sure you want to go into politics and want to get good internships), you don’t have much choice. I, however, chose to switch from politics to business, so transferring became an obvious and smart choice for me.</p>
<p>KayleyFC-with all sympathy to your situation, those are all reasons to decline an admission to any college in the first place. If anyone’s financial aid package is not affordable at any school (and AU does not claim to be a “meets 100% of need” school) it is best to make that decision before enrolling. Hopefully, when making choices where to apply one has cast a wide net and include financial safeties on their list.</p>
<p>@ bhmomma: I understand what you are saying, but I do not think a person should be limited by their financial situation when it comes to higher education: they should be qualified based on their intellect, not wealth. If only rich people are allowed to go to the top universities, they will continue to achieve while the poorer people, unable to afford schooling, will never be capable of earning a decent living. This serves to merely increase the stratification that is already felt heavily in our society.</p>
<p>I actually had a $0 EFC when I first matriculated. AU DID give me enough financial aid to attend, so I committed to their school.</p>
<p>Then, later, AU rescinded a lot of that aid. They demanded to know about my stepmom’s income, even though she had not moved in with us until January 2010 (and this was for the 2010 FAFSA that is supposed to cover 2009 income.) From there, my EFC went up to around $14,000. Then, when I submitted the appeal saying her income had disappeared (she got laid off in February 2010, a month after she moved in with us), the EFC only got lowered to $13,000. </p>
<p>By that time, it became too late to switch to another school</p>
<p>However, even in that situation, I expected to get private student loans to cover the new costs. Most students at AU have some form of student loan. If you took away all of the students at AU that had more than $50k in loans by the time they graduated, over half of the student population would be gone. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I found out too late that I could not get student loans because I did not get a cosigner. My inability to take out loans caught me off-guard, and when I found out about it I immediately made the choice to switch to a different, more affordable university. Still, I am deeply disappointed by AU for enforcing the stratification of our society. </p>
<p>Higher education should be about education, not money, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I, a 3.9 GPA student, had to drop out while students drinking all day and night with low grades get to stay simply because their family is wealthy. About 10-15 different students on my floor would drink out in the open 7 days a week and the RA did nothing about it. Most of them also skipped classes routinely. A couple of them actually said to me that they are there to party, not learn; they get passing grades by cheating off of other students and paying other students to do their assignments (I know this because they asked me to do their schoolwork often), so it frustrates me greatly that they are the ones chosen to continue their schooling, while I have to drop out and potentially give up on my pursuit of higher education. I’m already a junior, yet it seems like I will not be able to finish because even state school is too expensive at this point.</p>
<p>I know that’s how society works, but I think it’s acceptable for me to be frustrated by the situation. I put a lot of effort into my education while they put none, yet they are the ones who will be getting degrees while I’m stuck in an endless struggle just to afford school.</p>
<p>Anyway, I did end up dropping out, so I agree with you that, realistically, students who can’t afford higher education should not try to pursue it. It just disappoints me that this has to be the case.</p>
<p>
A lovely sentiment, I suppose. but where do you propose the money to run the colleges should come from? I’m sorry your financial aid was reduced–it sounds as if you were not well advised in the financial aid process (not including a step-parent’s income, not realizing a co-signer is needed for a loan), and that’s a shame. But AU does not “suck money out of you like a vacuum”. The school’s merit awards are good and its financial aid is pretty standard for a private university of that size and endowment.</p>
<p>OP, you can’t generalize about why people transfer from one school to another–there are many possibilities, probably as many reasons as there are transfers. And I don’t believe AU’s retention rate is particularly low, so I’m not sure why you are so concerned.</p>
<p>KayleyFC, it seems to me that you didn’t fully explore the financial aid options given. I graduated AU a month ago and I am not wealthy. I paid tuition with the help of grants and government loans. I currently owe $30,000. Not bad for a college education. </p>
<p>But going back to the question of this thread, I’m not really sure why some people dislike AU. The truth is that most people don’t. According to USNews AU has a freshman retention rate of 88%, which is very high. Maybe the problem is DC itself, which sometimes can be very boring.</p>
<p>^^^ What? Compared to New York? LA? Most people want to study at AU, G-town or G-dub for the DC experience.</p>
<p>People transfer from all schools. Sometimes they want to be closer to home and sometimes they realize that the school isn’t the right fit for them. As jufebato stated, an 88% freshman retention rate is very good.</p>
<p>I don’t think many should be concerned about people transferring out of AU. Compared to a lot of schools, it is more inclusive, open-minded and socially varied. </p>
<p>AU also has quite a high retention rate. </p>
<p>However, some reasons a student may transfer out of AU could be… Money- AU is quite expensive, although what private higher end college isn’t these days? Politics- Some students may choose to leave because of the highly political environment. AU is ranked as the most politically active college in the country, and you have political opinions on both ends of the spectrum. I see this as more of a plus than a negative, although some students find this environment hard to bare.
(Also note: With the upcoming 2012 presidential election, AU will probably be even more political in the next year.)</p>
<p>A final reason that may cause students to transfer out is the idea that AU students are impersonal and not very friendly. I really don’t know the validity of this, but I don’t think this is a particularly common complaint.</p>
<p>As stated, AU has a high retention rate at almost 90%.</p>
<p>The main reasons I have encountered for those who do transfer are:</p>
<p>1) Money. Like most upper tier colleges (especially in urban areas) AU is expensive. Plain and simple. </p>
<p>2) Sometimes students decide to change their major (as most college kids do) and transfer as a result. The kids who decide they want to major in engineering or hardcore comp sci, etc. sometimes transfer to schools with larger departments in these areas.</p>
<p>I’m a current student at AU and I’ve never heard of anyone transferring because they didnt like the school (not to say that there aren’t kids who transfer for this reason, I’m just saying its very rare.)</p>