American University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Steven

Class: Freshman
Major: Other
Gender: M

High School: Walt Whitman High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

Perhaps the best part about American is its political activism. Ted, Caroline, and Patrick Kennedy all endorsed Barack Obama at a rally at American in our arena. The line started forming the night before and stretched all the way down through campus and down to the Law School a half mile away. I was lucky enough to be able to stand 20 feet from the podium and hear all 4 politicians give great speeches. It is an experience I will never forget. We've also had Ron Paul, Jimmy Carter, NBC White House Correspondant David Gregory, numerous Congressmen and women, Senators, Elizabeth Edwards, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting all speak on campus. I don't think there is a better city than Washington DC to study politics, and American does it right. On top of that, DC is a great city with so much to do on a given day. When friends and family visit and want me to play "tour guide," there is never a shortage of things for them to see. That being said, perhaps the one thing I would change is school spirit, especially when it comes to sports. We don't have a football team, which stinks, and attendance at men's basketball games usually top out at about 1500 on a given night. Other sports like soccer, field hockey, and even women's basketball have sparse attendance and often it feels like the only people watching are athlete's families.

Academic Life

From my two semesters of classes, I have been satisfied with my academics. I have not had a class with more than 50 people, if that, and most are small- between 20-30 students, which only encourage class participation. I'm in the honors program, and honors classes are capped at 20 students, and 15 for Freshman English classes. Professors are very accessible, and encourage you to visit them during office hours. For the most part, they are very understanding, and willing to give you a hint or push you in the right direction if you are stuck on something. I've had a few professors take the class on field trips into DC, and some have brought in food for the class. Classes generally run twice a week, either on Mon/Thu or Tue/Fri schedules and are 75 minutes long, although there are "block" classes that are twice as long, but only meet once a week.

Student Body

American has a largely white, middle to upper-class student body, although there is a good amount of diversity on campus. Students come from across the US and even world, but many students are from the Northeast US (NY, NJ, MD, PA, etc.). Females also make up a clear majority on campus. Students are definitely politically active and perhaps two of the most popular shows on campus are "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report." Especially during the 08 Presidential Campaign, it's not unlikely to see students watching a debate or primary election night coverage. The student body is generally a more liberal campus, but I would say the College Republicans do a better job in mobilizing students than the College Democrats. Regardless your political affiliation, you will not be ostracized for your ideals. On the whole, students are very friendly and will often leave their doors open if they are inside doing work. Making friends was easier than I thought, and if you are friendly, it finding your group of friends should be easy.