American University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Tara

Class: Freshman
Major: Communications
Gender: F

High School: JP McCaskey High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

I love American's size. I think it's just right -- small enough to see friendly faces on the way to class, but big enough to avoid getting claustrophobic. Most people in my home state of PA hadn't heard of American, and I had to specify that it was in DC. Others, though, were familiar with the DC area and impressed to hear that I was going to AU. I love American's location, and I think most students on campus take full advantage of all of the opportunities in DC -- just a short metro ride away. I'm off campus a lot, and I'm most excited about beginning to search for internships in the city. Because AU isn't big into sports, I think there is less school pride than on other campuses. However, students are definitely proud of their school, and we have somewhat of a rivalry with Georgetown and GW that makes us stick up for AU. Frequent student complaints center around bureaucracy, which can be frustrating here. It can be hard to get things done in Student Accounts, Housing and Dining, or the Office of the Registrar because there are so many hoops yo jump through. I had an annoying, complicated experience earlier this semester, trying to blue-card into a class after the class that I was in got unexpectedly cancelled.

Academic Life

Professors do know my name, especially in my small honors classes. I love my classes, especially my religion and my poetry class, even though those are both disciplines outside of my major. Class participation is common -- again, especially in honors classes, which are smaller and have less people to hide behind. American students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. I often find myself telling my friends what I learned in a class lecture that day, and we go over papers and other homework together. As a student in the honors program, I am satisfied with Americans academic requirements. I feel I am being pushed in new ways.

Student Body

I wish campus was more racially diverse. It seems to be largely East Coast white kids, especially from PA, NY, and NJ (granted, I'm guilty of being one of them). Racial groups tend to be insular. Politically active students are predominantly leftist, although the College Republicans are also vocal on campus. I could imagine it might be difficult to be a conservative student on campus. I think American is more financially diverse than other schools because a lot of students are on generous financial aid.