Student Profile
Aly
- Class: Freshman
- Major: European Studies
- Gender: F
- High School: Cedarcrest
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
I love it here. The beginning sucks though. It's mostly people hanging out in old high school groups since it's a lot of people mostly from Washington. Since I didn't really like anyone from high school, I hated the beginning. But it gets better! The giant intro classes also kind of suck--it's fairly easy to fade away into the crowd and it's just as easy to get a horrible TA. But the fact is, I still love it. Not to mention, for the most part, the school pride is overflowing. The campus is huge, but it's gorgeous. Seattle is beyond amazing (if you like cities), but UW still has a nice little nook outside a big city. Although it does seem to have a heightened crime rate and for the most part, except for one time this year, UWPD is worthless in counter acting the crime (have they caught anyone? but seriously....) For the most part, you come to UW knowing what you're going to get. I expected a large school outside of a large city that is able to provide me option. That's exactly what I got. Although I wish someone of the douchebags wouldn't come here and that the dorms situation was waaaaay better (tiny rooms with 3 people shoved in them is not uncommon), I can't say I don't love it here....because I most certainly do : )
Academic Life
UW is competitive, plain and simple. If you're interested in anything popular, prepare to get your***kicked. With a large student body, comes a lot of people trying to fight their way for the same spot as you and, like I said before, a lot of really intelligent people go here. So if you're interested in anything related to architecture, engineering, business, or international studies, for example, you better be able to tough it out because it's not going to be easy. However, a benefit to being so large, despite the huge class sizes, is that there are so many options that a ton of other schools will never be able to provide. I know I said that it's competitive, but it's competitive for a reason--these specialized schools are top of the line and, for the most part, you will be able to get your money's worth. Although I am a European studies major and love languages, I would definitely take a language of some sort, classes are always small and i've rarely heard a complaint about a teacher. Most language teachers (especially beginning series) are usually graduate students, they are accessible and young, making it even better : ) Plus, languages are usually required for a lot of majors. Something that does suck about UW being a public school is the damn general ed requirements. Even though I hate everything relating to science, I still HAVE to take at least 20 natural world credits, which is STUPID and I hate it. I understand they are trying to expand your knowledge or that kind of crap, but why should I pay money for a class I hate? Because they're forcing me to? LAME.
Student Body
For the most part UW students are white, upper-middle class people from Washington state. There is a large Asian population and a smaller out of state student population, but it's not too bad I guess. They do have a lot of racial minority clubs, and similar religious/racial/socio-economic people tend to stick together. But I'm pretty sure you're going to find that at most universities around the US. I know that a lot of out-of-state students feel super out of place, mostly in the beginning. I am from Washington and, being from a smaller high school with few people who went here, I even felt a little out of place...but that's normal and it's just going to happen. However, time will also play a role and everything works out for most people. If you're looking for a school, where the majority of the population rolls to class in sweats and pajamas, then this might not be your school (see Western for further inquiry). For the most part, people tend to look fairly nice when they go to class. Sure, there is always going to be the sweatshirt/jeans prevalence, and I'm sure there are also a ton of people wondering around in sweats, but generally, that's not what you're going to see. With a ton of other people looking cute all the time, there is always going to be a motivation to get out of bed just a few minutes earlier to brush your hair in the morning...
The Best Things
The campus, the variety of people, the location, the opportunities, and the options : D
The Worst Things
The dorm quality and some very sucky professors.
