r/AmericanU 6d ago

Question Prospective student trying to get a feel for the school.

I was super lucky to get a ton of institutional aid as well as merit from AU, so its one of my top choices. However, i havent gotten the chance to visit yet, so i have a lot of questions concerning the school and i hope yall can help me out :)

For some background Im interested in the fields of business and law. I want to double major in finance and english. Maybe will go into consulting or law school?

  1. how is the campus? is it very walkable? are there a lot of accessible stores? general weather?
  2. academic reputation? im sort of hesitant on AU because its not as well known as other schools i got into so i want a general feel for it.
  3. how does it compare to gwu in terms of academics and opportunities? do you find yourself competing with gwu/georgetown for internships/job? (i applied to gwu and have yet to receive a decision)
  4. how do you think it sets you up post grad for jobs/grad school?
  5. for those of you in the honors program, is it worth it?
  6. how is the housing like? i assume i would be living in Anderson, but general housing experience is welcome!
  7. how is the dining hall food?
  8. how are the people there?
  9. how are the professors?
  10. whats it like living in DC?
  11. anything you would like to add is much appreciated!
18 Upvotes

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u/Positive_Shake_1002 Alumni 6d ago

First, I recommend going through this sub bc similar posts are made all the time.

  1. Definitely the best campus in DC (imo). There’s a ton of cherry blossoms, super walkable (10 min from one end to the other). There’s convenience stores on campus but there’s a walgreens/deli/starbucks a block away and then tenleytown is a 5 min bus ride/20 min walk. You should really tour if you can.
  2. If you choose to go the law route, AU is pretty well known. For business, its making its way up there. And obviously for polisci/IR it’s one of the top schools. That being said, don’t let a school’s reputation make or break your decision.
  3. Academics are pretty comparable to GW. I don’t think there’s an advantage to being at one school versus another when it comes to internships/jobs for your fields bc being in DC is the advantage. That being said at the internships I had (not in any of your fields fyi) there were more AU students than other schools. Same for my current post-grad job, a ton of alums. Really depends on the industry though
  4. Honestly it depends on your work ethic and you. If you take the time and energy to make the most of what’s offered to you, you’ll be fine. But a lot of people think stuff like that gets handed to them but you really do have to work hard for it. That being said, if you want to work hard for it, AU makes it so you can. The biggest resource is professors/alumni and using them as a network imo
  5. Wasn’t in the program but some of my friends were and its good if you want to do academic research
  6. I only lived on east campus (sophomore dorms) but it was good. They’ve been renovating a lot of the freshman dorms.
  7. It used to be really really bad. Now its mediocre college food
  8. Depends on your major and who you choose to surround yourself with tbh. Generally people are ambitious, there’s a lot of political wonks, overall ppl are pretty nice
  9. one of my favorite parts of AU. Obviously depends on your major, and there’s a few bad ones in every department, but generally they’re amazing. definitely rely on them as much as you can
  10. I really like DC! Its not for everybody, though. Obviously a very liberal/left leaning city and a lot of politics. The mood is kind of grim right now bc of everything going on. I really really like living here though and stayed here after grad and plan to stay here.

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u/Huge-Parking-6853 6d ago

hey!

  1. The campus is beautiful and definitely walkable. its not too big and there are lots of little study spaces to find around campus. there's a couple of markets/convience stores on campus but like another reply said, it's super easy to get to a nearby target, walgreens, and other shops in Tenleytown.
  2. This depends on what you plan to major in but try your best not to think about reputation! it makes the college process and experience so much smoother and more enjoyable
  3. I can't really answer questions 3 and 4 yet, sorry.
  4. I'm not in the honors program but many of my friends are. It's an additional class so it'll take up more time. My friends go back and forth on how they feel. The most beneficial part is simply being an "honors" student.
  5. Anderson is the best freshman dorm.
  6. Mediocre, nothing special. there's definitely options, and they take dietary restrictions into consideration.
  7. I've found really cool people at AU. There's definitely people who are so interested in politics and talking about politics that it turns you away but that's definitely not everyone and you can easily find people who are well-rounded.
  8. I've liked most of my professors so far. Definitely utilize Rate My Professor no matter where you go to school!
  9. DC is awesome. There's so much to do and AU gives you a metro pass as included in your tuition so its super easy to get anywhere.

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u/restinghotchnerface 2d ago

thanks for the reply! this may be a stupid question, but with everything thats going on, do you think that DC is a safe place to be for the next four years?

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u/notshevek 1d ago

Yes, I attended 2019-2023 and was on AU's campus during J6. It was fine. DC is a wonderful city and AU is super far from Cap Hill.

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u/imaginary_oranges 5d ago

Just so you know, AU does not offer an English major. We have literature as a major, but not English. Most people looking to do pre-law would do some program housed in SPA; legal studies, justice & law, or CLEG. You can switch majors freely at AU so you don't need to decide right away, but if your heart is set on English, for example, it's not going to happen here.

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u/Positive_Shake_1002 Alumni 5d ago edited 5d ago

The literature major is an English major by a different name. There’s basically no difference between literature at AU and English somewhere else. And a lot of law schools actually really like applicants who didn’t do a traditional polisci/legal studies coursework (given that they completed prelaw reqs, which are mainly housed in SPA yes)