930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: sonicyouth42 on December 01, 2005, 10:08:00 pm
-
This is perhaps one of the stranger topics to appear on this mostly music related forum, but after thinking about it, I figured you guys would have some knowledge. I myself am not from DC (but visit it monthly or so to go to the 9:30 club, so that's the only area I'm familiar with) but I love what I've seen of the city and am interested in applying to AU despite having never seen the campus.
What does the DC crowd think of this school? Is the campus nice, and is it in more of an urban or suburban section?
Perhaps there are better places to post this question, but if you have any information or suggestions I'd appreciate it.
-
Why are you interested in AU? It's a less-than-stellar school, at a stellar tuition rate.
-
Originally posted by Doctor Doom:
Why are you interested in AU? It's a less-than-stellar school, at a stellar tuition rate.
Really? I've only heard good things about it in the past.
I would only consider it if the price was right, but they are generally very generous with financial aid. Why do you consider it less than stellar? Just wondering.
-
Well, for a long time AU and GW (where I went) had a reputation as being expensive, somewhat mediocre schools relative to what they cost. But honestly I don't really have the foggiest idea now, since I haven't thought about college for years. So forget I said anything.
AU does have a campus, if that's important to you. It's in upper NW, which despite being in the city limits is suburban in design. It's also quite a ways off the beaten path from Downtown DC, but it's not too hard to get places by Metro. If I was going by location alone I'd say fuck the campus and go to GW, then you can walk almost everywhere you need to go.
-
AU Class of '94 here
It is a pretty easy school to get in to so there are a lot of people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other MidAtlantic states who go there just because it is nearby. You could kind of tell who came to the school for its rep in Political Science and International Service (and a couple of other programs) and those who came just because it would be cool to go to school in DC. Like a lot of schools it is as good as you want it to be. You can skate by and get decent grades and not learn a whole lot or you can apply yourself and get a great education.
It doesnt feel like you are in a city while you are on campus like GW does. It is more of a traditional campus with a quad and the like. But it really isnt too far off the beaten path, you can be downtown pretty quickly via bus or metro or even a longer walk.
I only chose AU because I was getting a Political Science degree and wanted to be in DC after almost going to Boston College, and didnt care much for GW or Georgetown. Of course I do nothing with my Political Science degree now, but I am glad I lived in DC.
And once again I like how Doctor Doom has an opinion on everything.
-
American has actually become rather competitive in the last couple years. I've got a 3.8 GPA and a 1300/1600 on the SAT, and it will still be a stretch if I am accepted.
I would rather have a "city" campus than a traditional one, but since it's close to the city I guess it doesn't matter. George Washington is out of my academic reach, anyway.
-
Originally posted by sonicyouth42:
American has actually become rather competitive in the last couple years. I've got a 3.8 GPA and a 1300/1600 on the SAT, and it will still be a stretch if I am accepted.
I would rather have a "city" campus than a traditional one, but since it's close to the city I guess it doesn't matter. George Washington is out of my academic reach, anyway.
jesus, its a good thing I am not a applying now, I can assure you that most of the people at AU while I was there did not have a 3.8 and 1300/1600
the other things that stick out about AU, or did then, and these arent making any judgements about whether that is good or bad:
1-very politically minded
2-large international population
3-large gay population
4-very diverse in general
5-most people dont really care about the sports teams
6-it is fairly easy to avoid the Greek scene
7-tons of people intern on Wednesdays
-
i'm at AU's law school right now (after going to g'town undergrad), and i must say that it's pretty far removed from most of DC
it's hard to make a short hop around the city, because you have to take a shuttle to get to the metro (the AU stop is NOT at AU) ... it takes me about 40-45 minutes to get from woodley park to the law school campus via metro/shuttle, which is really absurd
it also kind of has the reputation as the redheaded stepchild of DC schools ... which really doesn't matter that much, i guess maybe in terms of employment opportunities
oh, and i think it's about 60/40 girls/guys, and there's a big gay male population, so if you're a guy (straight or gay, i guess), your hookup chances are pretty solid
if i were you, with your scores, i'd go for GW, you'd have a pretty good shot there ... are you IB or have you taken a lot of APs?
-
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
i'm at AU's law school right now (after going to g'town undergrad), and i must say that it's pretty far removed from most of DC
it's hard to make a short hop around the city, because you have to take a shuttle to get to the metro (the AU stop is NOT at AU) ... it takes me about 40-45 minutes to get from woodley park to the law school campus via metro/shuttle, which is really absurd
it also kind of has the reputation as the redheaded stepchild of DC schools ... which really doesn't matter that much, i guess maybe in terms of employment opportunities
oh, and i think it's about 60/40 girls/guys, and there's a big gay male population, so if you're a guy (straight or gay, i guess), your hookup chances are pretty solid
if i were you, with your scores, i'd go for GW, you'd have a pretty good shot there ... are you IB or have you taken a lot of APs?
Keep in mind the law school is not on the main Campus. It is just down the street, but it is further removed than the main campus.
And the only way you will feel the red headed step child thing is because you will probably feel students from Georgetown are pretentious twats, and that isnt a shot at Hoya, I think that was the general sense at AU, but it was more in a good natured way. Running into GW students seemed to happen more often anyway.
-
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
Keep in mind the law school is not on the main Campus. It is just down the street, but it is further removed than the main campus.
sure, but it's equidistant (sp?) to the metro, same 20 minute walk or shuttle ride
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
And the only way you will feel the red headed step child thing is because you will probably feel students from Georgetown are pretentious twats, and that isnt a shot at Hoya, I think that was the general sense at AU, but it was more in a good natured way. Running into GW students seemed to happen more often anyway.
i met AU students who said they learned anti-georgetown cheers in their freshman orientation, seemed like an inferiority complex to me ... there was nothing like that at georgetown
i know i will definitely feel the reputation issue in terms of employment after law school ... it's tough when there are two better schools in the same city ... i'm just not sure it holds as much water for the undergrad issue
oh, on a more important level, you might want to read some of the news reports about the disgraced former president they just got rid of, there seems to be some major upheavel about to go down on the board of trustees
-
One last question, since a couple of you have been. How useful is the undergraduate program for Journalism or English? I've been led to believe that it's good for the former and horrible for the latter, but that's just from a couple things I've read.
-
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
oh, on a more important level, you might want to read some of the news reports about the disgraced former president they just got rid of, there seems to be some major upheavel about to go down on the board of trustees
i skipped freshamn orientation, and never heard a anti-georgetown cheer, that is the first i have even heard of that
and I just realized i said class of '94, i meant class of '98
as far as President Ladner goes, he was never popular, he started the year I got there, and was the first full-time president since the previous one had left in a student sexual harrasment scandal, I actually had the previously disgraced President as a professor, and he was a great one
he actually wrote a book about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067941777X/qid=1133494960/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5949587-3540804?n=507846&s=books&v=glance (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067941777X/qid=1133494960/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5949587-3540804?n=507846&s=books&v=glance)
Ladner was a corporate guy from Coca Cola there to raise money, he just decided to pocket some for himself as well
also as far as reputation goes, there is no disputing that AU's Political Science and International Services programs are among the best in the country
-
One other important thing I've noticed is that AU and GW girls are a zillion times hotter than they were when I was in college.
-
Originally posted by sonicyouth42:
One last question, since a couple of you have been. How useful is the undergraduate program for Journalism or English? I've been led to believe that it's good for the former and horrible for the latter, but that's just from a couple things I've read.
I was in the Print Journalism program for a couple of years, and decided I hated it, I dont think it was that great, but I just didnt enjoy the classes anyway
I dont know much about the English program, although I do have a friend from AU getting his Masters of Fine Arts for Poetry at George Mason, but he actually ended up graduating undergrad from UNC-Asheville
-
My god, what the hell would you do with a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry?
-
Originally posted by Doctor Doom:
My god, what the hell would you do with a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry?
I think teaching is about the only thing
-
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
ended up graduating undergrad from UNC-Asheville
UNC Asheville, that seems a nice place to go to college, nice town, and for its size it seems like a good number of bands play there. what about the one in boone?
-
I graduated from AU way back when (in the 80s) but enjoyed it very much. It's in a very suburban and pretty swank and safe part of town, but the connections to the rest of the city via Metrobus, the school's shuttle bus to the Tenley Metro, and/or a 20 minute walk to the Tenley Metro, makes it fairly convenient to everything DC has to offer. If you have a bike, then you're pretty much set, and you'll get plenty of exercise as the AU campus is on one of the highest points in the city. As for the dorms, I survived 2 years there and partied heavily and made a lot of friends; eventually moved into a few group houses off campus and started taking my school work seriously. My best times there were being a DJ on the school's radio station ... don't know if that AM station is still up and running; there's probably an on-line version of it by now. All in all a pretty good school; not great. And be prepared to be paying it off for a good ten years to come (get financial aid if you can; do work-study jobs, all that stuff). Good luck!
-
i went to au for a show.
tons of hot females, wishing i was back in skool.
but not better than jmu.
-
my new squeeze went to AU. she's very adventurous. :D
-
i knew 4 kids at JMU who started off at AU and then transferred to JMU
-
Originally posted by MaLo:
i knew 4 kids at JMU who started off at AU and then transferred to JMU
jmu is lovely
-
Definitely as far as hot girls with nothing better to do, JMU is the place to go.
-
There is plenty of stuff for hot girls to do in Harrisonburg, like...go to walmart
actually, i heard the walmart is no longer in the valley mall...so i don't know what the hot girls do down there any more
-
And here I was thinking that central/western VA was filled with retarded, buck toothed rednecks.
Originally posted by Cooke:
Definitely as far as hot girls with nothing better to do, JMU is the place to go.
-
Originally posted by Etan de Balzac, Footie Ball Player:
And here I was thinking that central/western VA was filled with retarded, buck toothed rednecks.
Originally posted by Cooke:
Definitely as far as hot girls with nothing better to do, JMU is the place to go.
[/b]
no, that's Springfield
-
For the most part, I'd agree with that. Though there are exceptions.
Originally posted by MaLo:
Originally posted by Etan de Balzac, Footie Ball Player:
And here I was thinking that central/western VA was filled with retarded, buck toothed rednecks.
Originally posted by Cooke:
Definitely as far as hot girls with nothing better to do, JMU is the place to go.
[/b]
no, that's Springfield [/b]
-
Originally posted by MaLo:
There is plenty of stuff for hot girls to do in Harrisonburg, like...go to walmart
actually, i heard the walmart is no longer in the valley mall...so i don't know what the hot girls do down there any more
theres the super walmart
where you get seen all the necks and the hot chicks.
damn i miss that place
-
I highly recommend going to college very far away from home. It's much easier to establish your own identity when you're nowhere near home.
-
If you're choosing your college based on the city, I'd highly recommend choosing a school in New York, Chicago, Seattle, or San Fransisco over one in DC. Or Portland.
-
Originally posted by vansmack:
I highly recommend going to college very far away from home. It's much easier to establish your own identity when you're nowhere near home.
this way you can get as drunk as you want get arrest, and take care if it all before you rents find out.
-
You sound like you've already had a liquid lunch.
Originally posted by definitivedoodle:
Originally posted by vansmack:
I highly recommend going to college very far away from home. It's much easier to establish your own identity when you're nowhere near home.
this way you can get as drunk as you want get arrest, and take care if it all before you rents find out. [/b]
-
haha
i wish.
-
When I worked close to the AU campus I was under the impression the only qualification required to get into that place was a very annoying nasal NJ accent.
-
HEY i resemble that remark!
-
<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b296/mrhorrible/brianjones.jpg" alt=" - " />
-
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
Originally posted by sonicyouth42:
American has actually become rather competitive in the last couple years. I've got a 3.8 GPA and a 1300/1600 on the SAT, and it will still be a stretch if I am accepted.
I would rather have a "city" campus than a traditional one, but since it's close to the city I guess it doesn't matter. George Washington is out of my academic reach, anyway.
jesus, its a good thing I am not a applying now, I can assure you that most of the people at AU while I was there did not have a 3.8 and 1300/1600
the other things that stick out about AU, or did then, and these arent making any judgements about whether that is good or bad:
1-very politically minded
2-large international population
3-large gay population
4-very diverse in general
5-most people dont really care about the sports teams
6-it is fairly easy to avoid the Greek scene
7-tons of people intern on Wednesdays [/b]
grade inflation my friend
-
Originally posted by Efram:
grade inflation my friend
grade inflation?
high schoolers are getting better grades? the sat has gotten easier?
i just think that top 100 colleges are getting more competitive
-
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
i just think that top 100 colleges are getting more competitive
We've figured that since the 1990s, and the so-called "baby boom echo," with all of those children of baby boom parents, along with the children of new immigrantsâ??swelling population of our elementary schools - well guess who's going to college now?
Colleges, private Universities most notably, have done little to increase the number of seats offered - for good and bad reasons.
I would argue it has less to do with colleges themselves being more competitve and more to do with the higher number of students and the students being better prepared for liberal arts majors.
Want to go to college in 2005-2010? Major in a science to distinguish yourself from the expected 20% increase in higher ed student population.