American University Top Questions

The school itself is ok. The kids are ok, the professors are ok, the location is ok. The school has enough to keep you satisfied as far as overall experience, but there isnt one element where you go "wow, thats cool"

I love American University. I truly believe I am getting an education worthy of the money being paid for it. And there is no beating the classroom that is Washington, DC. But no university is perfect, and AU is no exception. Dealing with Student Accounts or the registrar can be a headache, though I think the housing situation is maybe the worst. On-campus housing is only guaranteed through sophomore years, and after that it is a lottery system for a limited number of spaces. And while I love living off campus, doing so is not always the best financial move for students. Its my experience that students love complaining about AU, but will still tell you they would make the choice if it could be re-done. Its not perfect, but we love it.

I have no regrets about attending American University. Washington, D.C. is an amazing place to go to college and I wouldn't think about going to college any place else. While the campus is relatively small and confined (unlike nearby George Washington University), I view this as an advantage. Our administration is pretty transparent and eager to hear from students. Almost all administrators are happy to meet with students privately, provided you schedule an appointment ahead of time. I would definitely recommend getting involved with some extracurricular activities as early as possible. Since AU is unfortunately prone to cliques, it's a great way to keep yourself busy and to meet people. There is something for everyone here and I've met many friends through my two main ones: ATV, our student TV station and The Eagle, our student newspaper. If you want to party seven nights a week, I recommend looking elsewhere. While AU students do party, most party in moderation (usually three nights a week max) and care about their work.

Location, location, location. AU is in the heart of our nation's capital, but its location lends itself well to a collegiate atmosphere.

American is the best of both worlds. You get the opportunities of the nation's capital along with the close knit community of a small campus. I see people I know every time I walk to class (which is never more than a seven minute walk). We don't have a football team, which is a problem for a lot of people. But hey, at least we are undefeated. The other teams are also decent, so there is a fair amount of school spirit in terms of athletic support. The dining options when you have a meal plan are very limited. There's only one dining hall, and most of the other options cost money instead of taking a meal swipe.

American's size is perfect. As a part of DC, American is connected to a larger community, with a number of other schools in the area and plenty of access to the city. The small campus is great, and the fact that it is distinct and not integrated into the city make it easier to feel a part of the school. I like that I can go anywhere on campus and be guaranteed to see a few folks I know and a good number of those I don't. The Davenport Lounge Cafe (the "Dav") is the best place to hang out, catch up with people, and do softcore work-- plus it's the cheapest coffee on campus. The library is terrible; it has limited work space, a lot of disruption, and decent-but-not-outstanding resources. American's rep is on the rise, I've heard, but a lot of people have just never heard of it. The administration is difficult to navigate, but they're pretty responsive to direct communication. They genuinely want to work with and help students, and President Kerwin genuinely seems to dig AU (hopefully more than the fact that it's apparently really easy to embezzle funds). Student Activities has a form for everything, likely including the anticipated number of toilet flushes at your next club's event. School pride is nearly non-existent; a lot of students are here because of financial aid, and I'm pretty sure athletes are the only ones that care about sports. We don't even have a football team, but if we did, Bender Arena would still the most action during Obama rallies.

American has great career/internships opportunities. I would change the look of our campus. The school size is just right. No one has ever heard of American University. I spend most of my time in the Residence Halls. Definitely not a college town. The former administration was poor, but the new one is very helpful and understanding. Controversy = former president embezzled money from the school. Some school pride. We are perfectly normal. I will always remember the awesome Founder's Day Ball at the Italian Embassy.

the best thing about american is its wide range of majors, but the people are not that friendly, it seems like once people find friends they give up looking. some people here are very disrespectful and very rude to the cleaning staff and their RA's. i think its a good size school its not too big but not so small that you can't avoid people you dont like. going to parties is difficult because they took frat row away, which was a horrible decision on the schools part. I like being in dc, the school doesn;t have alot of on campus activities that you would actually want to go to but that is okay becasue we are in a big city and people should go out and be independent of their school and find a good time.the administration is okay, i think they spend money on really stupid stuff when they should be making my tuiton less they get plasma screen tvs all over the school for NO REASON.

The best thing about American is the location. Washington, DC provides students with so many oppurtunities, from internships to interesting events to museums and fun stuff to do on the weekend. I really like the size of the school. It's not too overwhelming, but not too small. Sometimes I wish American had more school spirit. People do go to games, but the majority don't. There is not a lot of talk about our sports teams either. I wouldn't be able to tell you how any of our teams are doing at any given time. I most frequently hear students compain about the dining hall. Most of the time, it sucks.

The best thing about American is its location in D.C. and the distinguished professors. The one thing I would change is the allocation of financial aid. I feel that the school is just right for me, though are larger classes the largest class that I have been in for my freshman year has been 40 students. This enables a very personal relationship with other students and professors. The first reaction is "I have never heard of it" and to those that have heard of it they are generally impressed by it. Washington DC is definitely a college town. American's administration is pretty good, though I question what they spend money on at times. Biggest recent controversy would have to be when the AU Shuttle driver unionization. I would say school pride is on par, there are those who wear everything American and those who don't. What is unusual about American is the amount of political awareness. One experience I will always remember is getting onto the local AU shuttle late at night and everyone on it was drunk and singing. Most frequent complaints would probably be about the food.

The best thing about American is the opportunities that are available to students. I am a freshman and I already have an internship with a congressman. Although American is located in D.C., it is in a residential neighborhood. President Neil Kerwin is doing great things for the school, such as the construction of the new SIS building and the renovation of Kogod. The most frequent student complaints are about the dining hall, which really does need a makeover.

I enjoy the diversity at American. The size of the school is perfect. Most people I've talked to from my home area don't know about American. I think American is trying to milk my family for all it's worth, especially with the JAMS program. I mean, what the hell? I'm already doing stuff ordered by the court anyway. The biggest recent controversy on campus was how Leonard's RHA was using money for bullcrap like Sleeping Beauty balet tickets and the Vagina Monologues. I will always remember dorm parties and getting busted by the police. Many students complain about the food at AU. I always complain about the high costs at the Eagle's Nest. Seriously, AU, why are you doing this to us? I spend most of my time on campus in my dorm. That's where the fun is.

It is a great size school, 5000 undergads. It is close enough to the metro that you can hope into D.C. in like 20 minutes, but far enough away that it is a safe neighborhood. There isn't much school pride, unfortunately. The library sucks, and their is a tone of beurocracy, but they are trying to change that.

I think the best thing about AU is that almost anyone can find a place to fit in here. The school isn't dominated by one religion, sport, club or anything else so there's no presure to not be yourself. There's really not much about AU I'd change besides the Housing and Dining program. The food's fine and the rooms are nice, but the rules and regulations Housing and Dining implement especially as a Freshman are really annoying I think the size of the school is just right, big enough that you for the most part can avoid people you don't want to see, and small enough that you never feel like you're friendless on campus. It's also possible to make it from one end of campus to the other in ten minutes if you powerwalk which makes it really easy to get to class on time, even if you oversleep. In DC AU is a well known and well liked school. It's not incredibly prestiegous but it's a good school and people know that. Back home however I have the problem of people going American University? Is that like National University? (which is a school that advertises in San Diego) On campus, outside my room and classes, I spend most of my time in the Tavern, which is an area that has food and tables which is still called the tavern even though AU is a dry campus and thus has no alcohol sold on it. They put on small shows and other events there. Like just last night the Residence Hall Assosiation (RHA) had a Karaoke night there that all my friends went to. DC isn't exactly a college town as it already has the whole capital of the united states and the seat of federal government thing going for it, but there are half a dozen colleges around DC that I can think of off the top of my head, so it is a very college friendly town. Certain offices in the AU administration are wonderful, such as their career center, that being said, most of the administration is annoying and slow, they've been known to loose forms and not reply to emails. You can get things done perfectly well, but you need to follow up on all emails sometimes by calling or going to the offices so they can't ignore you. Often times you end up beating your head against the wall when dealing with Health Services or Housing and Dining. As a whole, DC and AU are both highly democratic. There is a College Republicans group, but College Democrats has about 3 times the membership. That being said, the most well know recent controversy was when College Republicans invited Carl Rove to talk and the coalition for social justice (a bunch of socially left groups) lay down in front of Rove's car as a protest. Public Safety came, Police came it was a big deal. School pride is almost non-excistant at AU. There is the Blue Crew which is basically the pep club, but in my experience people love being at AU but don't feel the need to paint themselves in school colors at games or wear school sweatshirts everywhere. AU doesn't have any classes that start before 8:30 which is very much appresiated by the student population The most frequent student complaint I hear is how the food at our dining hall (TDR) gets miraculously better on preview days/parent days. If they can make better food why don't they do that all the time?

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.

DC is the most amazing place to live, ever. period. you want to be here.

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.

AU needs more international openness. We say we are diverse, but we're not. The International Students keep too themselves, we aren't integrated, regardless of what we plug. The school is a nice size, but sadly people have never heard of the school. When you say "I go to American," they say, "That's nice, which school in America?". "what college town?" AU is way better under Kerwin, I wish there was a student on the faculty Senate.

The best thing about American is that everything is close on campus. I would change the dining options with the meal plan. The school size is just right, I spend most of my time in the dorms. DC is a college town. There is not alot of school pride.

American has all the benefits of an amazing city with all feelings of safety. There is a lot of red tape, but also ways to get around it. Get in good with professors and the faculty and they will take care of you.