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.