University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

There are lots of off-campus activities both within the U-District vicinity and in the general Seattle area. The benefit of being in an urban environment is the ability to travel around the Seattle area (on effecient public transportation!) and find a wide variety of activities that fit diverse needs. Dorm life is mediocre. I was VP of my dorm and tried to get as involved as possible, but generally speaking, activities were pretty lame and RAs were too strict with drinking policies. I lived in the dorms for 1 year then moved out to a cute, little house with a couple of my girlfriends. Greek life and culture is very strong, and there seems to be an evident schism between Greeks and non-Greeks.

The greek scene is a big deal. If you're not into that, you may find other communities fragmented and fleeting.

Athletic events are really popular. going to any kind of sporting event is always a tonn of fun! football games and basketball games are especially cool, but i also love going to volleyball and baseball games. I'm also on the women's lacrosse team, which is a lot of fun! athletics are big here. Some dorms are more social than others. It's kind of just completely random. there's no way of knowing if you will get a social floor or an anti-social floor. However, even if you get an anti-social floor there's a big upside. No one on my floor is very social, but I made friends in another dorm, so I go over there whenever I want to hang out and be social, and then when i need to get some real work done, i go back to my dorm room where there is peace and quiet. Not everyone parties all the time, and not everyone parties. But almost everyone in the Greek system parties a lot!! There is always something going on on the weekends, and often during the week,too. Thursday nights are very big here. However, if you don't like to party that doesn't matter either. There's a lot of stuff to do on campus, whether it's just hanging out in someone's room, bowling at the HUB, or shopping or eating on the Ave. (The Ave is the big street right next to campus. there are like a hundred delicious restaurants and tons of great eclectic shopping. There's always a ton of students there, whether it's 2 pm on a Tuesday or 2 am on a Saturday night.) Also, if you ever want to go off campus, the public bus system in Seattle is really well hooked up to campus, so you can get literally anywhere you would want to go. Downtown, the south end, Alki beach, Northgate Mall. Anywhere. Even from one end of campus to the other if you're feeling lazy!

Beware for football and basketball season: they are intense! (and so incredibly awesome!) These are not just sporting events, people. These are a source of spirit (and regarding our football, a lot of sad heartbreak). However, when you see drunk clumps of purple wandering the streets on game days, it makes it worth it. SO GOOD! : ) As for housing, if you're a first year, dorms are the only way to go. It may not always be fabulous or ideal, but it's always worth it. Just trust me. And now we're back the greek system--welcome to party central, especially on Thursdays. I'm not sure why that day, but that's just how it is. Walk down greek row during the weekend and I guarantee you will see large packs of skimpily dressed girl walking around. Greek row is the place for a lot of parties--drinking and dancing encouraged...for females. (Sorry non-frat boy males, you're most likely not welcome). However, there is always a nice house party there to encourage some high quality fun and underage drinking. If that's not your scene, your still in luck. The great thing about the UW location is the short bus rides away from downtown and other communities. Local music shows are always my favorite, especially because there are so many venues (I prefer the smaller ones) that are super close (try Capital Hill!).

One of the most popular teams in University of Washington is the Dream Project. It helps students in all grades to build their lives and perform their goals.

not many social life...really...

If you want to do something, there is always something to do. There is a club for everything. UW's Quidditch league was recently started and yes it is the Quidditch from Harry Potter. As of now we have a Slytherin and Griffindor team. I am working on creating a Ravenclaw team. There are the three rings and the players run around on broomsticks. The only person with out a broom is the snitch. The snitch is velcroed to the players back and he runs around campus until the seekers find him, tackle him and take the snitch. I am also heavily involved in theater. Through this I have become great friends with many people as well as several of the graduate students. Theater is a very close knit community where everyone knows everyone and everyone has lots of fun. I am even friends with many of the faculty members including the chairman of the department. Everyone is very open and friendly.

If you want parties, there's plenty. Seattle has a very active night life as well.

The UW has a HUGE number of organizations, more than I could ever hope to name. If you go out looking for it, you'll probably find it. There are recruiting posters everywhere, and most organizations "table" near the HUB or in Red Square, the quad or anywhere else the UW will permit. The dormatories are primarily for undergraduates, although there is a designated "quite dorm" that has single rooms and kitchens, intended for those students who really need a quiet and calm place to study. In the undergraduate dorms, people tend to leave their doors open often. They like to play pranks and throw parties on the weekends. The quiet dorm is obviously much calmer. But most of the partying happens up at the fraternities and the houses off-campus. Rush is a big event every year, but there's enough separation between the frats and everyone else that you can completely avoid them if you want to. I'm at a point in my major right now where I don't have any free time. In fact, I feel like a big slacker for taking some time to do this survey. I'm working at my department building all day, every day, including weekends. But occasionally me and my classmates will go down to Finn McCool's Irish Pub and unwind with $3 wells or half-price pints.

The UW experimental college is great! There are tons of special interest courses from "Flirting 101" to "the Art of Fencing" or to "Basic Chinese", etc. They're cheap and thoroughly enjoyable--in large part because they're not part of the regular University. UW also does not have dances--not even for homecoming. Since my wife and I are both skilled ballroom dancers, we're very disappointed. Additionally, UW has relatively few family-oriented on-campus events--most are for singles or dating couples with no jobs.