University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

UW has two very opposite groups of people. There are the Greeks- those who are members of a sorority or fraternity. The stereotype here is partiers, those who take easy classes, and those who are at school not to get an education, but to be social. Then there are those that take their education very seriously. This group is comprised of mostly graduate students. They come to campus to get to classes and otherwise aren’t associated very closely with UW culture. They are studious and are not involved very closely with UW outside of their education.

The University of Washington Seattle location is difficult to stereotype since we are such a large campus. We do for the most part accept the Seattle "granola" stereotype, evidence by the numerous recycling facilities, compost bins, and newly expanded student farm. It's great being at such a big school because you can “stereotype” yourself how ever you would like to by joining any of the hundreds of student groups on campus or depending on which direction you choose to take educationally. The business kids are overly formal at introduction, drama kids highly animated, and all the sciences extremely studious. The University of Washington has also been stereotyped as being highly prestigious and the “Ivy League” school of the state. Students here are lucky to interact and be taught by professors leading research on international issues- anything from new business calculations to HIV treatment. These stereotypes are true as much as a person wants them to be. That’s what I love about UW- I don’t have to fall under one category because there are so many options and resources on campus that I can stereotype myself any way I want, however many ways I want.

Because the University of Washington is such a large school (around 50 thousand students in grad and undergrad) it can be hard to assign just one stereotype to our student body. There are many stereotypes perpetuated about our students that are, for certain students, entirely true. There really are stoners who barely pass classes because they are at home smoking all day. There really are geeks who run around campus with broomsticks in between their legs because they think they're Quidditch players. And there really are frat boys who work out at the school gym in tank tops so tiny that shouldn't even be worn by barbies. We have many stereotypes that apply to our student body and we own them. Going to the UW has taught me to embrace my inner geek, stoner, and frat boy (well I guess that last one doesn't really apply to me) because ultimately you have to realize that people will make snap judgements of you and if you can't learn to deal with it you'll spend the rest of your life worrying too much about what others think of you. Being a UW student is a life lesson in just being yourself and not worrying that others will undoubtedly judge you for it.

There is no one stereotype at the University of Washington, If I must categorize students (which I don't like to do, because there is always more to a person than what you see), there are the jocks, the smart kids, the gamers, the hippies, the hipsters, the otakus, the quiet kids who actually have a lot of spunk . . . the list just goes on . . .

The stereotype is that students in my university are smart and top because this is a well-known school. This is not really accurate. In fact, every community have "top people" and "not really top people," and even though a person is considered to be smart, but he or she can only be smart and good at one field, not all of the fields.

The stereotype is that students in my university are smart and top because this is a well-known school. This is not really accurate. In fact, every community have "top people" and "not really top people," and even though a person is considered to be smart, but he or she can only be smart and good at one field, not all of the fields.

I would say a good portion of the student body is in the Greek system, but most of the campus is very diverse in terms of both social groups and educational interests.

Some of the most common stereotypes about the University of Washington is that it is: a green campus, has large Asian population, research based, and a big Greek system. For the most part these stereotypes are true! Our campus is really green, almost everything used in our cafe's are compostable and there are recycling bins for everything imaginable. There is also a large Asian population here, however they are still the minority compared to white students. Also we are a research based institution so there are a lot of opportunities available to do research on our campus. Lastly, our Greek system is huge, so this in fact is true as well!

The school is very separated by the Greek System and dorm/apartment living. I joined the Greek System at the beginning of my freshman year and have a better view of the school from that perspective, but also have buddies that live in dorms and apartments instead. On campus, members of the Greek System tend to be stereotyped as a whole as people who tend to party more, be more social and live and hangout with a less ethnically/racially diverse crowd. Members of the dorms on campus are usually stereotyped by Greek System members as being "better students, study more and party less/know less people". In conclusion, you cannot stereotype the entire school, but instead there are stereotypes within the school that exist and are categorized mainly by living arrangement.

Diversity is a hot topic on campus, and the school tries to provide a safe and secure place for all people to be who they wanna be. No race, religion, gender, or sexuality preference is discriminated against, instead its almost celebrated to be different. I think thats probably the reason that people look at our student population as a bunch of liberal hipsters. It's just fine to go against the grain of society at UW. Another common UW stereotype is that its a foreigners school. Our school focuses on providing a high quality education, and in the rough times they have decided to take many more foreign born students in order to reap the benefits of their higher tuition rates. I can't argue with this stereotype, the UW has a noticeable foreign born population on campus, evidenced by the many cultural fraternities, organizations, class offerings and clubs on campus. I must however comment that the school remains a great place for anybody, and that the selection of food in the area is incredible!