Washington University in St Louis Top Questions

What I like most about Washington University are the students. Every student is extremely talented, motivated, and outgoing. I learn something new from everyone I meet. Last year, I learned guitar from three friends on my freshman floor. Now my roommate is teaching me to sing. I’ve finally found an environment where people are just as open-minded, creative, and ambitious as I am, and I’ve made friends that I will have for the rest of my life.

no student would feel out place here. students dress very casually and comfortably: jeans and a tshirt is commonplace. all types of students interact. while there is some self-segregation it is rare. most students are financially pretty well off but don't flaunt their wealth. students are relatively politcally active and pretty liberal students strive to be the best that they can.

Students don't wear pajamas to class, but they also don't spend an entire morning getting ready for class. WU students have a good perspective on taking class seriously, while still enjoying being students not yet in the working world. Some stereotypical WU student groups are the sorority girls who do care more about what they look like and often where spandex pants. There are self-admitted "dorky" engineers who are often really fun to talk to. There are students who live for the weekends and parties. And there are plenty of students who don't like to party hard but still have a great time with friends on the weekends. Many students are very politically active, with the entire campus leaning very left. Most people don't talk about future salaries.

While WashU is not a Christian school, there are lots of opportunities for Christian fellowship. Several Christian groups have large group meetings, small group Bible study opportunities, a system set up to get to a church on Sunday, etc.

I notice a lot of racial isolation. I think LGBTQIA students, regardless of the amount of resources available, would be most likely to feel out of place (for example, gender-neutral housing was only recently introduced, and only in two residential areas, but I don't recall any prohibition of mixed- or same-race/religion/socio-economic status cohabitation). Most students wear to class whatever they please. Different "types" of students do interact, although many ethnic groups seem to keep to themselves. When I go to the main dining location on main campus, I usually notice that there is one large table (or two tables pushed together) of black students, and most of the other tables are just a few students, regardless of ethnicity. I have no idea from where most Wash U students come (I really don't care about where "most students" come from--I'd rather know from where the handful of people with whom I regularly interact come). I'm not very interested in any student's financial background either. I hear people say occasionally that without their scholarships, they wouldn't be there, but that doesn't mean they're more prevalent. Some students are politically engaged one way or another. Most students don't talk about future potential salaries.

Political conservatives may feel out of place at WashU on occasion. The student body is very liberal (granted there are some conservatives, too). Students don't typically dress up for class, but few wear pajamas, either. There aren't really cliques at WashU, but rather small groups of friends not segregated based on some certain shared quality or activity (except maybe sports teams). Many WashU students are from the midwest (especially Chicago). But there are students from all over the US and the world. Most WashU students are fairly rich, but I don't think the poorer students feel particularly left out. Many get scholarships.

Wash U students come from all over. Yes there is a large population of students from St. Louis and the Chicago area, but generally Wash U is pretty diverse. However despite the racial diversity, there are still the stereotypical racial cliques on campus and it does take a little extra effort to diversify your group of friends. Cause face it, if you are an engineer and taking all engineering classes you are going to have a lot of engineering friends. But freshman year and meeting people on your freshman floor definitely helps diversity. Many students at Wash U also come from very wealthy families and have a hard time understanding what "financial need" is. But this is usually not a big concern, you just see the financial needy kids with a work/study job in place of an extracurricular so they can make their spending money rather than having it handed to them.

The average Wash U guy is white, charmingly awkward, listens to Guster and wears sweatshirts and jeans everywhere. Girls are approachable, social, and either wear North Face and Uggs or jeans and a sweater around campus. These are huge generalizations, of course; Wash U students come from all walks of life, from socioeconmic backgrounds, blah blah blah. The reality is that the student body is a lot more homogenous than it should be. The Class of 2010 had the most African-Americans in school history, which seems impressive until you read that a total of 91 black students enrolled in my class (although that is a huge improvement over the previous years’ 76). There are almost no Hispanic students on campus either. Even if you take off the racial lens, it doesn’t take long to realize that Wash U students are almost all middle or upper class, left-leaning but politically apathetic pre-professionals. This is not to say that everyone comes from the same background or that there aren’t thousands of unique students with their own stories to tell. It’s just that you can only complain so much about the speed of internet or the lack of a good on-campus franchise eatery before the word “sheltered” crops up. I think what is really missing is some spontaneity in campus life. Sometimes I feel that students have micromanaged their lives to the point that, say, an impromptu trip to Chicago or even getting painted up for a basketball game are out of the question. All the same, the students are this school’s biggest asset. It’s just as easy to talk to Coach-handbaged sorority girls as KWUR New Wave DJ’s. There is a surprising amount of cross-pollination; the point guard of the basketball team might be the most insightful guy in your Shakespeare class and could sing in acappella on weekends. Most people here are at least a little bit awkward and almost everyone is outgoing and social, to the point that privacy becomes an issue; people hang out going to class, at the library, at the gym, doing homework, and partying. Still, if you’re shy, you should know that the best thing you can do at Wash U is to make yourself vulnerable: join a new club, act in a play, rush a sorority or fraternity, or play a club sport. Despite Wash U’s relatively homogenous racial make-up, the various cultural groups on campus are particularly strong. Most put on cultural shows that are pretty popular such as Ashoka or the Lunar New Year Festival. Some of these groups, particularly ones with lots of international students, can be really cliquey.

For the most part, WashU's student body represents a wide range of political views, socio-economic and racial background, and geographic origin. The campus can appear homogeneous at first glance, but with a deeper look into the thousands of students who fill the campus, it can be promised that no two students will turn out alike. The social scene is not broken up into high-school like cliques, comprised of jocks and cheerleaders, nerds and the popular kids. Rather, WashU leaves room for many different niches, that provide outlets for students with broader interests. At the end of the day, students will of course migrate towards other students who are like them, however, this does not create an exclusive environment, but rather a cohesive student body where everyone fits in across a wide spectrum.

There are many groups related to those issues, but I am not a part in any. No kind of student would feel out of place at Wash U, anybody could fit in. Most students wear jeans and a T-shirt to class. Students interact but a lot of the time different races stick together. Four tables at the dining hall (Bear's Den aka BD) one table is filled with a groups of decent looking guys just finished with baseball practices, The next group is primarily of giggle asians speaking in a foreign language. At three in the morning you can find a group of hungry drunk white girls. Finally, a group of typical nerdy guys. But everybody gets along and probably everyone knows each other. WashU students are from all over the world. There is a wide range of financial backgrounds but there is a slight majority in the upper brackets. There is a lot of political activism on campus. Mostly liberal, but conservatives have a good place. Students joking talk about how they will be rich, but almost never seriously. Most students come to learn not to make money, but coming to WashU you can do both.