Washington University in St Louis Top Questions

People like to party at the frats on weekends, which can offer a pretty good dance party. Other than that, WashU sets up a bus to a different club in St Louis every Thurs night which is pretty fun seeing as how usually these places are over 21 only. Frats and sororities are prevalent, but people not in them can still be "cool" and have fun on campus. There is a pretty big drinking culture, but definitely niches for people who don't want to participate.

The fraternities are the root of the social/party scene. There's some drinking in the dorms, but most people head over to frat row for the fun.

Most popular groups?: Red Alert, Dance Marathon, Relay for Life. Campus Y. Ac capella groups Group I'm involved with?: the Catholic Student Center, I sing in the choir and attend mass/events there regularly. I love it! Do students leave their doors open?: Some do, some don't. How popular are athletic events? Guest speakers? Theater?: I've never gone to an athletic event, but that doesn't mean people don't go. Some guest speakers are pretty popular. Some theater events are really well attended, particularly the cultural dance shows. Dating scene: I found some one! But i think there are lots of hookups (that's the stereotype at least) Meet Closest friends: In the dorm. If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday... I am writing a paper. Annual Traditions/events: Thurteen, Bauhaus (both carnival type events) Dance Marathon, Relay for Life. How often do people party? Every weekend, starting Thursday. How important are frats/sororities? Fairly important, though I don't belong/haven't been. What I did last weekend: Participated in Easter Sunday events at my Church (sang in the choir) and did art homework. What can you do on Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking? Hang out, watch a movie/play video games. What do I do off campus? go to the Galleria, to the Loop (a fun street with college friendly restuarants/ entertainment

The most popular groups are intramural sports and some social justice/advocacy groups. I love the Alliance of Students Against Poverty and Amnesty International. Students sometimes leave their doors open. Athletic events aren't very popular. Guest speakers are popular, but theater isn't. The dating scene is okay, but great for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I met my closest friends in the dorm. There is a lot of partying. WILD (a huge concert), Bahaus (costume party), and Thurtene (largest college carnival in the U.S.) are the biggest traditions/events. Dance Marathon and Relay for Life are two HUGE fundraisers. Frats/sororities aren't that important. I chilled last weekend in the dorm. There isn't that much official activity for non-drinking people on Saturdays. I see movies and go to sporting events off campus.

Men's soccer team is popular, relay for life is popular, thurtene is popular. the Formula SAE motorsport program is a completely student run organization that aims to fully conceptualize, design, and fabricate a race car for competition with teams from around the world. Students leave doors open. Athletic events are not popular, speakers are popular, theater is not popular. People date and mess around, it's college. Met my closest friends in my freshman dorm. Frats/Soros are important to some, not to others, I'd say it's a 50/50 split. Last weekend I worked, studied, lifted weights, worked on a race car, did a few problem sets, and drank a jack and coke. Saturday night you can go bowling, karaoke, throw darts, study, go for a drive/ride, arm wrestle, see a movie, watch TV, play Call of Duty 4, or simply gorge yourself until you can't eat another single grape. Off campus you can go to a bar.

Sororities? Team31 - puts on a concert every semester In freshman dorms, yes Not very Eh Eh There is a dating scene? Randomly Talking with my friends or spending time with my boyfriend WILD Definitely weekends; more often at times So/So Spring Break Study Grocery shop

ELEVEN MUSIC MAGAZINE ROCKS MY SOCKS. And everyone's awake at 2 am on a Tuesday. In fact, it's 6:28 am right now, and I don't plan on sleeping anytime soon (no, I did not just wake up).

they are tons of groups to join. you're sure to find people with the exact same interests as you do regardless of how wacky it may be. there are things i didn't even know existed that have groups for them. its crazy. i'm in a lot of Christian and cultural groups and i very much enjoy that. people come to hear guest speakers or see shows and games. its alright. finding a hot guy here is a challenge, especially if you're not white or asian and want a guy to date in your race. but going off campus(if you can handle it. i wouldn't recommend it for everyone) has more options. greek life exists but its such not a big deal. i knew this girl since sept (its march now) and i literally JUST found out she was in a sorority. if you want to pledge, you'll have friends to do the same thing. if not, don't sweat it. you can still go to their events. there are so many parties( in fact most if not all except for frats) on sat or any night that don't involve any drinking or smoking at all. its just a bunch of friends dancing or hanging out or whatever. its completely up to you if you want to drink and if you do how much and with whom. there isn't a crazy amount of pressure and you can even opt to live on a sub free floor (like me!) or in a sub free suite ( me next year hopefully) off campus you can explore the grand city of st. louis. shop, go to museums the zoo art exhibits, plays, movies, restaurants you name it! its a city do what you want!

Greek organizations are popular, as are the student government groups. I'm involved in a fraternity, and it keeps me very active. Everyone in my dorm seems to leave his/her door open. Athletic events are somewhat popular, but there could be much better attendance. Guest speakers seem to be very popular. WILD is probably the most popular annual event. The dating scene isn't bad, but you pretty much have to drink in order to take part. I met most of my friends on my freshman floor. At 2am on Tuesday, I am doing homework. People party every time there is an excuse to get drunk it seems. If you don't want to drink on a Saturday night, you can go to the library, or make fun of the drunk people. I don't do anything off campus because I don't have a car-- thanks for that, WashU.

I rarely go off campus. Now that I have a car I do go off campus more, but it's still at a minimum. It's strange because the entire city of St. Louis is at our backdoor, but it is still a big effort to travel downtown for events frequently. The dorm life at WashU is really lax. Many people prop their suite doors open which is comforting because it means that people are inviting you in. When I walk down halls where all the doors are shut it feels like a cold environment. I'm in Alpha Phi Omega which is a national co-ed service fraternity. It is a happy medium between being in Greek life and not part of it at all. APO is not associated with Panhel and you're not given a "bid" but you prove that you want to be part of it by completing all the requirements in the pledging process. It's a more accepting environment than the actual greek sororities and frats.

It's tough to say what the most popular groups are on campus with over 200 of them. Student Union, the student government controls a budget of over two million dollars a year so they have a huge impact. Acapella draws a large group of students as well with over ten groups. Students do leave their doors open in dorms and it's a great social dynamic as people come and go freely. I met my closest friends on my freshman floor as well as my clubs. If I'm awake at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, I'm either working on an essay or having philosophical discussions with my floormates. Athletic events aren't that popular though the men's basketball team has seen a surge in support. Students go for free pizza to some athletic events hosted by our school spirit group, Red Alert. We get tons of guest speakers from the famous such as Alberto Gonzales to people who are not as famous like comedian Margaret Cho. We had Cascada here for a concert not long ago. There are three theaters here, a performing arts department and several student theater groups so there is always a lot happening. Lots of outside groups come to perform in our theaters. Traditions and events each year begin with WILD which is a huge concert held each fall and spring. WILD which stands for Walk In and Lay Down is intense. Another big event is the annual Thurtene Carnival with dozens of groups building booths. Relay for Life attracts hundreds of participants each year. There's a big divide as to how often people party. Some just don't. Others party from Thirsty Thursday to Saturday. Some drink from Tuesday to Saturday. Sororities don't have houses on campus so frats are where the parties are at. If a party isn't at a frat it's usually on somenone's floor. Last weekend, I went to a free a capella concert,did work and went shopping off campus. Off campus, I explore Forest Park, go shopping at the Galleria or watch one of the several professional teams here.

-I'm involved in community service groups which are widely popular on WashU's campus; students developed interests and passions in high school through community service and apply them to college life. I am a weekly childcare provider at a womens shelter and I take therapeutic dogs to visit nursing homes around St. Louis with Campus Y. -Greek life.. definitely a part of WashU social life.. however, I am not in a sorority and have never felt "left out" or "outcast" from the social life of WashU. -drinking.. drinking goes on at WashU just like it goes on at every other college campus. however, at WashU there is a lot less pressure on you if you don't drink- there are plenty of other people that will not judge you or force you and will instead go to a movie with you or out to eat -I love going out to eat with my floormates, we try different restaraunts every week pretty much

WU Basketball, Divali, WILD. Greek Life is very welcoming and fun, and not your traditionally state school frat scene at all. That said, the administration is still wildly against it and trying to curb its influence, even when they say otherwise. Most kids probably don't drink n Saturday nights which is rather unfortunate since they're either studying, hanging out at Ursa's cafe playing checkers, or at some poorly attended a capella show. Acapella shows are fun though.

If you are interested in something, chances are Wash U already has a club for it. And if it doesn't, you can probably find others who share your interest and start a club yourself.

Ultimate frisbee is an amazing team here, the guys are a ton of fun to be with and laid back and we compete with many of the top schools in the nation. speaker series is excellent as well. i met my closest friends the the freshman pre-o: Wilderness project! it is an amazing program! Fraterneties and sororities are whatever you want them to be, they are a great social outlet for a while but often become boring. many of my friends are involved but i have chosen not to be. you can do so much that doesn't involve drinking: comedy, dances, concerts, dinners, speakers, religious organizations.

WUWU, Washington University Women's Ultimate, is our club women's ultimate frisbee team. I am a co-captain, and we practice three times a week and go to about five out-of-town tournaments each semester. We self-run our team, and the team becomes a big group of friends on and off the field. The reason I really like the team is because it's a very athletically demanding sport with reasonably good competition, but it's not a varsity sport, so I have time to be involved in other activities, too. Every year we teach the new team members the rules and basics of the game, so nobody needs experience to join the team. There are no try-outs. Simply come! Overflow is a branch of the international Campus Crusade for Christ ministry, and this is how I met most of my closest friends. We meet every Thursday nights as a large group to sing worship songs, hear a speaker talk, and just spend time with each other. We also have smaller groups that meet various nights to study the Bible, get to know each other better, do service projects together, etc. While many of us come from very different religious backgrounds, my favorite aspect of the group is that practically everyone is really trying to be the person they can be, and I can talk to anyone, whether I'm having a great day or a terrible day. At the same time, many of us are involved in other activities, so our group continues to grow.

I don't know which groups are most popular. I'm involved with Safe Zones peer education, which trains students--mostly Residential Advisers--on GLBTQIA issues so that they can be sensitive to those issues when speaking with their residents and establishing themselves as safe places for GLBTQIA students to talk. Most students in dorms do not leave their dorms open. I don't think athletic events are very popular. I'm not sure about guest speakers or theater. I've seen a handful of friends dating, but there's no "scene" to speak of. I met my closest friend at Wash U mostly by chance. If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I'm probably working on something for school, but I might be recording music or ironing clothes. A handful of events occur each year: charity dance marathons and races, a concert each semester by a more-or-less well-known band, and a rave produced by the Engineering school. I don't know how often people party. It seemed like a lot freshman year, but I'm a bit out of touch with the people I knew then. I don't know how important fraternities/sororities are in general, but they seem important to their members. Last weekend, I did a photo shoot with my roommate that started around 10 or 11 and watched a movie with Lindsay Lohan around 5 in the morning. I went to sleep at 7:30, went grocery shopping at some point Saturday, and spent Sunday writing an annotated bibliography. I'm sure there are plenty of things to do on a Saturday night that don't involve drinking: there are plays, improv comedy shows, occasional concerts, and film screenings. It's also possible to hang out with friends without drinking, which sometimes seems unthinkable in college. Everything I do other than go to class and work at the library is off campus.

Students in freshman dorms definitely leave their doors open the majority of the time they're in their rooms. People living on the South 40 have keycard access to all of the other dorms, so you don't have to call your friend to let you into their building to visit. Very few students attend athletic events. I think I heard more people go to intermural games than varsity games. Most people meet their group of friends on their freshman floor. Or perhaps thru a sport, fraternity or sorority. Fraternities and sororities don't dominate the social scene. If you're not in one, there's no problem with finding friends or events. But if you are in one, it may dominate YOUR social life. Most people only go off campus to eat. Some community service and exercise is also off-campus. Few underclassmen go out to clubs.

Freshman year almost everyone leaves their door open if they want to be social, but after that everyone has their own set of friends and aren't as open to meeting new people. I met my closest friends on my freshman floor, through other friends, classes, and by living with people. But I'm also meeting new people everyday through extracurriculars and meeting my friend's friends. Most kids at Wash U are on the typical late night, late morning schedule. Meaning we stay up late and then think that 8:30 or 9am classes are super early. Late at night during the week I'm usually studying or procrastinating and then on the weekend out partying. On that note, some people party every night of the week while others choose not to party at all. Its all up to you, and generally you find friends who have similar interests.

Even though academics hog up plenty of time, everyone has at least a couple other big things going on outside of the classroom. With the exception of women's volleyball and men's basketball, Wash U sporting events tend to be attended mostly by significant others and maybe a few townies, almost everyone plays sports. Basketball, soccer, and softball are all really popular IM and club sports, but you can do anything from arm-wrestling to water polo if you have enough people. The gyms here are absolute crap—crowded and stocked with equipment manufactured around the same time that Chuck Norris was an actor and not a punch line. This is unfortunate because St. Louis weather is notoriously uncooperative; there have been days when it was in the 70’s when I walked to class and sleeting three hours later. Speaking of St. Louis, the city gets a bad rep—undeserved, in my mind. Your family will probably talk about how its one of the most dangerous city in America and your friends won’t know much more than the arch and the chorus to “Grillz,” but it’s really a pretty nice place to go to college. Forest Park, larger than Central Park and arguably more interesting, has a zoo, several museums, and an ice skating rink and is right next door to campus. Lots of famous bands—Red Hot Chilly Peppers, The Shins, Radiohead—play in nearby venues, and some lesser known but equally good—GZA from Wu-Tang, Band of Horses, Cascada—play in a basement venue on campus. Acapella is big on campus, as is community service. Most of the community service projects are better at making students feel good about themselves than actually improving St. Louis, but there is no denying that most students recognize the need to give back. Tutoring is particularly popular, but frats and sororities and other student groups such as the annual Mr. Wash U ceremony have come up with creative philanthropy events that are fun, if not exactly far-reaching. Weekends begin on Thursday when buses run underclassmen from campus to nearby clubs and upperclassmen go bar hopping or head to the Landing, a popping entertainment district in downtown STL right on the Mississippi. Wash U has a really fair—and by fair I mean lenient—drinking policy. There’s no need to hide alcohol from R.A.’s, who are more worried about safety than anything else. You have to try pretty hard to get in trouble—public urination is a safe bet, as is dropping your pants when the police try to arrest you at a Girl Talk concert. The latter student got tasered three times in the ass, so I’d particularly recommend keeping clothes on. Friday and Saturday nights aren’t state school crazy, but there’s always frat, dorm, and house parties going on simultaneously so you’re bound to find something to do, or at the very least drink. A good third of the students here seem to almost never go out, but other students more than make up for them. About a forth of all students are in a frat or sorority, and while both have a very visible presence on campus, Greek life never really overwhelms other aspects of campus life. The fraternity here vary a lot in character; the stereotypes run the gambit from the “gay” frat—a mischaracterization—to the frat that one of the writers of Animal House lived in that still seems to stay pretty true to its roots. Almost all frat parties are open to everyone, but after the first few months of freshmen year, you discover that those shindigs are only worth the walk if you know people in the house. By winter, the party circuit can get stale and the cold weather puts a damper on the festivities. Fortunately, there are kinds of events on campus and in St. Louis, with everything from comedians to plays to Blues hockey games for cheap entertainment. And when all else fails, there’s that pillar of college life: hook-ups. Some people like to complain a lot about the relative attractiveness of Wash U students, and while they have a point, a few seconds of careful self-reflection would reveal that they are probably kidding themselves. A better way of thinking of things is to understand that your average Joe or Jane will have no trouble finding a kindred spirit, while those that are above-average come to Wash U and suddenly find themselves treated like demigods. The bottom line is that there are plenty of cute faces in the crowd and finding someone for a five-minute hook-up or long-term relationship is not all that difficult.