Washington University in St Louis Top Questions

I think most Freshmen would agree with me that Chemistry is one frustrating class! Though it is extremely tough, it does prepare us well for those of us planning on attending Medical/Dental/Veternary School. Most students put in at least 10 hours a week for this class alone on top of everything else they have to do. And especially on that first chemistry exam, nearly every freshmen has 'that look' on their face, as if the world just ended.

The most frustrating thing about the school is the cost. I am worried about the amount of debt I will have when I graduate, but at the same time I feel that the opportunities I have been presented with at this school are completely worth the price.

It is most frustrating to me that there is not much socioeconomic diversity on campus. There are a lot of wealthy students, and they tend to overpower the campus culture. Nevertheless, there are several movements on campus including WuFUSED to help diversity come to the front of campus issues.

I would say that the most frustrating part about WashU is the lack of socio-economic diversity. It being a very expensive private school, many of the students come from very privledged backgrounds. Even though the University is recognized for having great financial aid packages, many of the students are still extremely wealthy which is frustrating to me because I often find them to be shallow and lacking a lot of perspective on the world.

The small size and the availability of nearly everything on campus very frequently leads to what we call the "WashU Bubble." Students don't leave campus very frequently even the urban setting of St. Louis. This escalades to cabin fever type feeling around midterms and finals.

My school can make intelligent, wonderful people feel horrible about themselves because the standards are so high. It's not that the competition is cut-throat, but that everyone who comes here is used to getting good grades, and not everyone can do that once they get here, so it leads to disappointment. I am sometimes frustrated by how much time my academics take when there are so many other things that are important in life, but if I don't take the time to study, I won't meet my own standards for my grades.

Teachers that are better at research than teaching

Tolerance. It was an incredibly liberal school so many students often spoke and preached about the importance of tolerance and yet the only people I found were treated with the utmost tolerance were like-minded liberal-leaning non-religious people. There was little tolerance for religious and conservative people when their views were different from the main-stream way of thinking on campus.

Monetary choices in how the school spends money: unnecessary landscaping, events, and constant demolishing/rebuilding of buildings around campus to stay "up to date". There is also a level of hypocricy detectable in the way they attempt to appear green and environmentally friendly, but have actions that fall short (such as use of some loopholes in the LEED certification of the newly constructed student center).

Deciding what to get involved in. There is so much to choose from. Time management is a must. Balancing academics, friendship, and extracurriculars is very hard, but it is also very rewarding. You get out what you put in, so I try to put in as much as I can. You only live once and you only get one chance to make it amazing.