American University Top Questions

Many of us choose not to go to GW or Georgetown because AU gives us more money. I personally came because GW wasn't green enough. We are Awkward University in the best way! It's an awkwardness that everyone can take comfort in.

yes

There are more women on campus than men, but it isn't very noticeable. There isn't a huge gay population on campus, but it is possible that more of them are "out" because the campus is generally friendly towards the GLBT population. Yes, there are quite a few Jews - but American is a relatively diverse school.(In one of the blackest cities in America, I would like to see more African American students here - but it's possible that the reason for this is the fact we compete with Howard for black students. Still, for a "diverse" school, there are hardly any black students). We are politically active and we only seem to have school spirit (due to lack of division I teams) when we have a political speaker on campus. It is nice to be on a bus and here people talking about what was in the Washington Post today or what they learned while they were in Kenya last semester. While we also have people who are completely oblivious people, most students seem to care about their surroundings (locally, nationally, and globally). Students who are not political science/international relations majors don't feel left out of this community. Many of them are just as informed or enjoy the atmosphere.

Yes, we are a very politically active school, but you will also find people who could care less about politics. Our Business school, Kogod, is ranked nationally and our Communications school is also great. We also have a ton of school spirit, especially for our sports. Our women's field hockey, men's basketball and wrestling are all ranked. We also have a huge club called AU Blue Crew, which is simply a group that promotes AU sports.

yes

most are interested in politics but there are a lot of people who are very social and like to party.

*There is a good sampling of conservative viewpoints on campus. *A good percentage of students ARE from the east coast. *Depends on how you define diversity. I have met students of so many backgrounds I can't count, so I would say AU does a good job in its selection process. *AU students are high caliber. We may not receive the same level of prestige and publicity, but we have some of the most gifted students in DC and nationally.

I think it?s fair to say that this stereotype is accurate. AU has a wonderful career center (ranked #3 in the nation) and D.C. is a city that really provides students in the area with a great opportunity for work and internship experience, which obviously contributes to an internship-driven student body. While this may translate into a less well-rounded education (less focus on math and science), having a foot in the door professionally while still getting a world-class grounding in IR or Poli-Sci is definitely an attractive feature that really appeals to a lot of students.