American University Top Questions

I am a PhD student, but having been a teaching assistant for the last calendar year, I can comment on aspects of academics that would be relevant for undergraduate students. From what I have observed, most classes are relatively small, thus giving student's the opportunity to interact with their professors and/or instructors more frequently. Students seem to put in good effort on the most part, but my experience is that students at private schools such as American (as compared to my education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for my undergraduate and graduate degrees), can expect to receive a bit more support. Given the size of the classes, participation is usually part of the course and this gives students a better opportunity anyway to really internalize the information that they are being taught. In my department of Justice, Law, and Society, students can expect to take classes that are highly philosophical in nature, but which I believe serve to sharpen critical thinking of skills, which can be applied to many other subjects.

So far, I have been really happy with American University. I love the location. Washington DC is such a cool city to live in. Though some of the students from Georgetown and George Washington University joke about how American is out in the suburbs, I like it. The area surrounding American is really beautiful, full of trees that look amazing in the fall. It does take a little longer to get downtown, but I'll take a little extra commute if it means I don't have to listen to police sirens and cars all night long. AU's campus, especially the main quad and the amphitheater, is really beautiful and has a nice intimate feeling. I love how I can walk from one end of campus to the other in under ten minutes. On a warm sunny day, I love getting lunch and eating it out on the quad, or getting coffee at the Davenport Lounge. However, while I love the location and campus, I do have some issues with AU. The dorms are not very nice. While they are re-doing them slowly and adding new dorms, AU does have a housing shortage, forcing many freshman to be put into triples and forcing many upperclassmen off campus. AU also has only one apartment-style dorm building. Personally, I love to cook, so having a basic dorm room without a kitchen is not an option to me. Plus, AU's dry campus policy makes living on campus particularly undesirable once you turn 21 and can legally drink. Luckily, there are a couple nice apartment buildings nearby where tons of students live. I've always liked AU academically. My classes are challenging, but usually interesting. I have found, however, it depends on what department you are in. AU is great with International Relations, Political Science, Business, and Communications, but many of their humanities and liberal arts departments fall short. Personally, I'm an art history major, and I find that the small pool of teachers and lack of diversity among them is really frustrating. I feel like I learned far more about art history in the year I spend abroad than in the entire time I spent at AU. One of my favorite parts of my college experience was studying abroad. AU makes it incredibly easy to study abroad and has tons of great programs to choose from. It was one of the deciding factors as to why I chose AU. I wound up studying abroad for an entire year in Rome, Italy and absolutely loved it! One of the cool things about AU is that so many people study abroad. While I was abroad, I had so many friends who were also studying in Europe that I could visit. One of my best memories is visiting a few of my friends who were all studying in Amsterdam. When I got back, I had so many people to talk to about my experience - I remember going to a party with my friend who had studied in Madrid, Spain, and nearly every single person at the party had studied abroad. The experience of travel is so enriching and AU really does a great job of encouraging its students to pursue it. This, combined with AU's large international student population, make the campus a really interesting place full of diverse global experiences. Overall, most students seem to be happy at AU. However, some students seem to feel frustrated with how AU's administration and how it spends money. Our tuition is already really high and yet AU still charges exorbitant amounts to park on campus - more than either Georgetown or GW, both of which have less space available for parking. Also, the new "Wonk" advertising campaign AU strikes many of the students as a waste of time and money. Why spend money posting advertisements all over the DC Metro system when you could be spending money on new books for the library, or renovating housing, or giving out more financial aid? Despite these complaints, I think most students like AU. I for one have been really happy with my college experience at AU.

Professors will learn your name here. You will not be one of 500 students. My largest class so far has been of about 40 students - and I'm a senior here. Class participation is very common and you will find that most students are very involved in their education. I have taken a couple of very memorable classes - American Society (Sociology course), Physics 110 (challenging but if you can take it with Nate Harshman, do it!). You will meet great people and often find yourself going to office hours for fun!

I think my high school over-prepared me for college so I have never seen the work as being too intense. The work isnt hard, there is just a lot of it. The classes tend to be pretty small even the classes in bigger spaces are usually only around fifty kids or so. Its on the student to meet the professor because even though some classes are small, the professor wont always get to know the student. Class participation varies by class, some classes are discussion based some are not. The only thing that really irks me is that since some classes are graded on a few assignments, its difficult to tell how your doing in the class

Sure, all schools have those required classes no one wants to take but everyone has to, and AU is no different. But even then there is something about the faculty at AU that makes even those classes fun and exciting. I think it has everything to do with the knowledge of the faculty. Professors at AU are experts in their fields. A professor teaching foreign policy was probably in the foreign service, and a professor teaching directing has probably directed something you've seen. Our professors talks on shows from CNN to the Daily Show. They know their stuff. And when you get to the point where you can take a class based on a professor's interest, they are the most fascinating and rewarding. At least that has been my experience in the School of International Service. The classes are interesting and informative, and the professors are there to teach and to help you learn.

The classes at AU are pretty reasonable. You might find that the hardest classes are the ones that are not part of your major. If you find something easy, than push yourself. That being said, my number issue with AU is it's thorough General Education Program. With 5 "areas," and two required "clusters" within each area, it's a program to confuse you! By the time you graduate, you will have taken 10 Gen. Ed. classes -- which equates to an entire quarter of your education! But don't let the 100- and 200-level classes fool you in difficulty. Many of these classes are difficult and demanding! My advice: take as many AP classes as you can in high school. While many high schools have been backing off of the AP trend, taking AP classes you can handle will save you lots of time and money. For instance, if you take AP Bio, AP Chem or AP Psychics, you'll receive eight credits! That will take care of an entire general education area. The AP classes will be MUCH easier to stomach. Plus, once you hit 15 credits that you transfer in, you're automatically a semester ahead. That makes it easier to register for classes, and it'll also be easier on your wallet when you can graduate a semester early!

Profs are always accessible to students - whether it be 3:00 AM in the morning or in the office, academics are top priority at AU.

Academics are really great at American. All of my professors know my name, and 3 of my classes this semester have less than 20 students. Most classes are discussion based, particularly in the lit department. The main problem is that grade inflation hasn't quite hit the school. Based on what friends from other schools say, it's a lot harder to get an A here. They lie to you about loving kids who are undecided. You get stuck with an adviser who is supposed to know about everything, and therefore knows basically nothing. Not helpful at all for deciding what you want to do with your life.

Classes at American are either engaging, challenging, and impactful or completely useless. Gen Ed requirements are a pain and sometimes more work than they should be, but that's pretty universal. Every class tends to have an international scope, either due to the curriculum, the teacher, or the 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the class that is in SIS. Class participation (and sanity, for that matter) are almost entirely dependent on the teacher; sections of courses can be entirely different, so doing your research on professors is a must. Professors here are genuinely interested in their students, and most love being teachers. They're available outside of class, frequently give out personal information, and make a strong effort to know students. Advisers are helpful for the most part, and the academic requirements are reasonable and easy enough to navigate. A number of SIS classes (especially introductory ones) are think-tankish and made to make you a better person, but upper level courses are dense, specific, and heavy on skills, critical thinking, and practical applications. Campus events and dorms see ridiculous amounts of political involvement/philosophical discussion/related-but-not-required reading. Students at American tend to really love what they study.

Every professor knows my name. Favorite = Political Power and American Public Policy. Least favorite = microeconomics. Most study daily. class participation is common. We always talk about intellectual things. very competitive. I am in the School of International Service, which is one of the best in the nation. The department if very helpful, focused, organized, and truly prepares everyone for international affairs.