American University Top Questions

There are many stereotypes about how politically active and driven students here are. It's 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} true. Not necessarily a bad thing.

American University is known by the other private schools in Washington, DC as being overly homosexualized. I would say this stereotype is not only wrong, it's discriminative and portrays prejudices. I think American University gets this stereotype because of the load voice of many of its students who advocate equal rights for all members of the LGBTI society.

Bleeding heart liberal political activists who want to "change the system" with their Hill internship. Or, for the cherished few, a nice rabbelrousing protest! Constantly hustling for money for starving children in XYZ developing country and pretending to care about The Poors. As long as you don't send them to Anacostia!

There are both positive and negative stereotypes of students at American University. For positives, we are seen as ambitious, hard-working, internship-grabbing, and very busy students. Many students here have their first internship by sophomore year and many students are involved in multiple campus activities. We are also seen as a very politically active school, and that stereotype is 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} true. As for negative stereotypes, AU students can be seen as "rich white kids from New York and New Jersey" and people who take themselves way too seriously. While there are a lot of people from upper-class NY and NJ, that certainly does not mean everyone is from there (there is a surprising amount of student diversity and international students). Also, while people do take themselves seriously at AU, many people do not do it in a bad way; instead, they are just proud of their accomplishments. A last negative stereotype is that we don't have a lot of school spirit because we don't have a football team or any athletic team that brings the school together. While it is true that we are not an athletic school, and we are certainly lacking in school spirit compared to many other schools, a lot of students are proud of AU because the students here successfully dabble in both the real world (working/internships) and academic world (classes/student groups).

Stereotype: Everyone here is studying International Relations and wants to save the world. Mostly female, very politically active, liberal leaning. We have the nickname "Gay Jew" (sounds like AU) because we're thought to have a lot of those people. Truth: Yes, we have gay people, Jewish people, and a lot of girls. A lot of kids are in the School of International Service (myself included). However, there are kids studying other things and we have good programs outside of International Relations. It's a balanced campus, very open minded and accepting of all types of people. We are about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} international as well.

The stereotype here at American University is that most guys are gay, and that there is a lot of Jewish people, including myself. There is also the stereotype that people at American did not get into Georgetown or George Washington, so they ended up going to American. The main stereotype is that most of the students are rich.

There is a stereotype that we are all into politics and that we have a high gay population. In reality, there are a bunch of kids that like to talk politics. On the other hand, if you don't want to talk politics, that's possible too. Nobody will force you to discuss anything you don't want to. And I will say that there is a high gay population at the school. The only issue with that is that girls find it hard to find straight guys.

I think the most common stereotype of AU students as that they are all obsessed with politics, and although there are lots of students that are, there are also lots of students that aren't. It is the nature of any school located in the nation's capitol to be politically active, but it is really what you make it. Some people get involved in politics on campus or in DC, and many don't, myself being one of them.

American University (AU) is often stereotyped as a school with a very large LGBT (Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transgender) population, as well as a large Jewish community. It is also often referenced as being a very liberal school as well as one with a large demographic of upper-class students. The LGBT and Jewish stereotypes are statistically accurate. There is a very large gay population at American University, which ties into them having one of the largest Queers and Allies groups in the Northeast region. AU also has a large Jewish population, along with many other religious groups. As a University, American affiliates with the United Methodist church, but its Kay Spiritual Life center welcomes all students and is often host to many religious groups and ceremonies. The school is also in general very liberal. AU is a very accepting university and welcomes people from all walks of life. Located in Washington DC and identifying as a private University, the school is naturally expensive. This I imagine attracts many students from more well-off backgrounds, but from experience, there is also a plethora of students attending AU on scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid.

The stereotype of students at American University is that the students who go here either want to change the world or be the next president. It may sound funny, but when you really look at this stereotype it just means that the students at AU want to be successful. We have a very strong international relations program and a lot of students who come to Washington D.C. for school are interested in politics, so it is natural to have a stereotype like this. Students at AU get really involved in internships (AU is ranked as the number one school for internships in the country) and everyone wants to make a difference. I would say that this stereotype does fit a lot of the students that go here, but like any stereotype it cannot be a generalize for everyone at American University.