American University Top Questions

Regardless of what high school you attended, what neighborhood you came from, or what kind of student you are, remember to reach for your dream school and believe in yourself. I was a decent student with A's, B's and the occasional C. Instead of applying to schools like American, I applied to easy schools I knew I would get into. I'm now transferring to AU because I know now I can do better and challenge myself more and I believe in myself. I know American will challenge me and open more doors and opportunities in the future.

I wish I had know how close-knit the campus community is. I also wish I had known how little financial aid the school gives out, and that they do not give out any more money for the education than they agree on upon acceptance.

That everything is expensive and also that the library has all the textbooks for classes for free.

This is one of the most expensive schools in the US and the univeristy is not overly generous with financial aide.

School is more focused on international development and business programs than traditional liberal arts subjects.

I wish I had known to embrace the AU experience fully.

I wish I had known how expensive this school is besides the tuition/housing costs.

I wish that I had been more familiar with the layout of the campus, that way I would have been able to pick the optimal dorm space. However, considering my lack of familiarity, I got pretty lucky.

Always being one of the smartest people in my school, I assumed that American University would do whatever they had to for me to attend their institution. What I found out is that the world is bigger than me and there are thousands of people smarter than me. If I cannot pay, I cannot attend school. I wish I knew to humble myself and apply for scholarships and loans sooner. Although I want to be successful with time, I am not currently successful and no one will throw their money at my feet. I will have to work for everything.

I wished I would have known how much time there really is available to complete work. I had heard about people pulling "all-nighters" all the time and I was a little intimidated by the thought of having to stay up all night all the time. However, unlike high school where you spend approximately 7 hours in class, in college you may spend 2-3 hours in class and have all the other time to complete your work.