Miley -
11/12/2019I was very disappointed with my time at UWB, and I know a lot of other students who feel the same way I do. So, I'm surprised to see the other reviews.
Dorms:
I lived on campus in the first year of my college experience. While the dorms are very nice (there's a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and one decent sized room you share with your roommate), I had an AWFUL roommate. She would say things like, "I'm a b***h, and I know it" and "I love to manipulate people." Obviously, our shared experience isn't all her fault--I have a lot of regrets over lots of things that I did to contribute--but I do wish the school could have handled it better because the staff did nothing about it. I also know other students who were in similar situations (they weren't getting along with their roommates either), and the staff did not do anything about it too. I did not feel comfortable in my own home, which affected my ability to perform in school. Not to mention, the campus security went from making one round a day outside the dorms to three rounds in order to catch people drinking!
The Area--Bothell:
Bothell is tiny and very dull. There are maybe 5 bars in the city itself, and 2 out of those 5 belong to McMenamins, which is very pricey. There aren't a lot of food options either, and there are no clubs. There is one leading coffee shop: The Den Coffee Shop, which has gone downhill in the past five years and a couple of Starbucks. Also, nothing is open 24 hours in Bothell, so studying is done at the school buildings (which close at midnight, except the UWB library on campus closes much earlier), or in your dorm. The point is, there's nothing to do, specifically, in Bothell. I will say, there are a couple of places I enjoyed though--Sushi Zone (during the last hour to close, it's happy hour. So, most of their items are $1.50) & there is a GREAT massage clinic, Bothell Integrated Health. If you want anything else, you have to venture out into the surrounding cities. There's Kenmore (14 minutes away); Lake City, Seattle (20 minutes away); Woodinville (9 minutes away); Kingsgate/Totem Lake, Kirkland (10 minutes away); Waterfront, Kirkland (15 minutes away); Bellevue (20 minutes away); & Seattle. For this area, timing depends on where you're going because it encompasses many smaller areas, such as Queen Anne. These are estimates based on no traffic. The closest places to Bothell are Kenmore & Woodinville. Kenmore is like Bothell, where nothing happens, and Woodinville is also lackluster. There are more food options in Woodinville, but they're just okay. Food is terrific in Seattle, Kirkland, and surprisingly, Bellevue.
Off-Campus Housing:
I've seen in some UniGo comments for other universities, that $500-$900 of rent is expensive. Unfortunately, $900 is the norm here. Not for a place to yourself--but a room. Most people have roommates, and the cost to rent a room in either a two-bedroom apartment with someone or a six-bedroom house with six roommates is generally $1,000 per person in Seattle or Bothell. For Seattle, $1000 is more like the minimum. The only nearby area that's not so expensive (maybe like $700 per person), is Lake City because the area is not safe. I think the homeless problem there has a lot to do with it.
Campus Food Options:
There are five places on Campus to get food: Subway, Cascadia, Food for Thought, UWB, & food trucks (there's only one per day, so they rotate which one comes). Subway is the main place to get food because everything else, except for the food trucks, is weak sauce. Cascadia offers a coffee stand with snacks. Food for Thought is okay--they have expensive sushi, snacks, cup of noodles, candies, protein bars, some sandwiches, and is a coffee shop as well. The UWB "cafeteria" there is a coffee stand, seating, and a microwave. The food trucks are okay, but the majority of options are for meat-eaters. There aren't a lot of healthy food options on campus, and certainly not at the food trucks. Vegans, vegetarians, and health-conscious people--you will need to buy your groceries and make your food. Restaurants with your food options will be mostly available in Seattle and Kirkland.
Advisors:
They're pretty good! I have the impression that they do want to help students. My advisor was helpful & cared about me. Not to mention, scheduling an advising appointment was easy because you can do it online. Whenever registration comes around, it's more busy than usual, so plan accordingly. Major advisors are generally the same as well, just a little more serious. But since it's a small school, they're generally available and understanding if you don't have the best grades to get into your program.
School Counseling:
I used to talk to one of the counselors (let's call her Jane Doe), but she left to start her practice. At first, talking with her was helping. It was nice to have someone I could talk to, get advice from, and truly be myself around. I know so many therapists and counselors who listen and only ask questions. I find this is approach unhelpful. Jane Doe was different because she saw that I needed something different and worked with it. But once she left, I was at square one again. I tried group therapy (recommended by her), but I could tell the new counselor I worked with did not like me, and the students in my group therapy had a hard time connecting/talking. I felt like I was getting nothing out of it besides social awkwardness and a counselor that did not like me, which was hard to go to weekly. So, it wasn't for me, and the counseling system ended up not being the best fit for me. I think going to an outside source is the way to go on this.
Student Academic Support Services (aka, the Quantitative Skills Center, aka the QSC):
The QSC is UWB's tutoring center. You don't have to pay to receive help because it's school funded. When teachers are unavailable, this is your next best bet. But this center is extremely unhelpful because the tutors are required to help students by only asking questions. The department head is convinced this is the best way to help students, but as someone who is on the opposite end receiving the help, I can tell you it's harder than she thinks it is.
Let me give an example: If you're in Calculus, let's say Calc 1, there are a lot of moving parts--you need to have a good understanding of algebra, pre-calc, geometry, etc. If you haven't been in math for a while, you are going to forget these small moving parts--like exponent rules, what "e" is, etc. These things aren't hard to learn again, but there are so many things that someone really ought to take the time to organize this information, review it, and put it into their curriculum. Or at least, go over it when they're using this material during the first week of class or something. But this not done, and the websites students use for their homework don't teach this either (almost every class uses online sites for homework). So, if you're not getting these answers from your teacher during class, the website, or your book, it must be from the tutors or teachers during their office hours. Unfortunately, because tutors can only ask questions, they can't tell you these small things or explain how you get your answer. They can only help you with one problem that might take up to 30 minutes, and then you still don't understand your answer, and then you still have to go to your teacher's office hours, which are maybe only twice a week and have lots of other students. Not to mention, there is one tutor there that should be fired. It's this older man with a HEAVY accent. Imagine this: he is explaining and drawing things fast, then pauses and asks if you are following. But due to the heavy accent, you can't understand him. So, you might say no and ask how he got to that answer. He explains it again, fast and not understandable. He then proceeds to another part of the explanation and asks again if you follow. He's not looking to see if you understand. He's looking for the answer yes regardless of what you've said. He doesn't care about you or your homework. He has his job, and that's what's important — so good luck future UW Bothell students.
Education/Teachers:
Teachers in STEM do not care if you understand the material or not. The one teacher I found that does, is Barry Minai (in the math field). But the bottom line is, most of them do not care. If you don't understand the way they are teaching their material, they will not tell you in another way. Either you get it or you don’t. Not to mention, because the school is still relatively new, not all teachers have taught the classes they are teaching. You might get some new teachers who have no idea how to teach you, mentor you, or tutor you. Lastly, if there is any homework plagiarism, I’ve found out that the teachers don’t care and can’t do anything about that either. I was in a lab with a d*****bag, and he did not do any of the work. When I finally reported him after realizing I could not do my final with him, the teacher said, well, his name is on your lab reports, so I can’t do anything about it. He and his friend then went on to later to key my car up and down the sides. So, an absolutely fantastic experience.
Overall Opinion:
Do not go to this school. Don’t even set foot on campus—you might get caught in one of their s**t storms. If you’re not aware of this, the school is built in the middle of the wetlands and for some reason, attracts literally thousands of crows. Reports say there can be up to 10,000 crows over-head. When they first get to campus, around 6 pm, poop literally rains down as if there was a rain cloud over-head. So, bring your umbrellas if you go!