Washington University in St. Louis
Reviews

Washu Athletics? What?

It's kinda a school joke that no one really cares too much are athletics. But come on, we are a d3 school and we all are students first and athletes second. Most of the sporting events get a decent crowd (especially the Men's Basketball and Women's Volleyball teams). WashU athletes are proud to be athletes and they work very hard. Practically all of the teams are very successful (especially the Men's tennis team, women's cross country, and women's volleyball). It's not like the students want their teams to do poorly, but most of them would rather spend their time studying Chemistry then going and painting themselves Red and Green for a football game.

Low Campus Crime

On campus I feel very safe--there are blue lights everywhere and free methods of transportation for both on and off campus housing at late hours. There are some less safe areas off campus but they are working to keep those safe especially for students.

Drinking and Weed

Drinking is by far the most popular with smoking a close second. Though other drugs do have a presence on campus, its mainly limited to certain social groups.

Washu Goggles

The general consesus here is that the average guy is better looking than the average girl, though there are attractive members of both genders. It's just a matter of finding them. Students here often complain of "Wash U Goggles", though they're putting themselves into the stereotype by saying so. Generally, everyone is very friendly, and meeting people isn't difficult at all.

Academics

It's a very challenging but also very rewarding experience. Without proper study skills it is difficult to succeed, but those can be learned from your friendly and helpful peers with ease. At WashU, academics are great.

Be Smart

There are a quite a few burglary incidents, in which case the campus police sends an email to all students notifying them; but most of the time the 'victim' left their room door open/unlocked when they left for class or walked away from their computer in the library. Lock your room door when you're not there, take your stuff even if you'll be gone 'just a second' and if you're off campus at night, walk in a group (not a pair) and not along a dark path. 90% of campus crime prevented.

Reasonable Punishments

Punishment at Washington University is very reasonable. From the first week at school, freshmen are told to be responsible if drinking and given a set of rules. The school knows that underage drinking will occur and the RAs are very tolerant. The drinking rules are very lax; no open bottles on campus, no red cups or alcohol visible from the outside of the dorms or in the hallways. While freshman parties are actually not allowed, there were many on my floor. The only rules are to not be too loud and not have too many people in your room or from other dorms. A lot of RAs are extremely lenient and will only shut down your party if they have to ask you to be quiet more than once or twice. Drugs are not tolerated; the campus police will be called on you most likely if any drug use is suspected.

Mediocre

The people working in the financial aid office are very nice and friendly. However, the price of tuition, room and board, etc. is so high, the money from financial aid doesn't help all that much.

Drinking

The drinking policy is very relaxed at Wash U. As long as you are not walking around outside with bottles and cans of beer, the RA's usually don't care what you do. But there are quite a few people who choose not to drink and there is not a lot of social pressure for them to start.

Bear's Den

The new Bear's den is amazing. They've got a wide variety of foods ranging from the grill to pasta to mexican to stir fry. Prices are a bit high though. The servers/cashiers are very nice people as well.

Labs Are Readily Available

The computer labs at WashU are readily available; however, it is extremely necessary for one to have his or her own computer. Unless one is printing in his or her dorm, printing isn't free. The wireless access is not the best, but connection with an ethernet cord is very fast.

Cool People

There are a lot of cool people, and the best part about them is that everyone has a strange "quirk."

St. Louis Is Our City

St. Louis has recently been named the most unsafe city in America, but this statistic is misleading to say the least. East St. Louis, is extremely dangerous, but across the river in Illinois and nobody goes to East St. Louis from Wash U, so in reality, if you're not stupid about it, St. Louis is a very safe city. Don't travel alone late at night and always have a destination.

The city itself has its ups and downs. There is a defined culture in St. Louis consisting of music, sports and happiness. Though not the most populated city in America, those that do live in St. Louis love it and there is truly a personality that goes along with the city. The Blues are a good team as are the Cardinals and even the Rams are division leaders (despite having a losing record).

There are some decent bars on the loop and in the Central West End, but I haven't been to too many yet since I'm just a freshman. You can find great food in the loop and in the city, but New Yorkers often complain that the pizza isn't like it is there. They do concede that the deep dish pizza is phenomenal, however.

If you need to get anywhere, the University provides you with a free "U-Pass" to use the metrolink for free. It's very convenient and encourages students to leave the "Wash-U Bubble" and explore the city. If you don't want to take the metro, there is also a "WeCar" system in which the school allows you to rent a car (at $5/hour and overnights available) and you can get into the city using one of their cars.

Safe

The north side of campus is not a great area but the rest of the area around campus is very nice. Campus police patrol constantly and there's always a blue light phone close by. As long as you take common sense precautions there's no need to worry.

Terrible.

Lots of people like sports here, but nobody cares at all about our sports teams. Volleyball and basketball teams are good, but don't expect a state school experience.

If You're up for It...

you'll find it. there are many restaurants near campus, including obama's allegedly favorite pizza place (pi pizza) just 10 minutes walking distance from campus. The loop is full of different cuisine to choose from (ranging from american to thai to japanese to chinese) and if you have a car, more options such as indian mexican korean etc are available. take the bus to brentwood (rides are free) for organic shops or department store food courts. the cheesecake factory (they sell tons more than just dessert) is a good bet in the area.

Best I've Seen at Any College

The new Bears Den is amazing with plenty of options: pizza, burgers, wraps, stir fry, pasta, salads, indian food, mexican food, sushi, etc. I don't see how I'm going to get bored of this

Drinking Underage Is Fine but Don't Be Stupid About It.

Wash U is very chill about underage drinking, but they do have a couple rules that are easy to abide by. You can't have an open container outside or in the hallways (even if you're 21+), but you can drink in your rooms without any enforcement. As long as you're not causing a commotion or breaking things, the RA's don't care if you're drinking. They're more interested in your safety, not enforcing rules.

Outstanding!

With this year's addition of the Bear's Den, a brand new cafeteria located near a large percentage of the on-campus housing, Wash U is certainly a candidate for best on-campus dining in the country. Order what you want and watch the chefs make it right in front of you. Choose your vegetables and watch the chefs hand-toss your own stir-fry. Order a NY strip steak and watch the chef grill it right in front of you. Kosher/vegetarian/vegan menus are available. As a member of the class of 2014 and a new student at Wash U, I really cannot say enough about the food here. It is absolutely outstanding.

Traditional and Modern. Both Great Choices

The dorms are really nice compared to most schools, and the rooms are pretty big. If you prefer a traditional dorm, you get temperpedic mattresses, and those dorms tend to have more parties. The modern dorms are great too, of course, because you can live with three of your good friends and you have your own private bathroom. I would recommend traditional for your first year because it's easier to meet people, and then you can live in a modern the next year.

Metrolink Is Awesome!

Everywhere you ever need or want to go is accessible via the metrolink train and metro buses. The best part is that Wash U students get a free metro passes so it wont cost you a penny.

Wet Campus, No Drugs

At Wash U you are allowed to drink underage as long as you do so responsibly. Thus, many people drink on the weekends but not always in a large party setting. Smoking happens but isn't nearly as common. There is a zero-tolerance drug policy

Amazing

We have fantastic food. You can get lobster tail, NY strip steak, fantastic wraps, great pizza, smoothies, gelato (italian ice-cream), and brownie sunday's all over campus. I miss the food when I'm home.

Dorms Are Like Ski-Lodges

Tempur-pedic style mattresses, huge flat-screen TVs, leather couches, huge rooms and common areas. It doesn't get better than this.

Generally Good-Looking People

Wash U is no state school, but the students are relatively good looking on average. Very few people are overweight.