Washington University in St Louis

Date: Mar 03 2004
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
Aside from the obvious fact that Washington University is widely regarded as one of the top schools in the country, I believe that what makes attending Wash U so special at this time is the confidence in itself. What I mean is that this school is an up and coming school. Improvements are being made across the board constantly and it's only a matter of time before Wash U becomes an "elite level" school rather than a second tier "elite school". Everyone on campus has a great sense of pride in the school and they have good reason to feel proud. A Wash U degree is impressive right now, in the future the value and prestige of it will become much greater.

Unlike the "Ivies", Wash U has a much more laid back atmosphere which for many students is ideal. Pressure comes from students' drive to succeed rather than from competition with peers. The people are friendly and are diverse in their demographics. This school also goes out of its way to cater to the needs of a student from anything to food to tutoring to health services. Quite impressive.

The school has become one of the "hip" places to go for top quality students who are more concerned with quality as compared to quantity. I believe the administration doesn't want to run a "hip" school, but is instead striving hard to create a prestigious university that commands the respect of its Ivy League bretheren. Clearly, this school matches up very strongly academically, financially, and physically (in terms of the campus) with schools like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. The respect isn't there, yet. 20 years from now, it will. No doubt.

The students though are what define Wash U's character and what brought me to the school. They are very motivated and smart, but in the same sense they don't show it and rub it in your face. I feel a sense of commoradorie rather than competition with my peers and that helps to make the environment much more pleasant. Wash U students are very approachable and the faculty is very accessable. In addition the alcohol policy is quite liberal here and the university treats its students like adults. Any 18 year old would agree that's a good thing.