The University of Washington - Seattle

Date: May 15 2012
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I have not had a good experience at UW at all. UW was my safety school out of high school because I didn't get into the UC's that I wanted to go to and thought that being in a good sized city would be fun. In retrospect, I would have been better off going to a university in a college town. Seattle is a great city (hate the weather), but UW is a big commuter school. For an out-of-state student, this is a big issue. The campus empties out on the weekend. Because UW is such a big school, there are some people around, but when you're a freshman and are looking to meet new people, this becomes a problem. The professors don't care about undergrads and most class sizes are ridiculous. I don't feel like I've gotten a very good education. I could have gone to Long Beach State and received a similar education at a fraction of the cost. If you attended a competitive high school, UW will be a breeze for you. Most classes are curved and there are definitely a fair amount of dumb jocks here.

Now for the positives. The athletic events are great. The football team isn't very good (unlike USC), but the games are a ton of fun to go to. Where else can you pregame on boat? Yes, it's as cool as it sounds. During football season, there's a ton of school spirit and people do tend to stick around for some of the weekend. The school is completely renovating Husky Stadium so the gameday experience should be even better in the future. Basketball games are also great. Growing up in LA, I've attended my fair share of UCLA games. The atmosphere is so much better at UW. The Dawg Pack is one of the best student sections in the country.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend coming to UW if you are concerned about academics. The local perception is that UW is a great school. That isn't the case in Southern California. People are always asking me why I went up to Seattle for college. I've already been accepted to UC Davis for next fall, so I'll be leaving UW. Davis is a much better academic school and is in a cool town. The only types of people that I would recommend UW to are local commuters who are looking to save money.