That’s right. In the end it came down to AU Honors Program and Macalester. Here’s my rationale.
Academics: Probably the clinching point for me was the meeting with Macalester’s poli sci department head when he said the advantages they had over American were the small class sizes, individual attention, and excellent simulations. Well, in the honors program I get small class sizes and individual attention, and I won’t need simulations because I’ll be in Washington.
Social: I liked the people at both. They’re smart, but they don’t talk about how smart they are whenever you’re around them. Quality down-to-earth people. However, at American the M-F ratio, excluding homosexuals, is estimated to be around 30-70. Albeit Macalester girls are slightly hotter (a lot of Minnesota nordic types) but in the end I have better shots at AU. Also, I found a frat to rush at AU (Go Sigma Chi!). I met the members, who are good guys, and at AU they aren’t typical frats because they don’t have houses. They’re just groups of friends
Other stuff. Macalester would cost me 27,000 dollars a year, American will cost me 9,000. I’ve said before that my parents have the money to send me anywhere but a) I can use this as leverage and b) should I choose to go to law school they’d be more inclined to pay for it. Also, American is in Washington so I’ll get some good contacts when I graduate and the honors program is deeply respected in the city. I talked to a Bush speechwriter about how her department had 10 Harvard/Yale/Princetons and 2 AUs.
There you have it. American University. I’m so excited I can’t wait the four months until registration. Now congratulate me!
Go Screaming Eagles!
-BKB
PS Any alums on the board?
PPS “Screaming Eagle” might be a good name for the board. Whaddya think?
Congratulations from me also!!! But please, take some advice from a former teacher: don’t let yer academic work slide for the last couple of months!! We had a student who lost a scholarship because of a serious case of ‘senioritis’ - he felt he didn’t have to do anything more: when the college checked on his grades for the last part of the year and found he had skipped classes and let his grades drop, yanked that pretty red carpet *and * his acceptance. Just a fair warning from someone who has seen it happen.
[dry ornithological factoid]
“Screaming Eagle” would make a good board name, but in reality, eagles do not scream. The American Bald Eagle emits more of a creaky doorhinge-y cackle, disporpotionate to its size and stature. The long drawn-out kirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr heard in the media is usually a soundbite of a Red-shouldered Hawk, placed there since it sounds more majestic than eeek eeek eeek eeek eeek.
And in all fairness, screech-owls don’t screech. They whinny or tootle.
Just doin’ my part to combat ignorance…
[/dry ornithological factoid]
Lame duck. Eagle. Owl. Bit of a bird theme going here, eh?
Well, congratulations. There are at least two AU Alum here on the boards, myself and Montfort , tho I don’t know if he ever makes it over here.
Just a word of advice, if, for some reason, you happen not to take an Honors class for a semester and if the Honors office happens to call to ask you why, don’t tell them its because their classes suck. Even if its 9AM on a day when you don’t have class till 1PM and they wake you up. Its a Bad Idea. IME, you tend to find yourself pretty much kicked out of the Honors program soon after that.
But seriously, have fun, and you Must Take Professor (and former President) Berendzen’s Astronomy class.
White Lightning I actually decided pretty soon after visiting and figuring that out, I just had to do some stuff to make it official.
screech-owl We’ve been hearing that for a while but there’s only one case of something horrible happening and nobody outside the guidance counselors and teachers have heard of this case of a student losing a scholarship. But rest assured I’m not a total slacker.
Benanuel Go Eagles! Anything else I should know about campus life, hardest and easiest classes, etc.? Montfort will find out in a football thread sooner or later if he doesn’t stop by here first.
And remember, there’s a whole bunch of us DC area Dopers to get together with, if your busy[sub]30-70[/sub] academic[sub]30-70[/sub] life[sub]30-70[/sub] leaves you any free time.
That’s really kewl… I finally decided where I’m going to college in the fall also. Mine just happens to be less exciting because I"m staying in state for money reasons. I’m going to FSU [Florida State University]… it’s got a good criminology program and it’s only 6-7 hours away from home and my boyfriend.
Drinking is forbidden in the dorms. This means, of course, that it goes on all the time. RAs will confiscate alcohol if they find it and are supposed to pour it out. Consequently, they can be great people to party with.
Never take a 8.30 class. This is why I failed Biology.
The Honors Floor in Anderson Hall is a collection of extremely smart people, many of whom have no experience in being away from home for the first time. Most other floors have a more eclectic mix.
The gyms are free and usually pretty good. Working out is an excellent stress reliever and you can meet some cool people.
Since AU is so small, you see the same people over and over. This can be both good and bad, depending on whether you like them or not, and whether you drunkenly hooked up with them. Plan routes to class accordingly.
If you like institutional cuisine, go on meal plan. It’s not as bad as some schools, but it can get monotonous. Save some money and cook in the lounges.
If at all possible, take Dr, Berendzen’s Astronomy class. This is a class worth stepping over your mother’s body for.
There were some bad experiences (Stay away from the Student Death Center–get a real doctor; fire alarms at 03.00 during Finals Week are not appreciated, no matter what the drunk fratboys think), but in all, I got a good liberal arts education that I’m actually going to use in my career. Unlike about eighty percent of people who graduate from the School of International Service. My email’s listed in my profile if you have questions.
Professor Smith’s “Washington DC: Life in a Monument” class was pretty good. Its a field trip class that takes you all over the city on walking tours.
I know Montfort will second this one, since he’s the one that pointed me in that direction – Arnost Lustig’s Lit classes are good. They all focus somewhat on the concept of Why Everyone Should Go to Prague.
Oh, and “Rain or Snow, we don’t go” is not a good attendance philosophy.
God, I’m feeling old. I’ve been out for 5 years and can’t remember much about the academic side of my college career. urk.
–Benanuel
ps – and when you run into Montfort, ask him about Mildew on the Quad.
Congratulations, Big Kahuna Burger! Glad to hear that you’re heading to a great school like American, and things are pretty much looking like I’ll be in your area next year, too. Good luck!