Tell me about American University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went with our senior yesterday to a preview day at AU so I'm also interested in this. AU's undergrad public policy program and the international affairs school seemed topnotch.
I'm surprised AU is ranked as low as it is (although I guess most Americans might not consider top 80 low) because a high percentage of AU's classes are small and, at least for the public affairs school, they have three separate programs within the school that students can apply to be part of that give the kids a strong cohort and mentorship opportunities. From what I can tell, there seemed to be a more personal approach to education than what it seems like kids would get at GW or College Park. But I am interested to hear more about whether my perception sounds accurate to parents of AU students.

SIS at AU is top notch. Easily top 3 in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the Syracuse/Tulane of DC.

This is an accurate comment, at least in terms of one ranking. USNews has it tied for #42 for quality of undergraduate teaching, along with Tulane, Binghamton U-SUNY, Fordham, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State U-Columbus, and Syracuse.

My bet is Hopkins is on this list, because unlike the other schools, their professors hold their students accountable for actual academic rigor.

You write like you went to Hopkins.

[Anonymous]

University of miami

[Anonymous]

AU is affliated with the United Methodist Church although that connection is less prominent than say Georgetown's connection to the Roman Catholic Church.

[Anonymous]

I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Succinctly put.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Curious where else you have taught to compare the level of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AU is affliated with the United Methodist Church although that connection is less prominent than say Georgetown's connection to the Roman Catholic Church.

All that means is the bylaws require the campus chaplain to be Methodist, but the spiritual center supports ecumenical and non-Christian worship. https://www.american.edu/ocl/kay/

The professors in the religion department have no affiliation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Curious where else you have taught to compare the level of students.

Taught at an Ivy before moving to DC with spouse. AU is a fine employer and I’m not grinding axes but facts are facts- the students are average

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Curious where else you have taught to compare the level of students.

Taught at an Ivy before moving to DC with spouse. AU is a fine employer and I’m not grinding axes but facts are facts- the students are average

Thanks I can imagine they do not compare to the ivy crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Curious where else you have taught to compare the level of students.

Taught at an Ivy before moving to DC with spouse. AU is a fine employer and I’m not grinding axes but facts are facts- the students are average

But what’s wrong with that? Average students need colleges, too. Why is everyone so obsessed with rankings and Ivies? Not everyone is cut out for T25 or wants that. I have a kid who had the stats for t25 and opted out because it’s too competitive and they just love learning. They wanted somewhere that focused more on learning for the joy of learning and exploring, not getting an A.

[Anonymous]

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Thanks for the insights!
I am wondering about the comparison to GW. I can see why people would choose Georgetown over GW and American, but as an outsider, I am not convinced GW is better than American. (My senior is awaiting decisions from all 3). American does a better job of at least indicating that they want to provide mentoring and some personal attention than GW, from what I've been able to tell on tours and in brief interactions. The stats on outcomes after graduation seem about the same at AU and GW. GW seems better located for internships, but is it a better school? American has smaller classes than GW and multiple "school within a school" opportunities to build connections between kids and professors.
We'll let our kid make the choice if the acceptances come in but I'm genuinely not sure whether GW or AU would be better.

[Anonymous]

My DD liked American. Said if she didn’t live in the DMV she would have applied. However reminded her too much of the DC suburbs and she wanted something different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been teaching at AU for some time now so here is my personal pro/con list from the inside:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Cons: Not the most diverse student population, heavily liberal (if you worry about that kind of thing), the students are....average, administration is not as responsive to student needs at it should be (in my view and dealings with them on my students' behalf), hit or miss depending on major (SPA, SIS is very strong; Comm, business is not)

Good luck to your DC!

Curious where else you have taught to compare the level of students.

Taught at an Ivy before moving to DC with spouse. AU is a fine employer and I’m not grinding axes but facts are facts- the students are average

But what’s wrong with that? Average students need colleges, too. Why is everyone so obsessed with rankings and Ivies? Not everyone is cut out for T25 or wants that. I have a kid who had the stats for t25 and opted out because it’s too competitive and they just love learning. They wanted somewhere that focused more on learning for the joy of learning and exploring, not getting an A.

The question was where I taught before hand. I taught at an Ivy. The kids are smarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Pros: Strong teaching and research, compact campus (some might say too small), close to DC if you can't get into GW or Georgetown, small classes

Thanks for the insights!
I am wondering about the comparison to GW. I can see why people would choose Georgetown over GW and American, but as an outsider, I am not convinced GW is better than American. (My senior is awaiting decisions from all 3). American does a better job of at least indicating that they want to provide mentoring and some personal attention than GW, from what I've been able to tell on tours and in brief interactions. The stats on outcomes after graduation seem about the same at AU and GW. GW seems better located for internships, but is it a better school? American has smaller classes than GW and multiple "school within a school" opportunities to build connections between kids and professors.
We'll let our kid make the choice if the acceptances come in but I'm genuinely not sure whether GW or AU would be better.

GW is not better than AU, its just harder to get into, and if I had to guess it’s simply about location. It’s closer to Georgetown and in the city, whereas AU is in an upper middle class suburb (which is nice, if you want that). I guess on some level, it’s a little more “hip”