Tell me about American University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not comparable to Georgetown which is fiercely competitive and recruits from all over. AU is moderately competitive and recruits mainly from the DMV and NE

This doesn’t seem scientific. Why would it be better to recruit from “all over.” DC has population density and a lot of good students. That’s why colleges have DC-based recruiters…AU is already in DC, which is where other colleges place recruiters to get students…

Where they come from is irrelevant as you say, but how smart they are and what they can contribute is going to be wildly different.

The professor up thread who taught at an Ivy and then at AU said the kids are smarter at the Ivy. Of course they are. AU by comparison is "average" and the poster questioning how they're average - they're an "average thinker" like you PP. Grasp that and you're onto a winning streak.

Because everyone at an Ivy is an "above-average thinker"? I definitely know someone who doesn't quite fit that description.

[Anonymous]

I went to AU. I loved it! The professors, the location, my friends and I got a great internship through the school that helped a lot with my career.

[Anonymous]

I was quite biased against schools with religious affiliations until I saw undergrads from American, Pepperdine, Baylor, SMU, Duke, Trinity and Rhodes holding their ground against T20 grads in medical school. I’ll have no hesitance if my kids decides to go to one of these schools on a merit scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Baylor has a very high medical school admission rate, ias well as close collaboration with Baylor School of medicine and other Texas schools for BS/MD programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I went to GW and I'd say that this is accurate. GW has more delusions of grandeur in its advertising and a more happening location, but all that said, I'd say the schools are equally yoked.

I agree with this, too. GW has a slightly higher ranking, but I think it's because they pay more attention to/are somewhat better at generating the right numbers. They are equivalent schools (and both top-notch for international affairs and political science.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was quite biased against schools with religious affiliations until I saw undergrads from American, Pepperdine, Baylor, SMU, Duke, Trinity and Rhodes holding their ground against T20 grads in medical school. I’ll have no hesitance if my kids decides to go to one of these schools on a merit scholarship.

AU’s religious affiliation is meaningless in practice. The school charter requires the campus minister to be Methodist, that’s all. Campus faith events are nondenominational. And nothing to do with the Religion department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was quite biased against schools with religious affiliations until I saw undergrads from American, Pepperdine, Baylor, SMU, Duke, Trinity and Rhodes holding their ground against T20 grads in medical school. I’ll have no hesitance if my kids decides to go to one of these schools on a merit scholarship.

AU’s religious affiliation is meaningless in practice. The school charter requires the campus minister to be Methodist, that’s all. Campus faith events are nondenominational. And nothing to do with the Religion department.

+1 And it's an expensive college, not known to be generous with merit.

[Anonymous]

Don’t be neurodiverse!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not comparable to Georgetown which is fiercely competitive and recruits from all over. AU is moderately competitive and recruits mainly from the DMV and NE

This doesn’t seem scientific. Why would it be better to recruit from “all over.” DC has population density and a lot of good students. That’s why colleges have DC-based recruiters…AU is already in DC, which is where other colleges place recruiters to get students…

Where they come from is irrelevant as you say, but how smart they are and what they can contribute is going to be wildly different.

The professor up thread who taught at an Ivy and then at AU said the kids are smarter at the Ivy. Of course they are. AU by comparison is "average" and the poster questioning how they're average - they're an "average thinker" like you PP. Grasp that and you're onto a winning streak.

Because everyone at an Ivy is an "above-average thinker"? I definitely know someone who doesn't quite fit that description.

Sure, we've all met the bimbos from Columbia and the air-heads from Oxford. But are they talking with you about their specialist subject? Probably not. You can get these rare genius types who have zero common sense for instance. It's likely you've encountered that, rather than seeing any example of their intellectual abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was quite biased against schools with religious affiliations until I saw undergrads from American, Pepperdine, Baylor, SMU, Duke, Trinity and Rhodes holding their ground against T20 grads in medical school. I’ll have no hesitance if my kids decides to go to one of these schools on a merit scholarship.

AU’s religious affiliation is meaningless in practice. The school charter requires the campus minister to be Methodist, that’s all. Campus faith events are nondenominational. And nothing to do with the Religion department.

+1 I went to AU. The methodist church is across the street, but in 4 years, no one ever mentioned it and neither I nor my friends ever stepped foot in there. Religion was/is not a thing at AU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was quite biased against schools with religious affiliations until I saw undergrads from American, Pepperdine, Baylor, SMU, Duke, Trinity and Rhodes holding their ground against T20 grads in medical school. I’ll have no hesitance if my kids decides to go to one of these schools on a merit scholarship.

AU’s religious affiliation is meaningless in practice. The school charter requires the campus minister to be Methodist, that’s all. Campus faith events are nondenominational. And nothing to do with the Religion department.

+1 And it's an expensive college, not known to be generous with merit.

I went to AU on almost a full ride. They were pretty generous with me.

[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.

i went to AU and the religious influence was zero.

[Anonymous]

I've always pictured AU as a super liberal left wing SJW woke school. Georgetown has a bit of that element, too, though it probably isn't a realistic option for the typical AU hopeful. GW is the most politically balanced of the DC schools.

[Anonymous]

I went to AU a long time ago so maybe my advice is no longer relevant but I absolutely loved it there. I did the honors college and had a full ride in merit aid. Met a lot of very smart and interesting and motivated people, loved being in DC and was able to intern and pursue all kinds of unique opportunities, and feel like I got a great education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not comparable to Georgetown which is fiercely competitive and recruits from all over. AU is moderately competitive and recruits mainly from the DMV and NE

This doesn’t seem scientific. Why would it be better to recruit from “all over.” DC has population density and a lot of good students. That’s why colleges have DC-based recruiters…AU is already in DC, which is where other colleges place recruiters to get students…

Where they come from is irrelevant as you say, but how smart they are and what they can contribute is going to be wildly different.

The professor up thread who taught at an Ivy and then at AU said the kids are smarter at the Ivy. Of course they are. AU by comparison is "average" and the poster questioning how they're average - they're an "average thinker" like you PP. Grasp that and you're onto a winning streak.

Because everyone at an Ivy is an "above-average thinker"? I definitely know someone who doesn't quite fit that description.

Yes anyone who graduated from an Ivy and goes on to do average things is a failure.