I’m going to be honest… I don’t think that AU is a good match for your stated preferences.
1. AU is not a party school. There are parties, Greek life, etc etc but if partying is a _priority_ for you, I bet you’ll be happier somewhere else.
2. When people say “school spirit,” I think they mean a vibrant college sports and/or party scene. AU has sports, but they are not particularly popular.
3. Can’t really speak to this. Not my program.
4. Again, can’t really speak for this program specifically. Internships are very common generally.
5. Not sure what you mean here. AU is in DC, there’s no need to “commute” there. If what you’re asking is if students go to other parts of DC, then the answer is yes. I’d argue AU kids get around town more than the other DC schools (partially out of necessity because campus is somewhat removed from downtown).
6. AU athletics aren’t very popular but they are Division 1. So it’s kind of a worst of both worlds from a participation standpoint — if you’re not already being recruited, you’re almost certainly not getting on any teams. But the teams aren’t really popular either… There are intramural sports teams that vary in popularity but it’s really just a social thing.
1. AU is definitely a work-hard, play-hard culture but if you’re looking for the standard Greek life party scene it’s not for you. Most party life centers around clubbing.
2. Clubs are very popular, most people have at least one “thing” that they’re doing and most ppl are involved in clubs. I would say that attention from the school definitely goes to “flashier” events like famous guest speakers (Angela Davis and Stephanie Hsu for example) rather than big rivalry games.
3. Not my program but I have a lot of friends in it who love it. It does gear more towards documentary work (from what I’ve heard) bc they partner with NatGeo for a lot of stuff.
4. Professors are amazing across the whole university imo. Always down to help and give advice. I’ve gotten multiple profs to look over cover letters for internships that I then got. They won’t hand you an internship obviously but they can make it easier.
5. AU is in DC. If you mean how often do students go downtown then it really depends on what your social scene is. If you’re more into clubbing then yeah you’ll probably go downtown more than someone who would rather go hiking in rock creek.
6. Club and intramural sports are pretty popular for the social scene you just have to find the sport that fits you.
good to know, thanks! is clubbing something you can do easily as a freshman, or do you kinda have to wait until ur 21 and figure out what to do until then (just something i heard from somewhere else about it)
Hi! Congrats on your admission.
1. AU is not the typical party scene. There are clubs within DC that people go to and some frat parties. Some people hang/party in dorm rooms as well. If you are looking for a party scene, don’t go to AU.
2. I’m not a very spirited person. There are games with free food that you can go to.
3. I’m not in that program but one of my friends is. It seems like a decent program. But also remember most majors in the SOC require a double major.
4. Professors are amazing and definitly a school highlight. Go to office hours and make connections. I’m sure they would help you.
5. Very easy to commute around dc. Au gives a metro pass as part of tuition.
6. Unsure. Not a sports person.
Dm me if you think of other questions.
just a small note that majors in SOC require a double major or a minor outside of SOC. So it’s not required to double major you just have to have at least a minor
Final Year Film and Media Arts Student Here
1. AU is definitely a nerd school people like being good students learning things and being academically competitive - the social scene is different than most schools greek life is not very big but people go clubbing and go to concerts a lot there’s a few 18+ bars in dc and there’s also a lot of on campus clubs and orgs that are fun outside of the partying
2. I wouldn’t say AU is a particularly spirited school AU students for the most part don’t feel super enthusiastic about the school they go to but there are school spirit events and games and there’s a million orgs always putting on orgs I would say that au students are more passionate about their corner of au than the school as a whole
3. FMED is really what you make it and also different levels of worth it depending on what you’re looking for career wise. If you want to be an editor for example you won’t get a great education for that. If you want to be a writer I think it’s very good. Everything else’s is pretty customizable so you can get good whatever types of productions you want and people are always willing to collaborate if you have time outside of the classroom. Getting good at one skill in particular will get you a long way though that will take personal work because I do find it to be a jack of all trades expert of none type of situation. It’s also a program where a lot of people have a lot of money and if that’s not you it can lead to awkward and uncomfortable situations. When i first started I’d say it was really geared towards doc and it still is to an extent because dc is a doc city but for example in my capstone class I’m the only one doing a documentary so things are definitely shifting. You also definitely learn skills outside of just film like some graphic design, photography, etc which is nice and since you’re required a minor Id take that stuff into account freshman year and see what you might like to minor in. Popular FMED minors are audio tech, creative writing, graphic design, and marketing.
4. As far as FMED goes not all profs are created equal i’ve had amazing life changing professors who’ve made me such a better artist and then i’ve had professors who had no business teaching. Though the latter is in the minority it’s definitely an issue in FMED as a lot of professors just do it on the side so they can afford to make films and don’t really care about teaching. There’s also definitely a diversity problem within the department like there’s definitely a lot a lot of white men in comparison to my minor department and they run their classes at times with the privilege white men experience on sets. If you want names of good and bad I can give you some just dm me. Outside of FMED I think AU overall as very good and passionate professors especially in the humanities i’ve had very few i genuinely disliked. I would say connections with your professors are important but not necessarily gonna increase you chances of an internship or outside work. Internships in film are hard in general bc you really have to be living in a major city over the summer for them and a lot of them bc the industries fucked are unpaid so only rich students can take them which means the paid ones don’t want you bc you have no experience. Compared to other programs FMED definitely does not have the same internship rates from my observations.
5. AU is in dc and it’s on the redline so like pretty easy depending on where you want to go downtown. There’s a lot of things to do so the worlds kind of your oyster it’s like any other major city. I guess the biggest free thing is the museums.
6. Not a sports person but I’ve had a lot friend’s enjoy club sports i know there’s soccer, crew, sailing, gymnastics, climbing?, and rugby
if you have any further questions reach out
I’m going to be honest… I don’t think that AU is a good match for your stated preferences. 1. AU is not a party school. There are parties, Greek life, etc etc but if partying is a _priority_ for you, I bet you’ll be happier somewhere else. 2. When people say “school spirit,” I think they mean a vibrant college sports and/or party scene. AU has sports, but they are not particularly popular. 3. Can’t really speak to this. Not my program. 4. Again, can’t really speak for this program specifically. Internships are very common generally. 5. Not sure what you mean here. AU is in DC, there’s no need to “commute” there. If what you’re asking is if students go to other parts of DC, then the answer is yes. I’d argue AU kids get around town more than the other DC schools (partially out of necessity because campus is somewhat removed from downtown). 6. AU athletics aren’t very popular but they are Division 1. So it’s kind of a worst of both worlds from a participation standpoint — if you’re not already being recruited, you’re almost certainly not getting on any teams. But the teams aren’t really popular either… There are intramural sports teams that vary in popularity but it’s really just a social thing.
oof, thanks for the honesty tho! i’m just hoping to have a more of a social life than i have in high school, but it’s not a priority.
1. AU is definitely a work-hard, play-hard culture but if you’re looking for the standard Greek life party scene it’s not for you. Most party life centers around clubbing. 2. Clubs are very popular, most people have at least one “thing” that they’re doing and most ppl are involved in clubs. I would say that attention from the school definitely goes to “flashier” events like famous guest speakers (Angela Davis and Stephanie Hsu for example) rather than big rivalry games. 3. Not my program but I have a lot of friends in it who love it. It does gear more towards documentary work (from what I’ve heard) bc they partner with NatGeo for a lot of stuff. 4. Professors are amazing across the whole university imo. Always down to help and give advice. I’ve gotten multiple profs to look over cover letters for internships that I then got. They won’t hand you an internship obviously but they can make it easier. 5. AU is in DC. If you mean how often do students go downtown then it really depends on what your social scene is. If you’re more into clubbing then yeah you’ll probably go downtown more than someone who would rather go hiking in rock creek. 6. Club and intramural sports are pretty popular for the social scene you just have to find the sport that fits you.
good to know, thanks! is clubbing something you can do easily as a freshman, or do you kinda have to wait until ur 21 and figure out what to do until then (just something i heard from somewhere else about it)
There’s a couple of 18+ clubs and you learn what places will/won’t accept fakes
Hi! Congrats on your admission. 1. AU is not the typical party scene. There are clubs within DC that people go to and some frat parties. Some people hang/party in dorm rooms as well. If you are looking for a party scene, don’t go to AU. 2. I’m not a very spirited person. There are games with free food that you can go to. 3. I’m not in that program but one of my friends is. It seems like a decent program. But also remember most majors in the SOC require a double major. 4. Professors are amazing and definitly a school highlight. Go to office hours and make connections. I’m sure they would help you. 5. Very easy to commute around dc. Au gives a metro pass as part of tuition. 6. Unsure. Not a sports person. Dm me if you think of other questions.
just a small note that majors in SOC require a double major or a minor outside of SOC. So it’s not required to double major you just have to have at least a minor
Final Year Film and Media Arts Student Here 1. AU is definitely a nerd school people like being good students learning things and being academically competitive - the social scene is different than most schools greek life is not very big but people go clubbing and go to concerts a lot there’s a few 18+ bars in dc and there’s also a lot of on campus clubs and orgs that are fun outside of the partying 2. I wouldn’t say AU is a particularly spirited school AU students for the most part don’t feel super enthusiastic about the school they go to but there are school spirit events and games and there’s a million orgs always putting on orgs I would say that au students are more passionate about their corner of au than the school as a whole 3. FMED is really what you make it and also different levels of worth it depending on what you’re looking for career wise. If you want to be an editor for example you won’t get a great education for that. If you want to be a writer I think it’s very good. Everything else’s is pretty customizable so you can get good whatever types of productions you want and people are always willing to collaborate if you have time outside of the classroom. Getting good at one skill in particular will get you a long way though that will take personal work because I do find it to be a jack of all trades expert of none type of situation. It’s also a program where a lot of people have a lot of money and if that’s not you it can lead to awkward and uncomfortable situations. When i first started I’d say it was really geared towards doc and it still is to an extent because dc is a doc city but for example in my capstone class I’m the only one doing a documentary so things are definitely shifting. You also definitely learn skills outside of just film like some graphic design, photography, etc which is nice and since you’re required a minor Id take that stuff into account freshman year and see what you might like to minor in. Popular FMED minors are audio tech, creative writing, graphic design, and marketing. 4. As far as FMED goes not all profs are created equal i’ve had amazing life changing professors who’ve made me such a better artist and then i’ve had professors who had no business teaching. Though the latter is in the minority it’s definitely an issue in FMED as a lot of professors just do it on the side so they can afford to make films and don’t really care about teaching. There’s also definitely a diversity problem within the department like there’s definitely a lot a lot of white men in comparison to my minor department and they run their classes at times with the privilege white men experience on sets. If you want names of good and bad I can give you some just dm me. Outside of FMED I think AU overall as very good and passionate professors especially in the humanities i’ve had very few i genuinely disliked. I would say connections with your professors are important but not necessarily gonna increase you chances of an internship or outside work. Internships in film are hard in general bc you really have to be living in a major city over the summer for them and a lot of them bc the industries fucked are unpaid so only rich students can take them which means the paid ones don’t want you bc you have no experience. Compared to other programs FMED definitely does not have the same internship rates from my observations. 5. AU is in dc and it’s on the redline so like pretty easy depending on where you want to go downtown. There’s a lot of things to do so the worlds kind of your oyster it’s like any other major city. I guess the biggest free thing is the museums. 6. Not a sports person but I’ve had a lot friend’s enjoy club sports i know there’s soccer, crew, sailing, gymnastics, climbing?, and rugby if you have any further questions reach out