American University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG)
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Bisexual Female
Summary
I work on campus, and I’m in Greek life.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
High School Experience: Public charter high school in Los Angeles, CA with a graduating class of about 90 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG)
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I work on campus, and I’m in Greek life.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
I work for the school which is nice because they know I have classes and they’re respectful of my exams. Greek life is awesome and is where the majority of my friends come from. Greek life at AU isn’t huge, but we have events and meetings. It’s a fun time.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
My major is very essay based. I still have exams and projects, but for the most part, it’s a lot of essays.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
This major is only offered at AU, which is unique. The way I describe my major is it’s applied political science. When you’re going out into the field and need to know about government, you have that, but you also have communications and other things. You’re able to take on the workforce with an interdisciplinary mindset, which is unique to this major. They believe that to be successful in this field you need all four applications. They do this really well.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s competitive with internships. Being in D.C., everyone feels that they need an internship. Academically, people are pretty supportive of each other. We have tutoring centers, and a lot of sororities have homework hours people go to.
How accessible are your professors?
They are pretty accessible when you reach out. They won’t reach out to you, but they will respond to emails after hours and on the weekends. They’re always willing to meet.
What has been your favorite part of American academically?
Being in Washington D.C. is really awesome. I had a government politics class where once a week we’d have to go with the class to an assigned place such as the FBI headquarters, or Lockheed Martin, and we’d see what we’re learning.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
When I was looking at college, I was deciding between being a political science major or a communications major. When I got into AU and knew they had a major that combined those things, it was nice. I have rethought it a few times because it’s very hard and there are lots of required classes. Ultimately, I like it.
Reasons to Attend
1) The location. Washington, D.C. is such a cool place.
2) The professors are super knowledgeable. Every semester I’ve had a professor who has done the work or attended an Ivy league or worked on a cool court case.
3) The people are really supportive.
4) They always want you to help you academically.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s so expensive. The tuition is insane, and the things nearby are expensive too. [Undergraduate full-time tuition is about $27,000 per semester.]
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: In a freshman dorm with one roommate
Sophomore: East campus with one roommate
How was transitioning from your hometown to Washington, D.C. in terms of location?
The hardest part was the cold weather in the second semester. Public transportation was also very different. I had to learn that.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel very safe at AU. It’s a small campus and the campus police are always around.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at American?
There are always things to do, whether it’s hanging out with friends on campus, going to a Greek life event, or concerts and bars. Night monumenting is a big thing for colleges in D.C. I usually go out on Fridays and Saturdays. Sometimes our sorority will rent out a bar and we’ll bring dates.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife at American?
You get out what you put in. If you want to go to all of the sisterhood and philanthropy events you can. If you’re not in Greek life it’s still pretty easy to go to events and have fun. There are so many activities and Greek life isn’t the biggest thing at AU. We have lots of other activities.
How happy are you with the weekend options at American? Is there anything you would change if you could?
No, D.C. is such a fun place. There’s always something going on.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through Greek life.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
That’s one of the things people struggle with a lot. Academically, AU is great and once you meet your friends all is well, but it’s a matter of meeting them. They wait a few weeks to have the club fair in the first semester and it’s not right away, and then we rush the second semester so it can be hard to meet people.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’d say mixing is pretty high. People mix with their friend groups a lot. [The undergraduate population is about 7% Black, 53% White, 7% Asian, and 12% Hispanic.]
How would you describe the student body?
Very politically active. Being in D.C., if someone wants something they will push for it. There have been protests on campus, and we have a meme page.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think they mix pretty well.
How do you like the size of American in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [American has about 8,300 undergraduate students.]
I like that it’s small. It feels more like a community, but at the same time, you run into everyone.
How has being in an urban environment impacted your experience?
The U-Pass makes it easy to go anywhere. We have an actual campus and it’s not very spread out. Being in the city is nice because we can have a class at a museum one day.
How would you describe the LGBTQ+ community on campus? How strong is it?
I’m not really involved in the clubs or organizations for it, but I’d say there is a strong community, and people are very supported.
Careers
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’re pretty helpful. They’ll help with resume building, and help us decide what type of internships we should be looking for.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’m taking a political science class right now heavily built on coding.