Off-Campus Dining

For night fun, simply go meet your Greek friends and party with them, or go to one of the many clubs in downtown Seattle. Since I’m not 21, I haven’t been to any really good bars or clubs. The Lakeside on Lakeside Road is a pretty good bar/club; they have good drinks and it’s a pretty big building, overall. My freshman year, I partied at the frats every opportunity that I got. ATO’s is a good frat. It has hot boys, good drinks, and good music. Delta Tau Delta also has a foam party every year that is absolutely insane with three hot-tubs, hundreds, if not thousands, of people partying like crazy, and plenty of booze to go around. That party is a must-go for anyone.

Off-Campus Housing

The Avenue has everything an off-campus diner could want. There’s a plethora of Chinese, Indonesian, and Thai places, but it’s also very possible to find a good Indian or Mediterranean restaurant. There are three bubble tea places within walking distance of campus. There are also lots of coffee shops to study and feel sophisticated in. The College Inn is the place to be if you’re over 21. If you want a little more upscale dining experience, head to U-Village and the Ram. Also, downtown Seattle has several really good restaurants on the Waterfront, but they’re a little more expensive.

Overall Experience

Definitely worth it. The University District is surrounded by college students and has everything you need. We have our own neighborhood, but we're also really close to the rest of the city. Housing can be competitive if you're looking for something very specific, but in general, housing is readily available. Apartments, duplexes, frats, houses are all options.

Parking

Overall, I am satisfied with the job the University of Washington has done with my education. I think that it is a good school with its student’s best interests in mind. I feel that it is highly bureaucratic, which isn’t good for students who are easily lost in the shuffle. But for me,it was a great experience.

Safety & Security

Don’t fool yourself—the UW parking attendants, as well as the Seattle parking enforcement companies, are out for blood. Do not attempt illegal parking unless you’re sure you can get away with it. It is absolutely impossible to practically park on or anywhere near campus unless you don’t mind shelling out major bucks for a parking pass. Even then, passes sometimes only permit parking in certain lots. It’s not a good idea to rely on a car unless you are going off campus.

Transportation

Security on campus is good, yet considering there is no way to separate students from the rest of the world, there is a lot of crime. It's more important to not put youself in a postion to be one of these victims. I would not recommend walking about campus alone or after dark. There are blue safety call boxes around campus with help buttons, and the UW police promises to be there within two minutes if it is pushed. Keep your doors locked to avoid theft.

Weather

The bus is by far the best way to get around. We have a sticker on our ID cards called the U-Pass, and it is such a good deal if you plan on traveling from points around the city a lot. You pay an initial price at the beginning of the quarter, something like $50, and you get to go wherever the Metro takes you all quarter. I use it to go to work downtown, and you could even get down to Tacoma and other various places with it if you needed to.

Academics

We call the campus the "grounds", and we are 1st years, 2nd years, 3rd years and 4th years, not freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Also, UVa students are obsessed with all things Thomas Jefferson and we love our acronyms.

Athletics

The teachers were all pretty good. They’re all very willing to help the students grasp the concepts being taught, and they want to see the students succeed. UW has interesting classes, but that’s just dependent on what each individual likes. Once you’re clear of general education requirements, you can take classes that are interesting to you. I was really expecting so much more out of the UW, but I was disappointed in the teaching structure of the classes. It’s not necessarily that the classes are too large, but the professors with the most experience in the subject matter are the least involved in the education process in most classes. Also, classes vary from quarter to quarter and professor to professor. Some of the classes are interesting, but several of the professors are so difficult to understand that you spend more time trying to know what they are saying than what they are actually trying to teach you.

Campus Dining

All sports are fairly big on this campus. Football is really number one, and the basketball team does really well. For socializing and tons of fun, I suggest the UW football games. I know there are many kids on my floor who play on IMA teams, so they are pretty big on campus, too. Football is, by far, the biggest sport on campus. IMA sports are also quite popular. I played on a coed softball team, and it was a blast. I was no good at the sport, but neither was anyone else; we were just out there to have fun and enjoy the sun!

Campus Housing

As far as meals go, there are plenty of options on campus. What I have found, though, is that eating on campus is not at all economically sound. By grocery shopping and eating on the University Avenue (the Ave.), I have saved an average of $300 a month over eating on a meal plan.

Campus Strictness

McCarty is probably the nicest dorm. It’s the most recently remodeled, and it has Ian’s Domain, an Internet café and grocery store, on the ground floor. The rooms overlook U- Village, and at night, the lights can be very pretty. Terry-Lander, particularly on the top stories, is known for its views, because you can see Lake Union and sometimes the Space Needle. Most triple rooms all over campus are pretty cramped because they have to shove three desks, dressers, beds, and sets of drawers into a space built for only two people. One of McCarty’s only drawbacks is that it’s very close to Greek Row, and sometimes, you can hear drunken singing or breaking glass at 3 a.m. McCarty also seems to get more than its share of midnight fire alarms, which are a huge pain when you’re trying to sleep.

Computers

I know that after the beginning of the year, Greek Row was being watched more by the police. I guess they do comb the streets looking for people who look drunk or are stupid and have alcohol on them. The campus police are really cool about drinking. They really aren’t too worried about people drinking, because they know that college kids are going to do it—unless you are driving. If you decide to drive drunk, they will pull you over, and you will get in trouble. I’ve seen that happen many times. The campus police are really nice people, in general. This one time, a ton of people from my hall last year went swimming in our fountain (Drumheller), and the cops were staking it out, so three cop cars pulled out when we were getting out of the water, and they started talking to us immediately and joking around with us. They were really funny, and we ended up staying and talking to them for a good half-hour.

Diversity

The campus computing is excellent, and I have had no experiences where the computers have shown technical errors. The reason for having your own computer is due to the fact that everything is on computers. From e-mail to registration, the UW is almost entirely based around its Internet network. It can be a pain to utilize the campus computers for all your network needs.

Drug Scene

The majority of the students are Caucasian. The African American population is regrettably smallish. However, there are vast numbers of Asian international students. Also, a lot of people from Hawaii (Samoans, Hawaiians, and Japanese) attend UW.

Facilities

I am no prude, so pardon my candidness in regard to this subject. UW is a school that revolves around alcohol. Yes, there is hard drug use, especially among the wealthier students. Marijuana is not as prevalent as alcohol, at least, not in the party scene.

Greek Life

I have honestly spent more time at the IMA than I have spent in any gym in my entire life. It makes a huge difference to have a clean and well-kept facility to work out in. The indoor climbing wall is amazing, and the indoor track is great for when treadmills are boring and it’s raining outside. People are always there, too, so it’s a good social venue, although they rarely talk to each other.

Guys & Girls

I am actually in a sorority. I enjoy it, but I also have a lot of friends outside of the Greek system. Being Greek gives a lot of advantages, whether social, academic, or professional. It’s definitely helped me to meet hundreds of great people. It is looked down on by many because of stereotypes, so I have to brave nonsense sometimes, but it’s fun. The only down-side to it is that if you join a sorority, the houses are so big that they want you to live in the house for all four years. Now I’m moving out next year (which will be my junior year), so it’s not really a problem to move out, but a lot of people live there for four years, which seems really odd to me—at least, compared to what I’m used to.

Local Atmosphere

The guys and girls are very mixed. The sorority girls, in general, dress and act seductively, and you can always pick them out on campus in their short skirts and flip flops. Then, there are misplaced sorority girls that somehow ended up in the dorms but have the same qualities as a sorority girl. However, some girls in the Greek system can be very cool and not elitist and self centered. Dorm girls and off-campus girls tend to be more laid-back. The Greek system is for those whose best years in life will always be high school.

Nightlife

Seattle is one of the best locations to have a college or university. The city life really makes you interact with people and other cultures, as well. There is so much you can do around the campus and the city that a student should never be bored. The transit system can take you to different towns, as well, if you are bored. However, since UW is in a big city, students need to be careful of certain aspects of the area. For example, staying out too late is dangerous, as is not being protective of yourself or your belongings.