University of Washington

Similar to the academic experience at the UW, the University is so huge that it’s virtually impossible to predict what a student will think of the school. As the quotations attest, some people fall in love from day one and have to tear themselves away on graduation day, while others drag themselves through school as a chore and can’t wait to get out into the post-college world, but it seems, like most things at this school, that it truly is what you make of it. Perhaps for a less socially-motivated person, UW isn’t the ideal school. In a bigger environment, maybe it helps to be a little more outgoing—introduce yourself to people in class, meet some people at parties; you sort of have to put yourself out there in order to get anything back.

In all, if a student is determined to make his or her time at UW a positive social experience, it’s definitely within the realm of possibilities to do so. There are so many groups to join, parties to go to, and people to meet that there’s basically an endless list of social opportunities. There are always more people to meet, so if you don’t want to get pigeonholed in a certain crowd, you can move on to a new one. At the same time, however, the size of the school can be daunting for more socially-intimidated students. Just as easy as it is to get out there and meet people, it’s not too difficult to get holed up in a dorm room and end up being fairly antisocial. Overall, the key to having a good experience at UW is getting involved and experiencing as many things as possible. After it all adds up, you can allow UW to be a negative experience or you can craft it into your personal haven.