OFFICIAL UW-Questions&Answers thread for incoming students(class 2013)

iwantivyleagues · 04-05-2009, 11:08 PM

Hey, I have a bunch of questions about the University of Washington. For your information, I will be going to the school this fall for the freshman class of 2013. Since I have got no senior, many of my queries went unanswered. And so, I posted them here, thank you in advance for helping me.

1) How is the weather there? I am from Indonesia, a tropical country, and so is quite worried about the so-called gray weather.
2) How much are the winter clothes there?
a) Are they sold on campus?
b) If not, then where can I buy the winter clothes?
3) There have been rumors that the dorms at UW are like dungeons. Just wonder if this is the case, then why don’t you rent an apartment and stay off campus?
a) What is the fee for stay on campus and off campus?
4) I am a person who would go jogging in the morning. I wonder whether I could do it at UW because of the gray weather?
5) The food? Is it expensive?
6) I wonder how intellectual the students at UW are. No offence from this question. It is just that UW admitted every student from my school ( I am international), including those with zero extra curricular activities and low test scores (1550 in SAT).
7) Are the lecturers there qualified? Any Nobel Laureate?
8) How is the student life there?

Thank you very much for your answers. I really appreciate the time you devoted for my question.

tmt64 · 04-06-2009, 12:38 AM

1. only around 50 clear days per year, lots of light rain
2. Depends on the brand. I would say $100 for a good winter coat
a) probably not, but i've read that there is a good shopping center close to the campus
3. I've never visited there but I've that the dorms are pretty bad. But I guess it really depends on the building. A lot of people do move to apartments after their first year. I think it's better to stay in a dorm for the first year since it's easier to meet people. For more info, look at the many housing threads in this forum.
a) Dorm rates: UW Housing and Food Services > Student Housing > Residence Halls
off campus: depends on the apartment. It's generally cheaper, but it can be a hassle and you'll also have a lot more to worry about.
4. I was just reading the wikipedia page for seattle, and this magazine rated seattle as the fittest city in the nation.
5. There are different meal plans if you stay in dorms. More info here: University of Washington, Housing and Food Services
6. UW admissions are messed up to the max. I can't answer that for ya.
7. Don't know.
8. Don't know either. I'm guessing it's not too different from other public ivies.

Pikachiu · 04-06-2009, 01:51 AM

1. washington is pretty grey in the winter, lots of rain, if no rain, then it's mostly cloudy. it's better in the summer.
2. there's lots of places to shop in seattle. cost will depend on the brand, popular ones like Northface or Columbia can get expensive but they're high quality.
3.Don't know.
4. I know there's a trail right by UW, when I visited the school, I saw quite a few joggers and bikers. As for the weather... once you live here for a while, most people get used to it.
5. You have to buy a meal plan if you stay in dorms but there's lots of places to eat outside. What I heard from lots of people is that you don't want to buy a large meal plan unless you're going to eat on campus all the time because the left over money doesn't transfer. Since you're coming from Indonesia, I'm guessing cost of food in the US might be more expensive than there. (I used to live in Taiwan and typical restaurants here in the US are definitely more expensive than back home).
6. All depends on what you're studying. I heard that the science courses can get tough but I don't know about the others. Based on people I've seen that went off to UW from my school, there's plenty of smart people there. (That's not promising that you won't find ones that make you think "omg, how did you get int?"). Lots of people go to UW to save money too.
7. According to wikipedia, there are 6 nobel laureates there.
8. Don't know. I'm going there this fall too.

iwantivyleagues · 04-16-2009, 10:03 AM

hey thank you for your reply.
i have several few questions about the Greek system.
1) when will we start the recruiting of Greek?
2) when will we start living into Greek, if let's say we are selected?
3) if i stay in the dorm of Greek, how much will i be charged?
4) will the dorm rate be cheaper?
5) is the condition there good?

Thank you in advance. I am sorry for asking these silly questions.

caitcam · 07-14-2009, 05:20 PM

are you asking about fraternity rush or sorority rush?

for sororities go to: UW Panhellenic and click on FAQ's

for fraternities: IFC

as for 3-5, it varies from house to house. i'm not sure what your gender is, but frat houses are often pretty gross. sorority houses are much nicer, but you may have to sleep on a sleeping porch as opposed to in your own room. greek life is generally more expensive than dorm life as far as i've heard.

for your original questions:

1) the summers are gorgeous. it's never really all that hot and never humid. the winters get grey, but there usually isn't a ton of snow. to be honest, the annual rainfall here is actually less than boston. it's mostly drizzly rain.

2) depends on quality and thickness. you can get cheap-ish coats at like TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Nordstrom Rack, Target, Value Village, or any other discount stores. If you're really on a budget, you can always go to like Wal-Mart or something. There's also a secondhand store on The Ave called Buffalo Exchange with surprisingly good clothes. If you have money to spend, check out University Village Shopping Center. There are some great stores there.

3) Haha. The dorms were designed by a guy with a background in designing prison cells (or at least that's what i've heard). Go to UW Housing and Food Services and you can click on each hall where you will find a gallery and a virtual tour.

4) you can jog whenever you want. just be safe. the grey weather won't melt you, though. there are also a few groups that go running together, which is a good option if you want to be safe. if you can't stand it outside, a few residence halls have workout rooms. also, as a student you have access to UW's huge fitness center.

5) depends where you eat. there are many ethnic food places on The Ave which I'm sure have decent pricing. i lived in Thailand for a while, and the food here is waaaaayy more expensive.

6) there really is a broad range. for example, i am in the honors program along with a couple hundred other students, and i got a 33 on the ACT and a 1480/2260 on my SAT. I also graduated high school with a 4.08. I know there are tons of people that are way brighter than me, though. that being said, there are definitely some idiots on campus. it is a public school, after all. it happens.

7) i think this was answered already

8) kind of a vague question. i'll just direct you to: Campus Life at University of Washington