<p>would 42) Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio, nationwide, qualify?</p>
<p>Yeah we’ve got a pretty expansive list at this point.</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle </li>
</ol>
<p>I was blown away by some of the awesome acts they bring into the Gargoyle…and free, too! I knew that WashU had WILD twice a year, but I had no idea that there was another concert venue on campus.</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle </li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
</ol>
<p>has anyone counted how many flat screen TVs are in the DUC? that could be a good Number 44 
I mean, seriously, there has to be at least 30</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness</li>
</ol>
<p>actually, the Galleria is in Richmond Heights. But the largest financial capital in the MidWest is no doubt Clayton.</p>
<p>If this was facebook and I was able to “like” this comment, I would.</p>
<p>I’d say you haven’t looked around hard enough if you say you haven’t seen snobbiness. Also, is thurtene carnival really the largest in st. louis? When i went there last year it wasn’t that large.</p>
<p>I agree with two up until Writing I. Writing I with TAs is either heaven or hell. You could get a TA so involved in writing his thesis that he hands out As like candy. You could get a TA that grades extremely hard because he thinks he’s already at professor level. I know kids who have experienced both sides of the spectrum. </p>
<p>Too bad most of the flat screen tvs in the DUC have boring slides instead of being used for a practical purpose. </p>
<p>Unless you are extremely outgoing and aren’t lazy, chances are you will only go to the loop a couple times each semester. Or if you actually live there…The loop is too far from the south 40 to be convenient for lazy college kids.</p>
<p>I’d say 9, 15, 19, 20, and 33 are the most genuine reasons to attend WashU.</p>
<p>Well, all reasonable opinions welcome of course. That is one take on it. I would say that as a carnival Thurtene probably is the largest. Obviously there are larger events, especially the 4th of July Riverfront festival.</p>
<p>At all schools people begin to fall into patterns after a while, and human behavior is such that those patterns tend to develop so as to do what is most accessable. Not all people do this, but most. In New Orleans, for example, the French Quarter runs lose their appeal pretty quickly. This was true even when the drinking age was 18. And Stanford kids go into San Fran less and less after a while, and even the kids at Columbia find spots close to campus they like and get into other parts of New York less frequently and more just for special events. Often the size of one’s bank account can play a role in these decisions too. The Loop is a great resource to have, even if it is only tapped a few times a year. Way better than not having it at all. And believe me, that area had gotten really run down until it got rejuvinated a decade or two ago. It looks fabulous by comparison now.</p>
<p>FHN Dent-</p>
<p>I believe Thurtene is the largest student-run carnival in the country.
Not largest carnival in St. Louis.</p>
<p>I hear premeds get into really good schools from WashU- is that true (can anyone confirm?) If that’s the case, that’ll be a good reason too.</p>
<p>For music lovers, there is also WUStock, which is put on by the CS40 (a student group) each spring. This year they are bringing Augustana to campus! (Wustock is free fot students, and is outside) </p>
<p>Also, Ursa’s (the cafe near the undergraduate housing) has a hot chocolate bar with something like 10 different kind of hot chocolate 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and has crepes on friday nights!</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness </li>
<li>WUstock by the CS40 for free</li>
<li>Ursa’s hot chocolate bar with 10 different kinds of hot chocolate, 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and crepes on friday nights</li>
</ol>
<p>And from my both son’s experiences - the nicest and best kids at any school anywhere.</p>
<p>i’m really surprised this hasn’t been said yet…</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness</li>
<li>WUstock by the CS40 for free</li>
<li>Ursa’s hot chocolate bar with 10 different kinds of hot chocolate, 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and crepes on friday nights </li>
<li>Become a part of the best Baseball city in America (Just 5 train stops away from Busch Stadium)</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness</li>
<li>WUstock by the CS40 for free</li>
<li>Ursa’s hot chocolate bar with 10 different kinds of hot chocolate, 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and crepes on friday nights </li>
<li>Become a part of the best Baseball city in America (Just 5 train stops away from Busch Stadium) </li>
<li>Adjoined to the library is Whisper’s Cafe - where you can go for your late-night studying or cafe food run!</li>
</ol>
<p>Adding more reasons!</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and bussing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities (but renowned in their research fields as well!)</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. ‘Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness</li>
<li>WUstock by the CS40 for free</li>
<li>Ursa’s hot chocolate bar with 10 different kinds of hot chocolate, 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and crepes on friday nights </li>
<li>Become a part of the best Baseball city in America (Just 5 train stops away from Busch Stadium) </li>
<li>Adjoined to the library is Whisper’s Cafe - where you can go for your late-night studying or cafe food run!</li>
<li>If you’re into any of the hard sciences: the best, top-notch, cutting-edge, fully-stocked laboratories and the myriad of research opportunities that come with them</li>
<li> The award-winning, always fresh and interesting StudLife</li>
<li>Moonlight Breakfast ;)</li>
<li>Walking distance to The Loop, a bustling avenue of shops, cafes, and restaurants</li>
<li> Did I mention the gorgeous campus? Call it fairy-tale or robust and gothic, whatever you wish, but it is GORGEOUS.</li>
<li>Jazz at Holmes’ Lounge</li>
<li>The Campus YMCA and the spawn of volunteer and community outreach programs, including the Social Change Grants</li>
<li>Gelato and crepes in Ursa’s, Froyo at Bear’s Den</li>
<li>Selectively chosen, fully trained, enthusiastic, and approachable Residential Advisors</li>
<li>Academic mentoring WITHIN the residential halls, in the form of selectively chosen, fully trained, and caring Residential Peer Mentors (for Writing, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Calculus)</li>
<li>New Dorms on the 40 have memory foam </li>
<li>Free pizza events all the time</li>
<li>For the premeds: A panel of premedical advisors who are always available, supportive, and effective. While they are available anytime, starting junior year the Pre-Health advisors begin keeping a very close eye on your medical school application process. Premed advising and workshops include mentorship on your personal statements, reviewing your medical school resume, and interview practice.</li>
<li>Bear Patrol, which escorts those late-night study-ers back to their dorms</li>
<li>Closed campus, probably one of the safest around</li>
<li>The newly opened Danforth University Center, with an array of eateries, its own formal restaurant, and the upstairs Game Room (includes Wii, I think)</li>
<li>Wireless Internet access virtually anywhere on campus</li>
<li>Friendly bus drivers who care about the students</li>
<li>Bon Appetit, which listens to the students’ needs and concerns and hosts fun events (like that Willy Wonka golden ticket game last year)</li>
<li>Students who are tolerant and supportive of each other</li>
<li>We just won the 2010 Annual Jeopardy! College Championships. BOOYA.</li>
<li>The Lunar New Year Festival - Student dancers and musicians combine artistry and aesthetics to create a story about the Lunar New Year. </li>
<li>The fact that it’s WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS.</li>
</ol>
<p>More reasons off the top of my head…</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and bussing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities (but renowned in their research fields as well!)</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. ‘Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
<li>Highest “Survey-per-week to Student” ratio</li>
<li>FLAT SCREEN TVs everywhere!</li>
<li>Smart kids yet no snobbiness</li>
<li>WUstock by the CS40 for free</li>
<li>Ursa’s hot chocolate bar with 10 different kinds of hot chocolate, 6 kinds of homemade whip cream, and crepes on friday nights </li>
<li>Become a part of the best Baseball city in America (Just 5 train stops away from Busch Stadium) </li>
<li>Adjoined to the library is Whisper’s Cafe - where you can go for your late-night studying or cafe food run!</li>
<li>If you’re into any of the hard sciences: the best, top-notch, cutting-edge, fully-stocked laboratories and the myriad of research opportunities that come with them</li>
<li> The award-winning, always fresh and interesting StudLife</li>
<li>Moonlight Breakfast ;)</li>
<li>Walking distance to The Loop, a bustling avenue of shops, cafes, and restaurants</li>
<li> Did I mention the gorgeous campus? Call it fairy-tale or robust and gothic, whatever you wish, but it is GORGEOUS.</li>
<li>Jazz at Holmes’ Lounge</li>
<li>The Campus YMCA and the spawn of volunteer and community outreach programs, including the Social Change Grants</li>
<li>Gelato and crepes in Ursa’s, Froyo at Bear’s Den</li>
<li>Selectively chosen, fully trained, enthusiastic, and approachable Residential Advisors</li>
<li>Academic mentoring WITHIN the residential halls, in the form of selectively chosen, fully trained, and caring Residential Peer Mentors (for Writing, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Calculus)</li>
<li>New Dorms on the 40 have memory foam </li>
<li>Free pizza events all the time</li>
<li>For the premeds: A panel of premedical advisors who are always available, supportive, and effective. While they are available anytime, starting junior year the Pre-Health advisors begin keeping a very close eye on your medical school application process. Premed advising and workshops include mentorship on your personal statements, reviewing your medical school resume, and interview practice.</li>
<li>Bear Patrol, which escorts those late-night study-ers back to their dorms</li>
<li>Closed campus, probably one of the safest around</li>
<li>The newly opened Danforth University Center, with an array of eateries, its own formal restaurant, and the upstairs Game Room (includes Wii, I think)</li>
<li>Wireless Internet access virtually anywhere on campus</li>
<li>Friendly bus drivers who care about the students</li>
<li>Bon Appetit, which listens to the students’ needs and concerns and hosts fun events (like that Willy Wonka golden ticket game last year)</li>
<li>Students who are tolerant and supportive of each other</li>
<li>We just won the 2010 Annual Jeopardy! College Championships. BOOYA.</li>
<li>The Lunar New Year Festival - Student dancers and musicians combine artistry and aesthetics to create a story about the Lunar New Year. </li>
<li>Many city events are subsidized for students by campus organizations like ArtSci Council. Examples of events include city symphony performances (freshman year I remember Itzhak Perlman was in town), plays, musicals, Shakespeare in the Park (summer), and more. </li>
<li>The BALLER Brookings Hall. Seriously, have you every stood in the parking lot, beneath that flight of stairs leading to the two towers of Brookings Hall, and know that you will soon ascend the path to greater knowledge?</li>
<li>WashU is one of the prominent hosts of the Vice Presidential Debates, including Palin vs. Biden, 2008.</li>
<li>The fact that it’s WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS.</li>
</ol>
<p>Yeeah, the Cardinals are a HUGE reason for me.</p>
<p>Its why they are number #2 on my list.</p>
<p>Science is huge to me, so I’m most excited about #13 and and #50.</p>