University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

What's the most frustrating thing about your school?

Gregory

Competitivenss within specific majors is extremely stressful so be sure to focus on what your goals are and what you want to study. Plan for options A, B, and C.

Lindsey

Very expensive for out of state tuition and housing.

Drazen

Often times the professors design exams to have low averages, so even "doing well" on an exam still results in a fairly low score. Also, study materials for exams are often extremely limited, so most study material is limited to lectures, homework, and the textbook, which in most cases provide little preparation for the actual exams, which often demand extraneous knowledge. Also, courses are designed to be extremely difficult in order to keep the majors they're required for competitive, so it is frustrating to see years of hard work come to naught because of the high work load.

Jacob

The amount of financial aid I recieved is extremely frustrating. I have 7 people dependent on my father in my household with a low income yet I'm still expected to pay a large tuition fee anually because I'm an out of state student.

Rachelle

I had to graduate a quarter later than I wanted because I ended up being half a credit short as a result of how credits from a previous school transfered. This would not have been a problem if I had not met with my adviser, done all the math with her, and submitted my graduation application the quarter before I was notified of the mistake. Notification also came after the add period, so I could not do an emergency add to what would have been my final quarter.

Elizabeth

I really did like UW, however the most frustrating thing in my experience is the huge size of the campus. Students will sometimes not have enough time to make it from one class to another, or will have to take the bus across campus. Also, I found the safety of the University District to be quite poor. My house got broken into and stolen from three times in three years, and I know several people who personally experienced or witnessed muggings in the area.

julie

Lack of diversity

Russell

The most frustrating thing about the University of Washington is the current state of financial aid. Since the state has been cutting funding drastically, the school has been forced to increase tuition to unprecedented levels while offering less and less financial aid. Because of this, students like me are put in a dilemma as more often than not, the small income earned from part time jobs and loans are simply not enough. If there was one thing I would change about the University of Washington, is I would make it more affordable.

Rubystasia

At times it feels too big, especially when I have classes on opposite ends of the campus. Also, the traffic when rushing to class when they are on opposite ends of the campus.

Paige

The most frustrating thing about my school is that there are limited to no scholarships for out of state students. I feel that the out of state students are paying a lot of money to go to such a great institution however there are not very many options for scholarships or financial aid compared to Washington residents. The residents' tuition is significantly less than those of out of state students. I just wish that there were more options and opportunities for the students who are paying for school out of state.

Benjamin

There is not much socializing directly before, during, or after classes, making it hard to meet new people.

Scott

As a student at the University of Washington, the most frustrating thing about my school is the shear size of the school. It is hard to get adjusted and find your way around the school. In the classes, it can be difficult to make friends at first because the class sizes are so large. The best area to make friends is in the tutorials they have attached to the schools.

Arin

Financial aid--the school is expensive, particularly for out-of-state students such as myself, and the majority of scholarships and aid available go only to in-state students, who get reduced tuition to begin with.

Kristen

For introductory level classes in popular majors it can be hard to get into the class sections that you want, espeially during the first few quarters.

Youran

Due to over 40,000 students (undergrad + grad), there aren't enough support and help from advisors/consultants compare to small private schools.

Marshall

The most frustrating thing about my school is the lack of freedom and time to figure out what you want to do if you want to graduate on time. There is also a lot of competition going on and though, competition is good, it sometimes causes me to lose a little self confidence in my ability to succeed in what I am trying to accomplish. There is a lot of "on your own" learning for tests in class and some people, like myself, have trouble in

Steve

There are mostly really young people attending and they all act it.

Dorothy

Little on campus housing and as it was so large finding a part-time job that wasn't already filled.

Linda

The most fustrating is if you schedule your classes back to back and your classes are on the opposite side of the campus. It is very rushy to get from one class to another when you only have 10 minutes to get there. But at least it's good exercise - so that guarantees you won't gain the Freshmen 15!!

Curtis

The thing that probably most frustrates me about my school is not the size of the school and its population, but the problems that come with the size. What I mean by that is, I like the size of my school and its number of students, but when I need help with my financial account at the school, I receive little help; more often than not, I just get passed around from room to room, and building to building.

Samantha

The most frustrating thing about the University of Washington is the recent increase in tuition, housing, and dining fees coupled with the cutting of programs and courses. The UW recently cut its mens' swimming program, and is offering fewer course options than in past quarters. As a student, I have also been asked to fill out a few surveys that ask questions along the lines of whether I would prefer to see a dramatic increase in tuition cost or a decrease in the education opportunities I am provided. I feel that a University should not have to make that choice.

Mark

Because UW is large, things like registering for classes and getting minor abnormal scheduling problems etc. worked out are quite a nuisance. There is a fair amount of red tape and you really have to know the right people (advisors, profs etc) to get anything done/fixed in a timely manner

Daron

UW is a large university. This means freshman year you will probably have 700 person classes. The professors are more interested in their research than teaching for the intro level classes. Advising is unhelpful in general, but the departmental advising is good. The financial aid is very minimal and only diminishing and tution continues to rise.

Ajith

The most frustrating thing about my school courses is not having homework or reports returned in a timely manner. This is something that repeats quarter after quarter no matter how many course evaluations I take. But these evaluations pointless to the student since these are given at the end of the quarter. I understand there are only a few or a single grader for each course. But without early feedback, it makes course material more difficult to retain if major mistakes are made on course work.

Raychelle

Easily, one of the most frustrating things about my school would have to be the lack of diversity. I came from a high school consisting of mostly minority groups, so something as simple as just sitting in class makes me feel somewhat awkward. It's also hard to relate to other people; I've always felt like not as many people here have the same type of general tolerance that I have learned. I would like to be able to identify with my classmates instead of feeling out of place just because of my ethnicity.

Marisa

The most frustrating thing about the University of Washington is that since it is such a major research school, most of the professors who teach the 100 and 200 level classes of math and science don?t really care about the students. They are focusing on their research, so getting a good professor to teach in these classes is nearly impossible. Most of the time, you have to rely on your TA for help or find some sort of outside tutor, which can be difficult. I wish the professors cared more about the students' success.

Chelsea

I would have to say the sheer number of people. The classes are really big, so the professors have almost no time for one on one teaching. Even when you go to study centers there are usually quite a few people there. The dorms are also very overcrowded.

Charisse

The most frustrating thing is that our grades are calculated from a couple tests that we take during the quarter so that puts a lot of pressure on the students to do well on those exams.

MeeJee

Nothing about it is truely frustrating. I would say that the only thing that is slightly frustrating is that the price of living in Seattle is so high that it is difficult to find off-campus housing that is affordable of students. However, that is not solely the university's fault, and they do their best to maintain the price of campus living as much as possible.

Adrienne

The most frustrating thing about the University of Washington is the feeling of isolation and lack of belonging, due to its massive student body. It is rare to pass the same people day to day while going to classes, and classes are often very large, preventing much socialization. This all lends to a more difficult experience meeting people and making friends than a smaller school would provide.

Jasmine

The University of Washington is a large campus; with a population of 40,000 students, which makes it difficult, to determine what you want to major in. Often, it is difficult for advisors to look at your individual circumstances in order to help you determine what classes to take and what major you should pursue. However the University provides many opportunities for you to make a smaller community on such a large campus. Determining what you want to accomplish helps you discover who you need to talk to in order to complete your goals.

Jennifer

At the University of Washington trying to meet new people and develop new friends can be extremely frustrating. With thousands of students, hundreds in each dorm room and very large classes it would appear easy to connect with people. This however is not the case. The number of students can be overwhelming and make those who are shy only more withdrawn. To an extend the first year at the University of Washington can be much like restarting high school and trying to make new friends.

Alyssa

The most frustrating thing about my school is the financial aid. My parents have been helping me as much as they possibly can for the past year, but they are now reaching the point where they can no longer afford to to do that. The financial aid that I am offered is a very small amount and the reason the school allots only a small amount is that they believe we should be able to afford the rest. I work 25 hours a week and my parents can only help a little so i can barely afford to continue school.

Jessica

The most frustrating thing about the University of Washington is the high tuition prices, which are supposed to rise even more next year.

jeanette

The only fustrating thing about my school might be that most of the classes tend to be large.

Jamie

The most frustrating part of the school has been the transition into college from high school. Classes are much different because they are so much larger and its a different way of learning. Now, you learn a lot of the material on your own and in study groups, as well as getting help from the teaching assistant. Even though sometimes it has been choppy waters for me to try and get used to, I think that I have been getting used to it and looking forward to smooth sailing in the spring.

Anjilee

How big it is, you can feel like a small fish in a big pond. Also, the teachers sometimes feel like they care more about their research than teaching students.

Regina

Nothing really so far. This is my first quarter at UW.

Eugene

The weather?

Alison

Big campus makes it hard t make friends sometimes.

Hailey

The campus is very large and isn't all on flat terrain, so there is tons of walking that takes some getting used to.

Joseph

The most frustrating thing about my school is working on group projects with other students since it is all online. It makes it a lot harder to communicated with other students across the globe. We have made it work through the use of conference calls, discussion boards, emails, and wikis. Currently I am working on a project where four students have to write one paper. To accomplish this task I setup a wiki so we could work on the same document and see the changes others are making. This has worked really well so far.

Brandon

There are restrictions on who can take classes and when they can take them. I debated trying to major in architecture but when i tried to register for the classes I found out you can only apply as a freshman or sophmore and I had missed a class I had to take in fall quarter. So the most frustrating thing is that majors are so competitive there are limited oppurtunities to apply and limited time to decide what you want to do.

Joseph

There are over five thousand freshman, and it is virtually impossible to get a scholarships to help pay for school, even if your parents don't help pay for it. It would be so much nicer at the University of Washington if they had more opportunities to make the cost of attendance a little more affordable when I will be living off campus in an apartment and working to pay for rent and living costs.

Kristen

There aren't a lot of Spanish classes - if you aren't a Spanish major, there is pretty much no way you'll be able to take Spanish. I had to give up on my minor because of this.

Kathryn

There was no advising help whatsoever at the UW. I had to find any and all answers to problems on my own. It would have been helpful to have someone knowledgable to speak to about financial aid, courses, and scheduling.

Justin

Proabably siiting through prerequisites that can be very boring depending on the teacher. I got lucky for the first quarters but the last one was horrible in this one sociology class that i thought would be interesting.

Todd

It can be pretty hard to meet people here they are extremly shy to others who don't act or look like themselves, not hateful but very shy. The girls her are especialy shy, and most are fairly boring (they do much but study, drink, and watch TV)

Flora

The most frustrating thing was that this school is extremely reluctant to close during bad weather. It doesn't snow much in Seattle, but even with the roads covered in a solid inch of ice after an ice storm, UW refused to close and most students could not show up for class safely. I think the UW loses money from research grants for every day that it is completely closed, and that may contribute to its reluctance to do so. Still, I was pretty furious at what I saw as a choice students were forced to make about their safety.

Hae

All libraries except the Undergraduate library are closed early.