Western Washington University Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Brittany

There are a lot of hippies.

Rosselle

I believe that the buy back of textbooks at the student bookstore should at least be half the price back to the students, or more.

Mikayla

The worst thing about my school is the location of the dorms. There are three dorm locations on campus: North Campus, the Ridge, and South Campus. The dorms on South Campus are a ten minute walk to Red Square and the Ridge is up hill. North Campus is in the best location in relation to where classes are held, but it is often referred to as the "Bible Belt" of campus because it is the more conservative, studious students who live there. It was hard for me to decide where I wanted to live because of each location’s downfalls.

Paris

The cold, because the weather is so much more intense up here, and most students are not prepared for it, like I wasn't. I'm adjusting, but I would say that warning all prospective students would be a good idea so that they take packing for the weather seriously. Most people don't, and then end up suffering for something that could've been avoided.

marina

There is nothing I consider to be bad about Western. I just transfered from Rhode Island College, where even though it was a great experiance it was not the right environment for me. At Western I feel as if i am at home, and fit in. I love it here

Kevin

Registering can be dfficult but that's about it. Sometimes it seems like there aren't enough classes for the students, but this is all dependant on your major and how hard you work in the classes you have. If yu do well in your classes, you will have no problems. Problems come along when you do something to demonstart that you may not be the best student to get the spot in a particular class.

Chelsea

The worst part of Western Washington University would be the worst part of any other university. The high price for my education and the budget cuts put a stress and strain on my family as well as me. The majority of Washington residents, out of fear I'm guessing, voted for no income tax, which means there is no other options than to cut more from education as well as other things. But education cuts is what everyone feels the most, probably because it happens to be one of the most vital organs of a nation.

Sarah

The most difficult part of my program what creating a title for my major. There was no way around sounding hippy, and I believe most students had to use a semicolon to conjunct subjects with rational.

Kelly

The worst thing about WWU is that it is full of hills. Even though it is the worst thing, it is a minor flaw.

Austin

I believe the worst thing about my school is the lack of student-centered employment. You'd think that a university town would be teeming with prospective employers, businesses that cater to the specific needs of those attending the school. As it is, obtaining a job with a flexible work schedule is greatly limited. Leaving employment on campus as the only "for sure" way to secure work.

Hailee

Location, location, location! Bellingham is a conundrum; the summer months are beautiful and warm and has a board walk right on the Puget Sound only a short distance from campus. On the darker side of things, it rains non-stop for weeks straight in the winter months. Waking up at 8:30 in the morning for class and opening up your blinds to see a torrential down pour is never encouraging. I'm learning to combat the rain though; I throw on my rain boots and a rain coat and try to make the best of the soggy situation.

Sara

The worst thing about my school is quite likely the food. Although the food here is relatively decent, nothing can or ever will be able to beat home-cooking. Because of this, even though I get to consume food pretty much whenever I desire, I still find myself longing for the food of my home, something I cannot acquire on account of attending a school so far away.

Christopher

The most inconvienent thing on Western's campus is how it is situated. Although beautiful, it is nestled in between two large hills, making it into a long and skinny campus which is hard to traverse if you do not have enough time to get to the next class. The only other thing which is somewhat challenging is public parking. There is really not a lot during the weekdays and the lots are small, hard to find, and expensive.

Lindsay

Paying so much for an education that you need to get very far in life. All schools are expenive, but I don't have the money.

Lindsey

There are not a lot of bad things about Western Washington University, this school offers great expression and freedom and is really a great place to be however, the only bad thing I would say about it is that it doesn't quite have the resources as some of the larger schools around it such as University of Washington. While, we have less funding and smaller libraries, the classes are relatively small and are taught by some of the finest professors on the west coast. You win some, you lose some.

Margaret

I think the worst thing about my school is the cost. Because it is a large public university they school tend to not give our large amount of academic scholarships. But scholarships are avaialbe if you apply or use other outside sources for scholarship information. Another negative part of my school is it has a very large Greek system. But if you are not involved in Greek life there are plently of other things to do on campus.

Misty

I would say the worst thing about Western Washington University is a lack of diversity. In fall 2008 the combined ethnic minority student population was only 18{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} and 76{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white which is an improvement to 3{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} combined minority populations in 1983. Growing up in L.A. it is apparent by contrast that WA State is very white-washed. Although, Fairhaven College encourages critical inquiry and helped me understand white-privilege and institutionalized oppressions that exist.

Melanie

The worst thing about Western is the sports department. This school is not very sport-oriented. Our football team got cut last year. And I'm on the cheer team. We can't get scholarships for it and we only get extra credit hours in the winter quarter, not the fall. Although this is the case, the teams that we do have are pretty good. There isn't a whole lot of school spirit, but the games are fun to go to.

David

The worst thing about my school is the parking because there are never any free places to park. And because I like everything else about Western.

Aaron

The town that the school is in is quite small. There is a lot of groupthink on campus. Although i mentioned competition was not an issue compared to the major state University there is still a lot running through the certain colleges. The food and weather sucks, but what can you do. And of course it is expensive.

Yunny

The advisors are not very educated.

Jazzy

The worst thing about my school would be how much it rains. Granted that does have to do with where we are located but honestly, I don't like rain and it rains more often then not.

Kristine

I think the worst thing about WWU is that it is difficult for students to get into classes needed to complete undergraduate requirements and prerequisites for majors. I am hoping to major in Chemistry, yet I have only been able to complete the lowest level class due to the lack of availability. Also, my good friend is debating whether she wants to complete her degree at WWU because of the estimated time it takes to finish her degree.

Vinh

The diversity of the community is very low. So the veiws of other cultures are not as easiy accepted when coming to this school, making harder for ethnic students for them to feel comfortable. And the multi cultural events are rare.

Amber

Very little for those who do not or cannot drink to do.

Robert

For the very "liberal and tolerant" University Western Washington has been labeled, there are certain beliefs and ideas that are not recieved with tolerance that it is known for. There have been many instances in-class where students and teachers alike have brought up very "touchy" subjects not related to the class to ridicule and bedevil differing ideas and many students who disagree are afraid to speak up. I have greatly enjoyed my time at Western Washington University but if I had to choose one complaint it would be that the classroom be a more safe environment for conflicting ideas.

Jason

Small classes, not enough teachers teaching classes. because sometimes classes are only offered once a year. Students have to stay a whole year again if they don't get into that class.

Amanda

The worst thing about my school is the dining hall food. It is not that the food is so bad, but that it seems like they serve the same things over and over again. Even though the dining halls don't provide a long term variety of foods, there are many markets and cafes on campus that provide great alternatives.

Emily

The worst thing about my school to be the dining hall food. I lived on it for two years, and it is absolutely disgusting. The meal plans are required if you live in a dorm and are outrageously expensive for the quality and quantity of food that you get. The meals are at odd times during the day and do not run continuously, so if you have class or want to sleep than you can't eat. Also, they are contracted with Sodexho, a major corporation, and food supplier to prisons. Fresh fruit/vegetables are rarely available.

Amy

The number of teacher there are compared to the number of students. At times it gets hard to register for the classes you need each quarter. There aren't enough classes for students.

Cody

The worst part would probably exist on any campus and it's after learning what you want to learn you're not really sure or not informed enough to know how it translates into a career or a future in your particular field of study.

Diana

Like any school I could say tuition is high and classrooms are full, but I suppose that would be stating commonalities. WWU is well-rounded and full of open-minded people, which in it's own right creates a bit of a stigma when it comes to the freedom of speech. That being said, the worst thing about Western's liberal, accept-all attitude is that it allows for anit-abortionist and Christian extremeists to fill common areas with alleged "Genocide" and sin convicting propaganda. Paired with repulsive photos and supporters ready to aruge, where's my freedom of being?

Christopher

The school is too liberal. I see way too much emphasis on things like being green, diverse, etc, things which I do not really care much about. There is a high hippie population.

Kari

The Rain, wind and cold weather.

Graham

The worst part about Western would be the administratons inability to respond to problems regarding credits. It is hard to get transfer credts, especially in departments that aren't related to your major. There is too much of a bureaucracy to deal with. Introductory class sizes are also huge, which makes the first year difficult. Many professors are slow at returning papers and assign more papers than they have time to grade. The weather could be better, too.

Alison

There isn't much partying, but its enough that it can get irritating, the rain, the food.

Hallie

The worst thing about western is all the rain is the winter. But the mountains are very close by. Also if you are under18 in the bellingham area (not including the campus) it can be hard to find things to do at night other then drinking.

Linnea

The worst thing about my school is that the PE classes fill up too fast. Especially the good ones like Yoga or sailing. Only upper classmen get the opprotunity to take them it seems. But you can take them in the evening if you wish, not for credit, and they cost about 20$.