Western Washington University Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Yusuf

I wish someone had guided me better about my future education plans and various scholarships available.

Yusuf

I wish someone had guided me better about my future education plans and various scholarships available.

Yusuf

I wish someone had guided me better about my future education plans and various scholarships available.

Danielle

The professors will support and help you in any way they can as long as you talk to them. Professors can be great professional resources in the future, so make first impressions with that in mind. Also, the disability resource can help you with issues from test-anxiety to PTSD. The people are nice and friendly as long as you are nice, there is nothing and no one to be nervous of in Bellingham.

Seth

I wish I had understood just how many resources are available to students for their learning, and how everyone takes advantage of them. There's simply no stigma; even the best of the best from their departments make full use of all the resources available at the college.

Clara

This is a school that cares about community and the environment. The campus works to support its students and has high expectations for their success. The music program is both rigorous and rewarding with faculty who will stop at nothing to make sure that you succeed. If you are willing to work hard you will have the best education you could possibly hope for and make memories that will last a lifetime. Know that when you come to Western Washington University, you will be welcomed and respected with open arms.

Summer

I wish I had known about the outdoor activites that surround Western so I could have brought appropriate equipment and been able to explore Bellingham and Whatcom county more than I got to.

Heidi

I wish I knew how laid back the campus was. If I knew that I wouldn't be a freaked out freshman entering a new school in a new town thinking that the people here would be really intimidating, or cutthroat (I've heard of the sabotage of some students by other students in other schools!). It would definitely have made me not panic so much the week before moving up there and not have been intimidated when I was meeting people at first. The people here are generally really nice and it made the move so much easier.

Tyler

It's colder and wetter than most parts of Washington.

Emily

That I had a learning disability.

Andy

I wish I knew how many clubs they offer to everyone on campus. The clubs are very friendly and welcoming to everyone who is interested in joining. Also acedemically Western is very competetive, so don't assume just beacause Western is a small school doesn't mean they don't take their students education seriously. Lastly be PREPARED for the rain.

amanda

Looking back, I feel that as a high school graduate I was not fully aware of the degree to which universities varied. I believed that where ever I went I would make the best of my experience and gain a great education. Now from attending two years, I have come to realize that each university is extremely different. Part of what make a university special is what type of people attend and the social environment feeling. I wish I had taken more time to tour and visit more schools. Maybe then I would have chose a better school for myself.

Kevin

The ineffectiveness of my Running Start Classes. They all transferred in as nothing but random credits. It did remove my GUR's but for a science based major this is not extremely helpful. But this is not the fault of Western Washington University. Whre I went to Community College was small and had a very small course selection due to its location.

Iris

This school does not offer some programs such as nursing and graphic design. Deffinately check whether the program you are interested in is offered at this school and maybe even talk to a a professor in your program before deciding to attend. Also since it is located in Bellingham the school recieves a lot of rain especially between january and march so if you don't like rain you may not like this college.

Kaitlin

I wish I had known not to spend so much on food when I had a meal plan. It's really easy to go crazy at the grocery store in a feat of adult right-of-passage shopping, and spend way more than you need to! If you have a meal plan, stay out of the grocery store. If you have a kitchen, get rid of your meal plan right away and start cooking for yourself!

Andrew

What other schools were really like and if I could have found another school that would have been worth the extra money.

Megan

Before coming to Western I wish I knew all of the opprotunities the Associated Students had to offer me, especially in my first year. With one of the largest and most highly funded Associated Students in the country for student activities there are so many ways for students to feel connected and be engaged in WWU, and become much more than a student. Western creates a venue to meet new people by exploring the Pacific Northwest, becoming an activist, experiencing live entertainment, and learning new skills that stretch beyond academics and challenge you as an individual.

Rachel

How awesome Bellingham is!

Austin

When I first came here I had no idea of what the encompassing area would be like, that is to say, I didn't know what my own prospects for acquiring an off campus job would be. I wish that I had been able to properly position myself in the region with suitable employment. I would have made my scholarly attempts here easier by far.

Chloe

I wish i had known it would be so windy!

Sara

Before coming to this school, I wish I had known that there would be absolutely nothing to worry about. Senior year of high school was highly strenuous in that I was constantly worrying about absolutely every little thing that could possibly occur. However, upon arriving at college, I soon realized that all the worrying I had been doing was for nothing and was energy better spent doing something a bit more useful such as filling out more scholarship applications.

Misty

I wish I would have known more precisely what fields were most interesting to me and what my talent or personality type most naturally corresponds with academically. Looking back I would definately ask myself what type of activities and lifestyle do I want to create in a career after college and how do the classes I take prepare or guide me in that direction. I would recommend prospective students to look at what facilities are available in which departments. For example I found the metal workshop my senior year and wished I would have used it sooner.

Bobbie

I wish I would of known which were the best dorms to stay in. Fortunately, I got the best ones my first quarter!

Jessica

I wish I had known that the school spirit wasnt really there considering I grew up in ASB and always very involved in my schools.

Mandy

Before I attended the University I would have reviewed which programs required an additional application, so I could have prepared myself and planned accordingly. I also would have tried to have found a job around campus, before moving to the area, so I could have had everything in line for me when school started.

Amy

How difficult it would be to chose a major when you are a transfer student and I wish that there would have been someone there to help me chose and register for classes.

Kristine

I wasn't really shocked by anything when I started at WWU because I am a local so I was already familiar with the area and the campus. However, on a personal level, I wish I would have been more outgoing in my classes because I could have established relationships with many more people than I did.

Bobbie

I wish I would of viewed the dorms before I decided where I wanted to live.

Mollie

It rains. A lot. (but I knew that...) No, I wish I would have looked into Huxley College of the Environment more seriously.

Jennifer

There's nothing I wish I had known before coming to Western. This way, I discover[ed] things on my own.

Lisa

I wish I had known more about the professors, or known how to do some research about them. I didn't have a very good advisor on my advising day and didn't know who else to talk to after classes had started. There are resources available, but sometimes the information on how to access those resources is confusing. In general, there are people to point you in the right direction, so you have to be your own best advocate and keep asking questions until you get the answer that you need.

Ashley

I wished I had known what I wanted my major to be when I first got to WWU so I could complete my degree in four years, not five. However, on second thought I think I don't mind in the long run. I was able to do some searching and trying new things along the way. :)

IIsak

That I should have taken Chem 121 my first quarter.

Helen

Older students don't hate freshmen, they want to welcome them to the campus and help them join clubs and activities. I spent most of my first week at Western being terrified of anything outside of my room, I wouldn't want anyone else to start college off like that because they had preconcieved notions that were so incorrect.

Maury

I would have liked to know more about all of the prerequisite classes that are required so I would have been able to get more of those out of the way from the get go.

Trevor

Nothing it is a very easy school to get use too.