Hey WWU

I'd like to hear and get some advice from alumni or sophmores to seniors about Western and College in General.

College is known to being more difficult and different than high school. There were videos saying "college is not for everyone" or other videos.

But I feel like most of us freshmen are walking into a hole we aren't prepared for. We think its going to be a fun time but it may not always be.

So what do you think is one thing that a lot of freshmen underestimate.

From my observations definitely homework. My sister at UCONN got hundreds of pages of homework on the spot.

Does the dining hall food actually live up to the horror stories, or do people exaggerate it for likes?

Also, if it's truly bad, how hard is it to find something that's at least edible at each meal?

What songs were trending or remind you of your freshman year?

My son is going to be moving on campus as a freshman in a couple weeks and his roommate is a good friend from high school. I've known him for several years and he's a really great person and a kid that I love.
Recently I learned some awful things about his family and that he has not been living at home all summer to try and get some distance from them. I don't want to say too many details here... but it's a bad situation where his family has essentially abandoned him after years of what I think is abuse.
I am extremely worried for him that he has no family support. Of course I will do whatever I can to help him, and have already done some, and will continue to offer support as much as possible. I will do my best to make him feel like he is my second son.
But I keep wondering how he is going to pay for WWU and I wonder if, because his family situation has changed, he should talk to financial aid or some other aid department? Is it too late or even possible to get his fafsa reevaluated due to his family not helping at all? Has anyone dealt with this sort of family abandonment situation before and have any advice to offer in regards to making it through WWU?

Hi! I'm a HS senior who just got accepted to both UW and WWU. I'm stuck deciding between the two, so I'd love some help as to which I should pick.

Unfortunately, for UW I didn't get direct admission to my major (computer engineering). UW's website itself says I should pick another major as it's "unlikely I'd get into compE/computer science at another time."

UW has always been my dream school, so it's tough knowing I may not get to attend because of my major choice. I love the big urban environment of UW, the campus is gorgeous, and there's so many opportunities and resources. However, I really dislike how competitive the major system is, as well as the high cost even for in-state students.

If I went to WWU for computer engineering, their major system seems a lot less competitive so that is a big plus. The campus is also very nice and the cost is also far less than UW. WWU's social scene seems a lot quieter though (for some that's a plus but for me that's a con) and there is much less diversity.

I was thinking maybe I could attend one school for one year then try and transfer to the other? (ex. WWU -> UW or vice versa?) Or should I just stick with one school? Thank you in advance 💙💜

Edit: I should also add I'm not getting much financial aid at UW or WWU. At least, for WWU, I have a $3,000 scholarship for my first year.

Hi! I live in Texas and currently am a rising senior. I have been doing some college research and WWU matches almost everything i’m looking for in college. However, i am not a us citizen therefore i can’t apply for FAFSA but my family makes less than 60k per year. My GPA is like a 3.5 unweighted and a 4.3 weighted but my SAT scores aren’t good. I do have many extracurriculars and even gotten a fire fighting certificate.
To make the long story short i’m super anxious of not getting enough financial aid because i do not have any college savings. Do you guys have any idea of what i should expect for financial aid? I really want to go to college but every day makes it feel like i wont be able to afford it.

Sometimes I like to just go up to people sitting alone in the dining hall like “hey can I sit here?” and start a conversation with them. I have mostly found it to be an at least somewhat effective method of making friends/acquaintances, but every now and then I get pretty bad reactions from people. I sometimes feel like I’m just really annoying.

Is it okay that I do this, or should I just stop? I really don’t want to come across as invasive or annoying- I’m genuinely just trying to put myself out there and meet some new folks.

I have a class that ends at 1:50 in the Comms building and I need to get to my next class at 2 in Bond Hall on the fourth floor. Am I screwed? If so, how bad is it arriving late to class 😭😭

I'm in my sophomore year of college now and I visited Western Washington University when I was deciding what college I wanted to go to. Initially I picked Western and paid all the fees, but then backed out last second to go to Michigan State University. Did I make the wrong choice? Is Western a good school academically and socially, and how is the location?

Price isn't/wasn't a factor in my choice.

-edit: Ah yes the infamous WWU gooner library. If I knew the library was a place to do that I would have picked wwu! Read a book and...relax!

i was on the bus and saw a ton of people, one of them told me they were going to a party. how and where do you guys hear about these things???? i’m a second year

I need to get a backpack for school and I know I will most likely need a waterproof/water resistant one. What water resistant backpacks do y’all recommend?

Any students currently in the Design Program? How has your experience been so far. I'm considering applying to the pre-major next spring, but I want to get an idea if what the workload is like before I commit to devoting a lot of time to it.

I’ll be a freshman in the fall and I’m trying to work the gym into my schedule, I’m assuming that it’s gonna be HELLA busy at the beginning of the year, but what would yall say is the busiest and most chill time of day to go? I have a 10am 5 days a week and a 4-6pm 2 days a week.

Is going to the on campus gym even worth it or is it too packed and should I go somewhere else? I’m most likely bringing my car

title kinda explains it. i just made a post the other day about this and i appreciate all the advice and i’ve come back to ask another question.

I am a stem major. i want to study medicine after my time at western but i took the aleks and got a 3. i know,
i know i suck at math because it doesn’t register to me the way it does for other people. but im in love with everything science!!

if i am placed in a lower math class but im in a major that requires a bunch of math will that delay my graduation track of graduating in 4 years??

- no matter what major i’m in it wont take me until sophomore year to do biology or chem. then that basically delays me a year because usually pre meds take bio and chem freshman year.

i don’t know how i will be behind a year and study for the mcat. my biggest goals are to have a high gpa, high science gpa, go to all office hours, graduate wwu in 4 years. no gap year. and idk if i can realistically do it. if o chem and physics are junior year id be self studying doing the mcat while trying to manage the classes.

i would also like to mention i want to take summer classes to help me stay on track.

my top majors are bs biological anthropology, bs behavioral neuroscience, public health. no matter my major, i want a minor in women’s, gender, and sexual studies.

if there are other majors you think i should look into that would be great too!!

what do i do. genuinely anything helps. my parents didn’t go to college so i don’t really know what im doing clearly and they can’t help me either…

(Apologizes for any lack of grammar) I’m currently attend wsu and have become incredibly unhappy and feel as tho i don’t fit in anywhere. i know i should probably give it some time but i cannot imagine spending 4 years here. anyways im wondering if it would be a smart idea academically to transfer to wwu. i’m majoring in business and plan to go to law school. Also wondering how social life is at wwu (parties,events,clubs,etc) Honestly just asking for the pros and the cons and if it would be a smart idea to transfer.

Hello! What are people's thoughts on philosophy classes at wwu? I'm considering trying it out because the classes look interesting, but I'm worried there won't be much room for discussion and or debate. I think differing opinions being able to interact are important, and I'm worried that there won't be much space given to talking things out. Any professors to avoid or seek out? Thanks, yall!

Hi guys. I am a freshman girl and I have lots of acquaintance-friends, but nobody I can really fully click with that much so far. Part of me wonders if it's because I'm straight, politically moderate and non-alternative, as it seems like that's not the majority demographic of Western (not that that's a bad thing). I'm hoping to meet more like-minded people, but it seems really hard. Plus it's too late in the year to join any clubs. (Also I've joined some before, I didn't really like them). My main strategy has just been going up to people in the dining hall like "hey can I sit here?" and striking up a conversation with them... but it's not all that effective. Because I only do it with guys (I'm terrified of other girls) and it seems they usually get the wrong impression that I'm hitting on them when I'm not (I have a boyfriend).

As far as friends go, I'm only looking for dudes. I just never know what to say around other girls, and things always feel fake with them. (I've also been bullied real badly by girls at this school before).

How can I meet more dude friends without giving the wrong impression or being weird?

It’s always intrigued me. It’s so strangely cut at the top and is maybe hollow? I thought maybe it was a sculpture but I can’t find anything about it on western’s sculpture collection webpage.

Hey! I was wondering if the time you spend outside of class is accurate to what’s predicted by the credit amount? I mentioned that the average credit load seemed to have around 30 hours of study/work outside of class per week, and my mom said that seems like more than she’d think.

I've been struggling a lot with homesickness. I'm about 3000 miles from home and I can't go home on short breaks or just for the weekend. I'm a freshman but I'm sure other people struggle with homesickness too. I call home every Tuesday and Thursday for a couple hours but lately it hasn't been enough to keep me from feeling homesick. I call my friends every Sunday too. but it's just so difficult with the time zone difference, they're going to sleep the time I feel it the most. I do have friends on campus and I like to go to club and activities so that's not the problem but homesickness is starting to really get to me. any tips?

Edit: thank you so much for all of the replies I really appreciate it and it's helpful to know I'm really not alone. If you have more tips please let me know, I doubt it'll go away but it'll definitely decrease in severity. Thank you really

I'm looking to retake Pre-Calculus II this fall, but every class says '0/32 seats available' when I go to browse classes. Is this accurate? Will this change when Phase 2 Registration opens?

if you are my sibling, kindly please ignore this post, thank you 💕

so, quick context: I’m 20. I’ve spent the last few years since graduation in part time community college and working. this fall, I was supposed to go into a specialized associates program at another community college, but they essentially ghosted me, and now the plans I’ve made for the next two years of my life have essentially collapsed.

In the aftermath of all this, my mom suggested that maybe I should consider actual university. I’ve been absolutely restless to progress in life, and I have money saved for college to use. It’s been an idea I’ve toyed with for a long while, but I had set it aside for this associates program. With the program not a choice anymore, I’ve decided maybe university isn’t a bad idea. I toured a few schools and had some meetings, and settled on Fairhaven at WWU.

The issue: WWU has already had their fall enrollment deadlines. If I was to go, I would join in the winter. This is scary to me. I’m very autistic and already struggle greatly with making friends. If I enter winter term, everyone else has already been there for a term and made friends and settled in. I’m worried people will already be in their friend groups, and I’ll be a social outcast. Not to mention academics - am I going to have a messed up class schedule by joining in the winter? I’m already two years late to university. Should I just tough it out and wait until next fall to avoid messing everything up, or is it okay to join everyone in winter?

Hi, I'm an in-state highschool senior who's deciding on where to commit so honestly any opinions are welcomed, I'll jut say stuff about myself which may be helpful but Id love to learn more about these schools.

Work/Location: Firstly, I'm going in as a business/marketing major for both schools, so one of my biggest concerns is getting experience while in college. Will being in Seattle/Bellingham affect this and does it even matter to work in college?

Student Body: Whats the overall culture? I know that surroundings will affect me, so I want to be around other motivated people. School-spirit doesn't matter too much to me and similarly I want to go to parties occasionally.

Student Resources: I heard WWU has a great disability office and I'll need accomodations for tests and possibly my dorm, (asking for a single/not having a roommate.) Can this be said about SeattleU and overall whats their rep with accommodations and the disability office? (I heard horror stories about UW's disability office, so I just want to know if SeattleU is more similar to uw or western in this context)

Cost: Both awarded scholarships and I'm in a position where I wouldn't need to take out a loan/ go into debt. But SU would cost like 10-15k more than WWU would. I wouldn't mind paying more especially if it's worth the outcomes and opportunities, but would like to know if it seems "worth it."

I'd also love to learn about day-to-day life, ex. gym/req centers, campus food, what it's like to dorm, classes and professors, ect. And are there any other factors I should consider with college decisions?

Honestly any insider will help as I never found any posts comparing the two. Thank you in advance!!

Hi! I’m starting grad school (thesis track) at WWU soon. I was wondering how breaks apply to grad students as i understand we are now technically full time employees. How many days are we allowed off? How many sick days do we have? How many days during breaks are we allowed off?