An amazing opportunity!

Introduction
If you are into small, personal classes, great politics and atmosphere, and a great selection of majors, come here. The size is right - the student population isn't huge but the resources of the University are rather extensive. Thus, you get the feel of a small school with the resources of a much bigger one. The facilities are on the smaller side, but they're all very modern, very attractive, and are constantly being updated. If you're a huge sports nut, you may want to look elsewhere, because sports aren't huge here. They do exist though, and many efforts have recently been going on to shoot them up to where they should be, such as the formation of the "Blue Crew" two years ago, and implementation of events like the "Bender Blue Out" just this year.

Campus Life and Social Life
Campus life is what you make of it. Despite the small campus, there's always tons of stuff going on. I don't think there's ever been a night where I haven't had something to do. The resources of the city (and its entertainment) are also right at your fingertips. I wish the Metro ran a little later, but cabs aren't too expensive either. As for parties, the frat parties are kind of lame, and all off-campus. Most upperclassman live off campus, but within walking distance of the school. There are also lots of area schools to party at. If you're a political junkie or a social activist, you've come to the right place. The College Democrats are really liberal, and the Republicans are really conservative, but if you're Moderate there's a place for you somewhere as well. You won't find many people going home for the weekend, so you'll enjoy yourself all the time. Academics
The academics are tough - this is not a particularly easy school. You might hear people say that we're just the students who didn't get into Georgetown, which is just not true. The atmosphere - social AND academic - here is entirely different. We have pretty great programs here in business, communications, justice, international relations, and political science. Accordingly, the classes in these areas are diverse and on the difficult side. If you're into math, then you might want to look elsewhere, although the pre-med students I know say that the work is quite challenging and you'll get into a great medical school from here. Professors can go either way, like at any school, bust most hold doctorates and work in some capacity in DC, and many of them have high-powered connections and work in the field they teach on a daily basis. There are no TA's here for the most part, and classes are small. Huge lecture classes happen but they're rare at best and never more than maybe 75 students. Professors make themselves very available - I am quite pleased with the academic situation here.

Student Body
This was already covered, but it's worth re-stating that there's always something going on but the parties aren't the greatest. There's a great club scene, though, and lots of places to see musical performances. This is a major city and the nation's capital!

In Closing...
In short, we are not GW and Georgetown's little brother. We are a powerhouse of DC education, and getting in here is challenging - and you will continue to be challenged all four (or more) years of your stay here. Quality of life is great and retention rates are some of the highest in the country. I don't mean to sound like I work in admissions - I don't - but that's just the vibe you get here. No, we're not a big party school any more, and yes, we are not Georgetown. But American is a school you definitely want to take a look at if any of the above sounds like you.