Washington University in St. Louis
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Women's volleyball. I hold twenty UAA championship titles and ten NCAA National Championships.
- Getting people back on their feet. My physical therapy school is ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
- Getting people back on their feet. No, I'm not just repeating myself; I also have the top ranked social work program in the nation. Did I mention it's newly rennovated?
- Law. The National Jurist ranked me fourth on their list of the "most wired" law schools. Whatever that means. I'm not quite sure. Either way, my lawyers dominate in the courtroom.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- A jacket. You know, just in case you're enjoying a bright, summer day when freezing rain suddenly starts pouring down on you. St. Louis is partway between the desert death-heat of the South and the polar vortex of the North and can change from one to the other in a moment's notice.
- Dinner. With me. I've won awards for having the best on-campus food. I keep plenty of gourmet chefs around and have tons of tasty and healthy options. I mentioned Ibby's already right?
- An Arts First card. My Performing Arts Center has some amazing shows to behold, and this card will get you into them. Not only that, but you'll get a special members-only tour of the Mildred Kemper Art Museum.
- A U-Pass. It's your first year here and you probably don't have a car, so how are you going to see all the pretty things St. Louis has to offer? Worry not. All students can get a U-Pass, which provides unlimited public transportation around the city.
- Comfortable shoes. You're going to want to explore everything the city has to offer. Forest Park is literally right in my backyard, after all. It's. Huge.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- My med school and hospital. If you've got a problem, yo, I'll solve it. Better than anyone else. I'm on the top ten lists every year, especially in biomedical research.
- I host Dance Marathon. I'm very serious about it.
- Mildred Kemper Art Museum. It's the oldest art museum this side of the Mississippi.
- Thurtene Carnival. This is the oldest student-funded fair in the nation. It raises money for a charity picked that year.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
I'm a five minute walk to the bar/restaurant scene on the Delmar Loop and there are plenty of parties on campus. There's also a bunch of great music events to attend, some of which don't even involve instruments.
If none of that suits me, I may just want to get away from it all. The countryside is close-by for some amazing stargazing. Apple picking in the fall is a favorite off campus activity.
Favorite Hangouts:
- DUC/Tisch Commons. Beautiful and full of awesome.
- Cicero's. Not only does it have great food and music, but Cicero's also hosts a Fall Veer School, where the twenty-one-and-up crowd can come by and learn about that bubbly liquid bread. They also have over 200 different beers.
- The Hill. This is actually a group of Italian restaurants and bakeries. It's not humanly possible to pick a favorite place here, so it looks like you'll have to visit them all. Aw, man…
- Pappy's Smokehouse. No list on Saint Louis hangouts would be complete without some barbecue. Favorites are often up for debate, but this one takes the cake—er, rib. No…brisket? This is too hard. I'm just getting hungry.
- Three Kings. The WashU restaurant and bar. By day it's a fun and family friendly restaurant, and by night, students 21 and older run the place.
Quirks:
- If you want to start your own business, you can do it right on campus. There are several student-run businesses near the dorms that let students practice their business skills before hitting the "real world."
- Fancy graduation gowns. They're downright beautiful.
- I have an Art Prom. Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts holds a formal every year just in case you were, you know, "too busy studying" to go to your senior prom in high school.
- The engineering school puts on a dance that's dancefloor is created by engineering students.
Famous Alumni:
- Henry Ware Eliot, T.S. Eliot's papa bear
- Steve Fossett, may he rest in peace
- Phil Radford, from Greenpeace
- Phyllis Schlafly, staunchly conservative political activist. Yeah, I tend to not talk about this one much…
- Tennessee Williams. It was a brief stint, but I claim it.