American University

Date: Jun 30 2014
Major: Unknown (This Major's Salary over time)
AU is definitely one of those schools that has a lot of really good things going for it - but royally messes up in a few key areas.

The Good:

Generally the programs in the 4 specialized schools (SIS, SOC, Kogod, and SPA) are very good academically.

Overall, professors are generally helpful and willing to put in extra time at office hours.

Lots of the professors are well-connected in DC and will write recommendation letters.

Students are generally well-informed of the world around them.

Pretty easy access to DC and all it has to offer.

Usually the departments and professors are flexible with deadlines, student needs, requirements etc.

The school is has some high-ranked programs and the school overall climbs in the rankings every year (and they are expanding the campus with new buildings for some of the less well-known departments which will surely jumpstart those programs). In ten years, the reputation of the school will be stellar and my degree worth a lot.

The Bad:

Housing and Dining Department generally sucks at doing what it is supposed to. Both are fraught with poor management and services. You can get good food at an okay price (by DC standards) but you have to look for it.

Pretty much any program not in one of the four specialty schools is tiny. Some of these programs are still good - but the course offerings are so slim that you are basically forced to take what is offered at whatever time it is offered.

Lack of suitable labs and tech centers. The Business school has a fantastic IT lab but basically any other technical major is stuck with really sub-par facilities. (This will be fixed in a few years but for now it sucks).

Standards are very haphazard. The business school is the only school that attempt to standardize lower level core classes. Everywhere else, your learning and grade are based entirely on the instructor. I've had 100 level classes that were harder than my 400 level ones solely because of the teacher.

For a school with a stellar IR program, I found that the language department kind of sucks. There are some fantastic professors, but most are adjuncts who are native speakers (and clearly know their stuff) but are thoroughly unable to teach other people.

Overall:

AU is definitely about what you put into it. To be honest, in most programs outside of the hard sciences you can totally coast, learn nothing, and get a B or B+. However if you put effort in and truly want to learn you will learn loads.

Also be aware, that if you are looking into SIS: Once you get passed your lower level classes (after about two years), choosing your upper level classes defines whether you will actually get anything out of the degree. 50% of the classes are good. The other 50% are complete BS classes that don't teach much of anything so choose accordingly.

On a side-note: I found that the business school was very underrated. The job placement is fantastic, they help you get internships, etc. SIS basically leaves you to your own devices - they can look at your resume and tell you where to apply. But the business school has deals with companies in the area to take only their students for certain positions and (provided you are doing well in school) they will basically give you the internship.