Washington U is located in St. Louis, Missouri, a city to the west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis is the largest metropolitan area in the state and home to over 350,000 residents. Washington U students take advantage of what the city has to offer, and vice versa, but it is not a college town. St. Louis has the reputation of a sleepy—or crime-ridden—little Midwestern city. There's some truth to that, but there are tons of things to do on and near the campus, which is in a pleasant area near Forest Park. Restaurants, shops, movies, and nightlife are all accessible. The Loop has ethnic food, boutiques, and record stores, although walking there from underclassmen housing takes a good twenty minutes.

Washington U’s main Danforth Campus encompasses 169 acres to the west of Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. The school’s architecture is largely Collegiate Gothic. Most of Washington U’s dorms are located in the “South Forty,” an area in the southwest corner of campus. The baseball and intramural sports fields are also in this area. The South Forty is a short walk from the main campus, which houses Washington U’s academic buildings and dining halls. Olin Library, the main library, is in the center of the campus’s northern half. One of our campus ambassadors discusses some popular student haunts on campus: “Despite its name, Whispers café is one of the noisier spots on campus. It opens early and stays open all night long (although the café itself closes at midnight). During the day, finding a table is difficult. A recent Student Life article claimed that this is the busiest café in all of St. Louis, but service is quick and the coffee is pretty good. During the school week, getting work done here is difficult; it's mainly a good place to meet friends. The whole space is relatively new; there is wireless internet, Ethernet and power cord hookups in the floor, a large atrium with plants, and a dozen or so computers, and good people-watching windows. Holmes Lounge is a stately, classy hangout next to Brookings Quadrangle in the oldest section of campus. Everything about this place exudes class: real fireplace, leather furniture, high ceilings, and shiny hardwood floors. This is also a really popular place to get lunch such as the delicious wraps—ask for house sauce! There are free copies of daily newspapers available (available elsewhere too). The university loves to show this place off and you'd be remiss not to spend a lot of time here catching up with friends, meeting with professors, or doing homework. On nice days—a rarity in St. Louis from December through March—you'll see tons of people out on the Swamp, a large field in the middle of the dorms on the South 40. There are a couple basketball courts that are constantly in use despite their short rims. There's also a playground—go figure—barbeque pits that don't get used all that much, and that giant field that, true to its name, can get really muddy. Every April, there's a giant water balloon fight where everyone gets wet and muddy. The rest of the year people play football, Frisbee, soccer, and volleyball on the nice sand court.”

Washington U’s housing is concentrated in an area in the campus’s southwest corner called the “South 40.” There are nine residential colleges housing about 300 students each in the area. There is also housing on the north side of campus, an area aptly named North Side. The newest dorms, Liggett/Koenig (really just one building with two sections) are examples of large suite-style living. The front of the dorm has these fake steeples that have an undeniable corniness to them. The inside of the dorm, however, is nothing short of luxurious, with expensive leather couches and nice TVs that I'm not sure get used all that often. Freshmen live in doubles and a few triples that are connected by a shared bathroom that a cleaning staff cleans for you twice a week. Sophomores have suites with a common room connecting a group of singles and maybe a few doubles. Lee/Beaumont is an older residence for freshmen with two substance-free floors. Students who live on these floors aren't allowed to have alcohol in their rooms and get in a lot more trouble if they get belligerent when drunk. Some students are put here against their will by overbearing parents and still go out on a regular basis, but on the whole Beaumont and other sub-free dorms and floors are quieter, more studious places. The Village is a smaller version of the South 40 on the north side of campus with upperclassmen housing. Washington U offers the Village BLOC program where students can get a group of people interested in a certain theme to live together, and get money from the school to put on events. The drawback of the system is that you have to deal with more bureaucracy and the common room is shared by a whole floor rather than a few students.

Washington U’s varsity teams, the Bears, compete in the University Athletic Association and the NCAA’s Division III. The men’s tennis and basketball teams each won an NCAA Championship in 2008; the women’s basketball team has won four championships; and the women’s volleyball team has won nine championships. The Bears have also earned 122 University Athletic Association titles across 14 sports. Although attendance at games is always spotty and no one reads the sports section in Student Life, our teams are among the best in DIII. As I write, our men's basketball team is on its way to its second trip to the Final Four; the school even provided free transportation and lodging in Salem, Virginia for fans. Our women's volleyball team won the national championships and get solid attendance at games.