Student Life
The school has over 90 student clubs. Freshmen, unless local, are required to live on-campus. On-campus housing is available for approximately 900 students. Most students (70-75 percent) stay on-campus over the weekend to participate in various social and recreational activities. Approximately 30 percent of students attend graduate school in the first year following graduation and approximately 45 percent do so within five years. Student/faculty ratio: 12/1. Average class size is 17. The school confers the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts (in English, Psychology & History).
Sustainability initiatives are branded George Goes Green and include a green pledge, recycling, composting, an annual energy reduction competition, and use of biofuels. Washington College has also joined American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment with a Campus Carbon Neutrality goal. The Center for Environment & Society oversees the Chesapeake Semester program, four interdisciplinary courses that use the College's location in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explore environmental issues and advocacy.
Washington College is host to the Harwood Series, which includes speeches by national politicians, and media pundits. In recent years, Haley Barbour, Howard Dean, John McCain, James Carville, Cokie Roberts, Chris Matthews, Ellen Sauerbrey, Donna Shalala, Eugene McCarthy, Cornel West, Birch Bayh, Gary Hart, Richard Lugar, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Karl Rove have appeared on campus. Entertainers such as the Counting Crows, Bruce Hornsby, Eddy Arnold, Wayne Brady, Jason Mraz, DJ Kool, Guster and Larry Hagman have all appeared on campus in one capacity or another. Because of its reputation as a liberal arts school with creative writing being a strength, writers such as John Barth, Ray Bradbury, Bobbie Ann Mason and Robert Pinsky have given readings at the campus.
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Famous quotes containing the words student and/or life:
“When our kids are young, many of us rush out to buy a cute little baby book to record the meaningful events of our young child’s life...But I’ve often thought there should be a second book, one with room to record the moral milestones of our child’s lives. There might be space to record dates she first shared or showed compassion or befriended a new student or thought of sending Grandma a get-well card or told the truth despite its cost.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Take away love, and our earth is a tomb!
Flower o’ the quince,
I let Lisa go, and what good in life since?”
—Robert Browning (1812–1889)