As with any university, the University of Washington has areas in which it excels and others where, well, it could do better. But if you happen to want to attend an area it is well known in (medicine and computer science, to name a few), then this school is a fine choice. Especially if you're a washington native - the value for your money is hard to beat.
Some people complain that the UW is too big of a school and hence it will be hard to make friends, but this is never something I understood. At some point, you'll always be in smaller classrooms, and once you enter a department, you start to take the same classes with the same people.
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