Waseda University is a private University in Tokyo, founded in 1882 by Shigenobu Okuma, scholar and government leader. Originally it was named "Tokyo Senmon Gakko (College)" and under the old university system, had only three departments. Today is a comprehensive, coeducational University with multiple campuses, including ones for Literature and Sports Sciences. The newest branch is a four-year program called The International College, made for Japanese and foreign students. Waseda also has a number of Senior High Schools and 'cram schools' affiliated with it.
"Waseda" can also be used to describe the general area of Tokyo around the main campus of this University. The Waseda area is famous for its many cheap ramen shops, which cater to some 44,000 hungry Waseda students. Waseda-dori, the main street, is also known for its many used book stores.
The main campus and Toyama campuses are both about a 20 minute walk from Takadanobaba station, a stop on the circular Yamanote line. Students have a slang term for the walk from "baba" to Campus: "baba-ruki." The second half of the term comes from the verb stem "aruki," to
walk. ("baba" also means 'grandma,' so I guess it can also sound like 'grandma walk').
From personal experience, I can say that the typical Waseda student probably studied really hard to get into Waseda, but now parties constantly; this does not even come close to paralleling what happens at American institutions! Usually Japanese students get burnt out in high school preparing to enter college, and once they get in, it's pretty easy to graduate, so they spend a lot of time socializing, drinking, and staring at their cell phones. But cell phones and Japanese teenagers is in a whole 'nother node.
www.waseda.ac.jp/eng/