BYU vs public state Uni

[Runner45]

Greetings, new here and I like the layout of the board. Any thoughts on BYU versus a regular state school. Our son is only male LDS student in his HS so in a way he would like to attend BYU. On the other hand he also is worried it may be a culture shock from his little ward on the beach in South. Any thoughts would be welcome.

[ChinoCoug]

BYU.

I went to a state school for one semester. BYU has comparable cost, superior quality.

UCs cost substantially more than BYU, Cal State (or land grant schools) comparable.

[MikeWaters]

BYU is good for some LDS kids, not so good for others (minority). I think I was one of those not ideally suited for BYU. But I did fine. Made some friends. Met my wife.

Social reasons are definitely in play. I'll write more when I can sit at a keyboard.

[MikeWaters]

It's a big cultural change to go from being the only LDS (outsider) to just one of many LDS (insider). Some kids can have unrealistic expectations for what a 98% LDS scene should be like and become disillusioned ("so many hypocrites"; "they don't read their scriptures like they should"; "I met someone who drinks" etc.).

I personally found that my religion meant much LESS to me at BYU. I never had a calling. Was asked to speak once in 4 years. Never really had much in the way of gospel conversations (because it was already a given). It's kind of like growing up in a small branch and then moving to the largest ward ever where you can kind of disappear.

So that's the warning. But most kids do fine, love it, have a great time.

Academically I think BYU at the undergrad level measures up to most public universities. Because it doesn't have hard-core faculty, you lose some of the national research experts you would have at other universities. But that is not a huge hindrance. Grad schools know that BYU puts out a lot of good students. I think BYU gets better students than it really deserves from an academic standpoint. But that is a major point in BYU's favor--general quality of students. I found that BYU was easier to excel in than high school. But I came from a good high school. I majored in one of the sciences, and had very few scantron (multiple choice tests). I think this very much contrasts with the kind of testing one would get at most public universities. So there can be a difference there. Testing center, anyone?

Very little academic cheating going on at BYU, which is refreshing. I never saw a single keg or beer party my entire time at BYU, but that might just be because I didn't party much.

[Archaea]

Look at it from a cost benefit perspective.

What can you get for how much?

BYU compares in terms of quality of students and then you need to know in what department your child is likely to study.

[SoonerCoug]

I will never forget my first medical school interview at the U of Chicago. I was asked:

"Tell me one good thing and one bad thing about BYU."

I knew exactly what he was getting at.

I responded: "High quality students. Class sizes are too large."

I was trying to avoid controversy but it was clearly the wrong answer.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by SoonerCoug

I will never forget my first medical school interview at the U of Chicago. I was asked:

"Tell me one good thing and one bad thing about BYU."

I knew exactly what he was getting at.

I responded: "High quality students. Class sizes are too large."

I was trying to avoid controversy but it was clearly the wrong answer.

Stupid interviewer. You gave the appropriate response.

[Mindfulcoug]

No class is too big for me. We should be able to sit far away from the boys.

[SoonerCoug]

Originally Posted by mindfulcoug

No class is too big for me. We should be able to sit far away from the boys.

I'm surprised they allow you in the same room as the opposite sex. I thought that was forbidden.

[LiberalCougar]

Chem at BYU tends to make students give up on med school dreams!
Utah state makes chemistry a much more positive experience.
And you can be gay at utah state!