Brigham Young University-Provo Top Questions

Most of my classmates were in the top of their class in high school, grew up outside of Utah, and are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

What can I say, we are amazing. We have people from all over the world of all religions that come here. Yes, the majority are LDS, but the University tries hard to find students that will add to the diversity of BYU. Most of the 30,000+ students are involved in something or other. We have BYUSA, which is our student government, who puts on events all the time - from dances and BYU Idol to concerts and service projects. Students who graduate with a degree from BYU have a good chance of finding a good job in their field because employers around the globe know the work ethic that is promoted here.

Overall, people are very nice. Don't go around assuming that everyone is LDS or that they have as strong of a testimony as you do. Be friends with everyone anyway. We have the Honor Code that we sign that we will abide by, yet I see a good number of freshman that still wear shorts that are too short, clothes that are too tight, and shirts that are too low. That bothers me most of about students. BYU Provo is not as diverse as I thought it would be. I guess BYU Hawaii has more diversity in the student body, as far as race and ethnicity.

BYU students for the most part have high moral standards. The honor code is a huge part of our campus and even though it is now enforced on campus and in all aspects of life at BYU students should recognize that students came up with it 40-50 years ago and this is what makes us unique. If you dont want to live the honor code dont come here. I love walking on campus knowing that people aren't here to be dumb.

BYU's Student Body is mostly of the LDS religion, white, higher socio-economic status. There are a lot of students from out of the country and diverse in that way. I've never had a class that there were not at least 3-4 students not from America. Plus, because so many students go on missions, they bring back insights to many other cultures that we are unfamiliar with. Students are pretty well-groomed. Short hair for guys, not more than one piercing in each ear. Modesty is a big thing, never show belly, back, above the knee, shoulder, cover chest, etc. Students come from all around the country. Many students are politically aware, what their career will be, what Graduate school they are going to, what they plan to specialize in, etc.

BYU's student body is one of the most ecclectic student bodies I've come across. I've never been on a campus where just walking from class to class you will come across so many different world cultures, hear so many different languages spoken, and see so many different people. Now the honor code's regulations on dress and grooming probably doesn't make that diversity as radical as most other places, but believe me, it's there. The greatest part about the student body is that the great majority of us all share at least one thing in common, that we are members of the LDS church and at least agree with it enough to have been baptized at a certain point in our lives. If there was one thing I would like to see changed in the student body is the whole atmosphere of urgency. I have nothing against the importance of being urgently engaged in whatever you are doing, but I think here at BYU that sense of urgency is being misinterpreted into a sense of radical paranoia. It seems like everybody is so focused on being busy out of their mind that they don't feel like they have any time for leisure. I have a pretty busy schedule as well, but I don't take it too seriously and will always take time to take a break.

Yes, BYU is run by LDS people. It is very rare that I meet someone on-campus that isn't. And when I do it's fun to talk to them, but usually it's about classes or some such thing.

About 98{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of BYU is of the Mormon faith. Over half of the student body speaks another language. BYU students are from all over the world. Many of the students are married and some have children. BYU is the number one most sober campus. BYU students are known to be peppy, social, and excited about life.

BYU students have the wonderful experience of being stereotyped, being mostly Mormon, mostly white, and mostly normal. Walking around campus is like walking around a glossed over high school. There are no goths (I take that back - I saw one), few punks, and very few extreme appearances. I don't feel like BYU is suppressing student expression the least bit, but I do feel like the very similar backgrounds discourages them from either seeing the differences in others or expressing their own. Suffice it to say, I met very few people who felt completely at home in their own skin from the get go. It takes a while to peel away the layers and get to their inner weirdness.

I've several foreign students at BYU. A student that would feel out of place at BYU is one that does not conform to LDS religious beliefs. Different types of students do interact. I was surprised, however, when I first came to BYU, by how much people don't interact in general... everyone is in their own little world --if you branch out to talk to people though, they will be friendly in return. Most BYU students are from Utah, California, Nevada and Arizona. BYU students are predominantly right.