Hima Bharathi
My school is great.
Saundra
I like it, but it is very expensive.
Alexa
To me, the size of this school is just right. It's not a huge university where you feel like you don't know anyone, but it's not so small that everyone knows each other. Going from the Kansas City suburbs to Lawrence, however, is quite a change, and I'm not a huge fan. The only reason I'm going to KU is because it's a short drive to KC and I can go back on the weekends to actually do things - there's not much to do in Lawrence.
One thing I don't like about this school is all of the school spirit. Personally, I've never had any kind of school spirit, but a lot of people assume I do and start talking about sports that I care nothing about. However, this is probably true with most universities, so there's no getting away from it.
Jackson
My overall opinion of this school is very high. I didn't think that a University that houses 30,000 students and is well known academic-wise as well as athletically would be able to offer opportunities to get involved for a nobody like myself. However, through networking and meeting people it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought. The first semester my freshman year I wrote for the campus newspaper and this spring I will be helping the football team. This University is big enough to offer a plethora of opportunities, and small enough to allow you to get involved in virtually anything you are interested in.
The University of Kansas is hard to beat! The location just adds to KU. Lawrence is one of the few "college towns" left. Massachusetts Street is always buzzing, and located a short distance from campus. It offers a variety of stores and restaurant and is a very nice location for a Sunday evening stroll. If you are the outdoors type, Clinton Lake is a nice place to get in touch with nature. Whether it is taking your boat out or pitching a tent, you will be able to get away from "city life" by only driving a short distance away from the heart of Lawrence.
Overall, KU offers a unique unrivaled college experience.
ALYSSA
The school pride at the University of Kansas is strong. Every student here has seemed to absorb the school spirit and this is displayed in the strong showing of supporters in all of our games and events. The size of the school is just nice and I feel comfortable walking among the students and getting to know new people each day. The best thing about this school is the culture that all students respect each others race, opinion and beliefs. As an international student, I am proud to be at KU where I am accepted for who I am. The experience that I will always remember is the Lunar New Year Party where I met a lot of Japanese, Korean,Chinese and American students whom all came together to make dumplings and sushi to usher in the Chinese New Year. It touched me to see so many students from different countries come together to learn more about each other. The most frequent student complaints are regarding the school's parking system. I t is very strict and sometimes unnecessary to hand out so many tickets.
Ryan
When I was in an airport in Raleigh, North Carolina over spring break, I was sitting in a terminal with a Kansas t-shirt on. A man walked up, introduced himself to me, and told me that he graduated from KU recently. We talked for a few minutes and I asked him how he enjoyed his experience at KU. He replied, "I loved it." When my plane connected in Chicago, the exact same thing happened when I met a woman who attended KU over thirty years ago. If I am back home in Colorado and make eye contact with someone who is wearing Kansas gear as well, they will smile and say "Rock Chalk". Everyone really enjoys their experience at KU. Everyone takes great pride in being a Jayhawk. At KU, one gets the true college experience... A busy street that everyone flocks to on the weekend, a lively party scene, amazing traditions, students laying out in the grass, awesome athletic events. Lawrence is a true college town and an ideal place to spend your college years. There are a variety of dance clubs, coffee shops, eclectic restaurants, neat stores, and awesome music venues that attract great artists every month. The campus is beautiful. It sits on top of a hill and has many different levels to it. The red roofs can be seen from miles away. The campus has a great bus system so one doesn't have to walk up the hill to class if they don't want to. Everything on campus is within walking distance from another spot on campus though.
Jesse
When I was in an airport in Raleigh, North Carolina over spring break, I was sitting in a terminal with a Kansas t-shirt on. A man walked up and introduced himself to me and told me that he graduated from KU recently. We talked for a few minutes and I asked him how he enjoyed his experience at KU. He replied, "I loved it." When my plane connected in Chicago, the exact same thing happened as when I met a woman who attended KU over thirty years ago. If I am back home in Colorado and make eye contact with someone who is wearing Kansas gear as well, they will smile and say "Rock Chalk". Everyone really enjoys their experience at KU. Everyone takes great pride in being a Jayhawk. At KU, one gets the true college experience... A busy street that everyone flocks to on the weekend, a lively party scene, amazing traditions, students laying out in the grass, awesome athletic events. Lawrence is a true college town and an ideal place to spend your college years. There are a variety of dance clubs, coffee shops, eclectic restaurants, cool clothing stores, and awesome music venues that attract great artists every month. The campus is beautiful. It sits on top of a hill and has many different levels to it. The red roofs can be seen from miles away. The campus has a great bus system so one doesn't have to walk up the hill to class if they don't want to. Everything on campus is within walking distance from another spot on campus though.
Alaina
I think the best thing about KU is the laid back environment. I would change the hills if I could, walking up a giant hill to an 8 a.m. class is not much fun. I think it's just right, you can avoid people you may not want to see and still run into others you don't see enough. Since I'm from Topeka they don't really have much of a reaction when I tell them I'm going to school at KU. Most of my time spent on campus is either in class or at the library. I think Lawrence is a definite college town. I don't know much about KU's administration, I feel like maybe it isn't talked about enough. I think the biggest recent controversy on campus is trying to change the way the dorms deal with the underage drinking of the freshmen. Yes, I think there is plenty of school pride. We have White Owl, he's pretty unusual. I will never forget when we won the championship game, it was my Freshman year and we also won the Orange Bowl that year, it was the greatest Freshman year I could have asked for. I think the most frequent student complaints are about people smoking on campus.
Xavier
Usually when I tell people I go to KU they give me a lot of respect. Normally because of the basketball and football programs but also because it is known as such a great university in the mid-west. If I could I would change the tuition rates that way more people from lower income levels could attend a great university at a more affordable price. Now that I am a senior I spend almost all my time in the Journalism building because that's where most of my classes and friends are. I try not to spend too much time in the library but when I need to study I usually am in Watson library because the others are way too loud. I like to hangout in front of Wescoe beach and talk with my friends. It really isn't a beach people just call it that but it is one of the more popular places to hangout because it's in the middle of campus.
School pride runs deep within the student body. During homecoming there is KU stuff all over the City of Lawrence and the sororities and fraternities chalk pictures of Jay Hawks all over campus. Jay hawks are so unique because no other school has the same mascot or the historical significance behind theirs which is why school pride is a big deal in Lawrence. KU ALL THE WAY!!!!!
Andy
Best thing about KU is the variety of campus activities available and experiencing Lawrence.
Megan
KU has a great atmosphere and is filled with people who are very interesing and fun to be around. The only thing I would change about KU would be the cost of attendance; I know that it is less than a lot of other state schools, but it is still very difficult for me to find money for tuition. When I tell people that I go to KU, they always smile; it makes me proud that they know where I go to school and our traditions. I mostly spend my time in my scholarship hall; there are a lot of people around and it makes our community very interesting and fulfulling. There is so much pride here, especially now that we won the basketball National Championship; I think that has been the greatest experience yet. I will always remember Mass St. after the game and how many people packed the streets to celebrate.
Sarah
KU is a good place for mostly everyone because we are so diverse. The town of Lawrence is an awesome college town with tons of different things to do. There is definitely a ton of school pride, especially after winning the National Championship. Although, we had plenty of pride in our school along the way to winning the championship.
Students seem to complain about the parking the most. There isn't enough space to park and the spaces are about 1/2 the size of normal parking spaces.
Amara
The best thing about KU in my opinion is basketball, because I love the sport. Also, I love the campus, and the independence I get to experience. It's very large. Most people think KU is awesome, but there are always people who will disagree. There is a lot of school pride, and I personally love my school. Of course, the biggest experience I will always remember is the basketball team winning the national championship.
Torry
The best thing about KU is that the University is only an hour and a half away from my hometown, but it is a breath of fresh air because of all the different views you encounter when you get there. I feel that even though the campus has around 28,000 students, it doesn't feel too big at all. If I tell someone that I go to KU, they are usually surprised because I came from a small town where most people choose to go to K-State because of its closeness and more conservative stereotype.
This year, there is an amazing amount of school pride because we won both the Orange Bowl in football and then the NCAA Championship in basketball. It's a great year to be a Jayhawk, and I'll never forget it!
Brittany
Four words: 2008 NCAA Basketball Champions!!!! I will never forget the best basketball game in the world played on April 7, and subsequent mass crowds and partying that occurred on Mass. Street following the game!! KU is a really unified school, and I think that it is partly due to the outstanding KU athletic teams (basketball and football). Also Lawrence is a great town! Many people think that because it is in Kansas, it must be a hick town. It's the complete opposite! It is a very forward-thinking, open, beautiful town (very Boston-ish). Lawrence's pride in Mass. Street and its aura also unifies the University of Kansas and creates a great deal of pride in being a Jayhawk!
Emily
I would change the amount of parking available to students at KU. KU is building more facilities (like a practice field for the football team -- which is being built where parking for the football stadium used to be -- and a new scholarship hall) without building more parking. And if I had the ability, I would change the amount of hills on campus. I don't think the KU campus is too big. Some of the buildings need to be updated b/c some of them have so not-so-safe parts, like the elevators for example. KU is definitely part of a college town. Whenever school is not in session, Lawrence is almost completely dead, except for the townies. KU needs to change the math and physics departments because they both are not organized well and they don't have sufficient professors to teach. KU definitely has a lot of school pride. One thing that I love about the students is that we love our school, but we don't out-right bad mouth others and purposefully start fights. Yes, we bicker w/ our rivals, but we aren't down-right mean. I will always remember this school year and how our football team won the Orange Bowl and our basketball team won the NCAA Championship.
Emmerson
I love this school. I love the sports games, the pretty campus, the overall atmosphere. I don't feel like KU is very big, and I come from a town of 1,200 people. It really doesn't seem that big to me. This is definitely a college town, and Mass Street proves it. I will always remember how we won the Orange Bowl, and I was there for it, and how we won the basketball championship, and I was on Mass for that.
Charlie
watching sports is never dull---we're awesome at basketball, and becoming good at football. its the perfect size, and the town is awesome. there are always things to do, ku has tons of activities...its just a really fun place to go to school. there is tons of pride. I'll never forget winning a national championship, and the sense of unity our school has. celebrating on mass street after victories is never dull!