University of Kansas Top Questions

KU has a beautiful campus. The architecture is amazing--the red roofs make for a wonderful view from the top of the hill. The landscaping is lovely--the trees in the fall turn vibrant colors. The steep hills and tall trees often surprise students from the "flat" areas of Kansas. KU has many renowned programs and students excel academically. KU can be a great choice for people who like large classes and for people who prefer smaller classes; both large lectures and small honors sections, large dorms and small scholarship halls are available. Lawrence is a fabulous college town. It's an amazing community; it offers many opportunities for attending concerts (both classical and rock), volunteering, and expanding one's interests artistically and academically; it has an awesome downtown scene--you can shop to support local businesses or just have fun on Mass Street. KU has many excellent staff members and professors famous for their work in their fields. There is a LOT of school pride, demonstrated after we became basketball champions! The only big complaints I hear are about the ridiculously strict parking rules and the difficulty of working with the bureaucracy.

Lawrence is a college town that is perfect for young adults to adjust into the real world. We are far enough away from Kansas City that you can distance yourself from your family if you want, but if you ever need to fall back to one of your family members they aren't too far away. The town is amazing and the sports program is fantastic. Being a college town, there are plenty of ways to get involved and there is an excellent night life around the city. The faculty are top notch and if you are looking to go to a graduate school, KU has some top notch ones to attend if that is something you would like to pursue.

KU is an unbelievably great place to go to school. It is a big school with a lot of big classes, so you have to be able to handle the relative lack of personal attention. However, if you seek them out, professors are more than happy to work personally with students. Lawrence is a great college town that offers a lot to college life. Downtown offers great restaurants, live music, local businesses, and small coffee shops (a must for any college town). We LOVE our basketball here, as evidenced by the insane celebrations after we won the national championship. Being an athlete, I have a unique perspective of the school, and that perspective makes me love it here even more. KU athletics really does strive to be excellent in EVERYTHING we do, not just sports (although we are pretty good at that). Our student-athletes are high achievers in the classroom as well as the community, and the administration is dedicated to helping us live up to the gifts that God has given us.

No matter who you are or where you are from, you have a place at KU.

The best thing about KU would have to be the atmosphere. Everyone comes together for sporting events, football and men's basketball, specifically. We have some of the best traditions that have been going on since the university was established. I can't really think of anything I would want to change at the university. The greeks are an overwhelming population, so I guess I would like to see the university advertise more ways to get involved than just by joining a sorority or fraternity. I believe KU is the right size for me, but an opinion on the size of a school depends on the individual. When I tell people that I go to KU, most react by saying I went to the "wrong" school. In other words, everyone from my hometown are huge KSU fans...and I chose to be different. Otherwise, a lot of people think that it's cool that I chose to go somewhere most of my high school classmates didn't go. Most of my time on campus is in a library. Being a pre-pharmacy student requires a lot of studying! Lawrence is a great college town. The best are the Lawrence residents, who support KU and the college students and have the same spirit we do for KU. The biggest recent controversy on campus would be gay pride week. Fred Phelps decided to show his presence. Most do not like Fred Phelps anyways, but he of course caused controversy with his radical ideals. KU has A LOT of school pride. How can you go to such a great college without having pride in it...especially after winning the Orange Bowl and NCAA championship within one year?! I love walking into classrooms and seeing the wave of blue, red, and white KU t-shirts. It just reminds me of how much school pride and spirit all of us have. I have had many experiences I will always remember. I will remember Mass St. each time after each big NCAA basketball game. I will remember my experiences going to basketball games in Allen Fieldhouse and the traditions we have there. I will remember the football games in Memorial Stadium, the band playing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and many other things having to do with KU football. I will remember having the "famous" athletes in some of my classes. I will remember the first time I came to KU, when I fell in love with the campus, the great views from the hill, and the red rooftops. The most frequent student complaints are usually about Lew Perkins stealing all our money and parking. Parking is probably the most complained about. The scholarship halls have minimal parking for how many students live in them, the dorms can in no way support how many residents they have, and parking at the recreation center isn't that great, either. But parking definitely should not deter any decision of attending KU!

The best part about KU is how pretty it is when the seasons change. In the fall it is really breath taking. When I tell people I go to KU they usually respond with "wow you must be really smart." KU is a big school, but it honestly doesn't feel very big. The only time I notice it is at football games when all the students are in one general area. I think KU has great fans, I have never been on campus and not seen someone in some sort of KU shirt. I will for sure always remember the basketball championship game.

KU is a large university, but it is also close-knit; it is not so large that students "disappear" when they come here. Despite its size, I always run into someone I know, whether I am on campus or in downtown Lawrence. School spirit is a huge part of the university's personality. The best experience I've had so far is KU winning the national championship in basketball. The school really united, even more than usual, and the excitement was amazing.

KU can be a daunting place for some students. It is a Big 12 school, and it is easy to get lost in the daily grind if you don't find organizations to join and extra-curriculars in which to participate. Even as an honors student, I find it difficult sometimes to meet up with like-minded students, or those who are not apathetic about school work. Because our standards of admissions are not as rigorous as private colleges, KU does have a group of students who do the very least to get by with non-failing grades. Many people also perceive KU as dominated by the Greek community. While many students do choose to join fraternity or sororities, they do not by any means rule the campus. The Greek vote does play a huge deciding factor in student senate elections, but as a resident of a scholarship hall, I do not feel infringed on by the Greek community. KU is really into sports. Nearly everyone watches the games, and most people here own more KU apparel than non-KU apparel it seems. Sports bring in a lot of revenue for the campus and the surrounding Lawrence community. KU is also a comprehensive research institution, though, so I don't think it is fair to assume that KU is only concerned with sports. Overall, because it is such a big school, it offers a lot of diverse opportunities to fit a student's needs. However, a student must expend a lot more energy to find or create those opportunities for themselves here.

I really like the size of KU. When I talk to some of my friends at really small schools, they complain that it feels like high school because you always interact with the same people. I think KU is great because you meet new people all the time. I also like that there are so many different majors to choose from and classes to take. I also love living in Lawrence because there is always something to do. There are great restaurants, coffee places, shopping, and more. I'm from Wichita and I always wonder what WSU students do for fun. Wichita just doesn't seem like a town for young people the way Lawrence does.

When I tell people I go to KU they usually look at me and think im some snob or that I have a lot of money. I definitly love going here though because there is no place like Lawrence and KU. There is so much to do here you can never really get bored. As far as school pride goes I think it would be very difficult to find another college with more pride than KU, just check out photos of Mass street after we won the championship this year.