<p>Lisad93: I can’t accurately answer your question because I live in Tucson year round. </p>
<p>Mirror: I don’t think it’s a full ride. But you may end up getting grants which would make attending slightly more affordable. The cost of attendance estimates are inflated in every area except tuition. You could conceivably get an apartment and cut your living costs in half. If you bought groceries at an off-campus store, your food costs would be markedly lower. Don’t buy your books from the campus bookstore, buy them online. Also, apply for outside scholarships as a U of A student. You probably won’t need a car either, considering that you could find housing closer to the university.</p>
<p>Mirror: My scholarships and whatnot total up to a bit over 20k a year…and I (well…my parents) only end up paying about 4k a year out of pocket (OOS) for tuition. Totaling up misc. stuff like rent, books, and food, I think 30k is a good approximation of full ride.</p>
<p>How would you describe the typical student who goes to Arizona?
Are the students more interested in sports and partying?
Is the Honors College worthwhile and are the Honors students different from the regular student body?</p>
<p>I have plenty more but I’ll wait until I get answers for these first.</p>
<p>There is no typical. It’s something like 20k people and there’s a good representation from other states coming OOS. Demographics is mostly white people.</p>
<p>Sports is big but I don’t think it’s the end all like it is at some schools. You’re not expected to go to games and the like. Partying is also fairly regular, usually frat/sorrority concentrated. In my exp. most of the partiers fall into the d0uche crowd.</p>
<p>I’m not recommending the honors college unless $500 / year is nothing to you. Priority registration is the <em>only</em> benefit, and it doesn’t make that much of a difference in terms of getting classes beyond freshman year. Honors kids are inherently more intelligent/academically inclined than non-honors, but most times you never know when you’re dealing with honors kids unless you’re in one of a handful of H suffixed classes. Furthermore, I’ve had 0 employers see “Honors” on my resume and say anything (might be dif for non-engineering majors).</p>
<p>I think that it is sort of silly to term people who party as ***<strong><em>s. There are thousands of people here who enjoy drinking and participating in late night reverie at the U of A. By no means is it fair to call all of the *</em></strong><strong>s. Whether or not you drink and party are personal decisions, but doing either of them will not turn you into a </strong>. That sort of attitude will cause you to not make friends and feel alienated.</p>
<p>@UAKid, so would you say that the student body is diverse? Are the students mostly self-segregated or do people hang out in multifarious groups?</p>
<p>Yeah I basically wanted to know what tends to dominate the social scene there.</p>
<p>Also there isn’t anything else about the Honor’s college you found beneficial? Just priority registration? Not even the dorms or classes particularly?</p>
<p>Another question I have is what is Tucson like? Is the university in an urban area? Easy access around the city or would you say a car is helpful?</p>
<p>@walteral1990, how would you describe the social scene and what do you like most and least about the University of Arizona? (Anyone can answer this please)</p>
<p>I have plenty more to come…
Oh and thanks to everyone who answers questions on this thread!</p>
<p>No one group dominates the social scene at the U of A. There are not cliques at the U of A like there are at high schools. Sure “greeks” congregate together, but joining (and thriving in) a fraternity or a sorority is possible even if you were not “popular” in high school. Also, people I know and myself, who are not members of fraternities and sororities, have close friends who are members of fraternities and sororities. If you have something in common with another person, than it is possible that you will become friends with that person. There are not many barriers to entrance to the U of A’s social scene. </p>
<p>I always marvel at the fact that some people can make generalizations about such a large group of people. At a big state university there is really something for everyone.</p>
<p>About the honors college: There are some very talented students in the Honors College. But, on the other hand, there are also very talented individuals who are not members. Academically speaking, I can safely say that the quality of the average Honors student is slightly higher than the average non-Honors student. However, I have found the difference to be nugatory. If you want to enter a non-professional graduate program upon graduation, it is easier to find research opportunities within the Honors college though. </p>
<p>The University of Arizona is in an urban area, but comparing that urban area to something that you would find in NYC or something like that would not do it justice. There aren’t many tall buildings, but there are homeless people and backed up traffic. I don’t think I can accurately describe it over the internet. It, however, is not really overwhelming though. Anywhere you wanted to go, except maybe the airport, is readily accessible by bike. Also, the suntran bus system is a decent setup that will take you nearly anywhere in the city. The campus is pretty nice, and the surrounding areas are some of the nicer parts of Tucson, with the exception of the neighborhood on the northwest corner of Euclid and Speedway. With that said, a car would be nice, but if it would be too expensive, you could easily do without. </p>
<p>My favorite parts are the sports, the girls, and the campus.
I dislike the rising costs, the heat, and the class sizes.</p>
<p>“Are the students mostly self-segregated or do people hang out in multifarious groups?”</p>
<p>Lol, haven’t heard self-segregated outside of a prison movie No like walteral said, it’s so big that there’s no real cliques or anything like that. Definitely not like high school.</p>
<p>No to me just the priority registration is important. Honors dorms…errr…no thanks. I think it’s probably a folly to believe that they’re going to be wildly better than a regular dorm.</p>
<p>Re: easy access around city. Not sure what you’re planning on doing. Bare bones you only need a grocery store, and there are a couple around campus which are easy to get to via bus or (if you’re ambitious) walking/biking. Most people who bring cars end up not using them 99% of the time.</p>
<p>Re: tucson. I don’t live there full time, and I might be a bit of a pvssy, but I wouldn’t want to go far off campus at night without a gun. Old is one word to describe it.</p>
<p>Don’t go west of 4th street, south of 22nd, or east of country club. Immediately beyond those boundaries there are some rough neighborhoods. But if you want to go further than that for something like the mall or a baseball game, there are suburban neighborhoods once you go for a few miles. Essentially South Tucson is ghetto, as are the west side and central Tucson. With that said you’ll be surprised how few pedestrians are out, except maybe in the city of South Tucson. The eastside and the north side are both comfortable suburban areas. Oro Valley is also pretty nice. </p>
<p>The city isn’t a war zone. I’ve lived here since I was 9, and I have never been messed with once. Chances are you’ll meet a Tucson native who owns a car too, so that could help. You could just get you groceries from the Safeway on Campbell and Broadway and buy your clothing on University or online. Taking steps like those would allow you to never venture further than a mile and a half from campus.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for answering my questions so thoroughly and promptly! I’m an out of stater and I’m looking for a financial safety at this point. I saw that the UofA has great National Merit opportunities so Arizona could possibly be really affordable. I know for sure that I won’t be able to visit the school until next spring after I’ve gotten my acceptances back and I’m about to make my final decision. So you guys are really helping me learn things that can’t be found on the website.</p>
<p>Here are some more questions and feel free to share any and all of you opinions in regards to the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>Is Arizona “better” than Arizona State or are they considered about the same in Arizona and throughout the West specifically?
Does the school do a lot when it comes to finding a job after graduation?
What kind of impact do sports have on the campus? Does everyone go to games? Which sports teams get the most support?
What student organizations are you apart of and do you love them?
Is there anyone you would think might feel uncomfortable at the university of Arizona or someone Arizona would not be the best fit for?</p>
<p>Again thanks so much for answering my questions… lol, I just have sooo many</p>
<p>UA vs ASU. Technically UA is the state flagship. Reality is about the same reputation. </p>
<p>IMO finding a job isn’t going to be a problem (we’ll see this upcoming semester). Career Services provides a nice interface for employers to do on campus interviews and there’s a spring and fall career fair.</p>
<p>The only impact of sports on me is making parking within a mile of campus impossible on game days. Also expect to have to mow down a few pedestrians Football and Softball are pretty big. Dunno about other sports.</p>
<p>Not apart of any student orgs. Poor resume padders and wastes of time if you ask me. Employers and whatnot don’t care unless you’re a president or something of them. Engineering is pretty notorious for these…but there are a few functionally useful clubs like desert racing or aerial vehicles.</p>
<p>If you dislike crowds, UA is an avoid. It’s not crazy, but it’s up there. The # of people also has administrative issues associated with it. Registering for classes can sometimes suck. And the administrative building becomes a DMV with 2 hour waits for the first 2 weeks of classes.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for answering my questions! These are the last ones that I have… at least for now.
(I’ll definately come back if I have more. This has by far been one of the most informative threads and has allowed me to get answers to the exact questions that I have)</p>
<p>What schools were you picking from and ultimately why did you choose to come to the University of Arizona?
Is it what you expected? More? Less?
Do you wish you had gone somewhere else?
Does Arizona feel like something you settled for?
Would another school have been a better fit and why?</p>
<p>Okay, that’s basically it. I like the University of Arizona and I’ll probably end up applying, especially if it will be affordable. It meets a lot of my criteria and I think that it could be a great option.
Anyways with August already here I need to spend a little less time on CC and more time on my applications. Thanks again for the help. Good luck class of 2012!</p>
<p>I applied to stanford, usc, ucsd, ut austin, ua. Got into all but stanford. UA was an easy choice because a) my state university is a joke and b) UA was the only university with a serious scholarship offer. UCSD was something stupid like 2k a year (when OOS is 30k a year). USC didn’t give me anything even though my SAT and GPA were easily top 5% of the applicants. USC also costs 50k a year.</p>
<p>Money wasn’t really the deciding factor though. My parents were going to pay no matter where I went. But UA is a nice blend of good programs across the board, nice campus, nice location, etc. I probably should have applied to ASU as well just because more jobs are in Phoenix, but it’s not much of an issue. Every phoenix employer also comes down to tucson for interviews.</p>
<p>My advice would be not to get caught up in school reputations (I only applied to stanford just to see if I could get in). Employers are somewhat smarter nowadays and realize you can be smart and <em>not</em> go to an Ivy. Pick a school that is a nice all rounder.</p>
<p>I first just want to say thanks to the folks that take the time to answer people’s questions on this forum. It’s tremendously helpful and much more informative than the polished bs you get at campus tours. </p>
<p>I’ve almost finished my application for fall 2012 and am basically guaranteed admission because of the AZ resident qualifying standards deal. I should also qualify for the honors college as well which is why I’m curious if anyone has more info on the new honors residence hall Arbol de la Vida. I couldn’t check it out when I came down for a campus tour but maybe someone on here has seen it. I don’t know whether to put this one or Likins as my top pick. Any info would be great! </p>
<p>*Also on a side note, I know this topic has already been discussed but not in too much detail so I’ll ask anyways. How beneficial is the Honors College at UA. I’m considering applying to Barrett at ASU but I really don’t want to be in my mom’s backyard for college and I’ve heard mixed reviews from friends who are already in Barrett. Thanks in advance for any help.</p>
<p>I walked past the Likins dorm on the way to the rec center a few times last week. From the outside it is really nice. The only rooms I could see were the study rooms/ common areas, and I’d imagine that the bedrooms are similar to those of the other, older dorms, but slightly nicer. It’s also in a nice central location, where you would be close to your classes, the stadium, the rec center, the library, McKale Center, and the other dorms. I don’t know much about the other new dorms because I don’t usually venture to that part of campus. </p>
<p>As for the ASU and the UA honors colleges, I advise against them unless you want to go to non-professional graduate school. The thesis will allow you to have a relatively substantive piece of research on your CV. You will also be able to have closer relationships with some professors. Otherwise I would save your $500 and travel somewhere during spring break. The priority registration may seem nice. But I wouldn’t pay the fee for that privilege. I’m sure, however, UAkid can come up with compelling reasons to join the honors college.</p>
<p>Hey thanks for your response Walteral1990. I was thinking the same think since Highland Ave. is most central to everything and just across the street from the rec center. The other one is really isolated and overpopulated given that Coronado and AZ sonora are right next too it. I don’t really care if Likins isn’t an honors dorm but I plan on doing honors anyways simply because of the smaller classes and better professors. </p>
<p>I took a tour of Barrett today at ASU and it absolutely solidified my decision for UA. I first couldn’t find the administrative building which *<em>**ed me off because I was late for the information session. I ask a student and a receptionist and both of them couldn’t tell me where it was like </em>! The campus is pretty much a bunch of urban buildings with some grassy areas but in like a gated community which entirely closes it off from the rest of campus. I couldn’t help laughing because the entire time they were trying to convince me that the honors college was like an ivy league caliber education with the price of a state school. Like give me a break dude this is still ASU.They also couldn’t answer a lot of my questions and kept referring me to other people which gave me a pretty good idea of how this school functions (total bureaucracy!) And then to finish off they made me pay for parking while at UA my tour came with free parking. So basically what that showed me is that the bureaucracy at ASU sucks balls, and that UA is where its at.</p>
<p>As far as a shuttle…no. But you can catch the number 6 or number 11 bus and it takes you right next to campus from the airport…takes 1 hour transit time and only costs a buck 75. I like the bus…you can go massive distances for a fraction of what it would cost if you drove yourself.</p>
<p>Can international students be admitted to the Honors College? Sorry if this seems obvious but I’ve searched all over the school website but can’t seem to get an answer!</p>
No like walteral said, it’s so big that there’s no real cliques or anything like that. Definitely not like high school.</p>
Thanks again for the help. Good luck class of 2012!</p>