<p>Which, in your opinion, has the better academics?</p>
<p>UofA</p>
<p>(i'm assuming you mean arizona)</p>
<p>I've been researching the same question and here's what I've found. Arizona has the better academics in general, both are strong in business, with Arizona nudging out ASU in undergrad, and ASU beating out U of A for grad school and MBAs and such. Arizona's campus is much cleaner and nicer, and its dorms are also more spacious and nicer. Tempe and Tucson are similar cities in weather, population, feel, and that sort of stuff, but Tempe has more going on usually, bigger nightlife, and has a more "downtown feel". Both surrounding areas for nature are pretty nice. Both are party schools, with Arizona probably having the bigger rep for that. Arizona has a more attractive student body as well. U of A is the choice unless you always want something to do in the city.</p>
<p>terrifictom is partly right, but there are a few key things to remember.</p>
<p>-Arizona may be slightly higher ranked undergrad in business, but internship opportunities are much larger in Phoenix than in Tuscon, there really isn't any comparison.</p>
<p>-Tempe and Tuscon are very different, while Tempe is a college town and has lots of things going on, Tuscon is more of a city with a college in it; it does have some activities, but again not much compared to the Tempe/Phoenix area. Also, the influence of hispanic culture is prevalent in Tuscon while not so much in Tempe. While the U of A campus is really nice, I'm not sure the same applies to the overall city.</p>
<p>-Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and as such has opportunities for internships for political science majors, or others interested in politics. Likewise, the political events, like when Obama came to speak recently, are held in Tempe often.</p>
<p>-Not that this is important for choosing a college, but ASU actually has the more attractive student body.</p>
<p>-A big academic reason to attend ASU is its honors college, it's really improving and is ranked in the top 5 nationally. The U of A honors college is a lot less individual and is more of a "earlier registration and another dorm" type of program. I've read about students who felt deceived by the U of A honors college and all of what it was supposed to provide; on the other hand, everyone seems to like the ASU honors college and it provides many more real benefits of a stand alone college.</p>
<p>Overall, what I always tell people is that if you want to live in a smaller town or a smaller university go to U of A; if you want the nightlife and all the opportunities a big city gives you, go to ASU. If you want to major in science or other traditional academic majors go to U of A, while if you want a pre-professional school like engineering, communications, or business, go to ASU. Lastly, if you want a real honors college environment and larger scholarships, go to ASU. </p>
<p>Personally, I've applied to both and plan on going into business, so I'm waiting on my honors college decision at ASU and scholarship/honors college info from U of A; at the moment I'm leaning toward ASU, and my decision will likely be solidified if the honors college accepts me.</p>
<p>It also depends if you are going to live on campus or at home and commute. ASU looks great to me for nearly everything, except one MAJOR thing. The whole campus. I'm going to spend 4 (or more) years here, and am going to be on campus alot, and I can't handle dorms which are below standard, especially the frosh ones, bland buildings which leave much to be desired, and overall just not a campus you wouldn't enjoy spending time in. Whereas U of A has that scenic campus which is very nice. As a commuter, I would probably pick ASU, but living in the dorms every year, U of A for sure. Also, in my first post, I meant to put ASU has the bigger rep for partying, sorry about that.</p>
<p>My son is a NMSF (possible NMF). Does this mean sure-thing admission to the Honors College at either/both UA and ASU? The Websites of both colleges are a little ambiguous. Tx.</p>
<p>"but internship opportunities are much larger in Phoenix than in Tuscon, there really isn't any comparison"</p>
<p>but you don't do internships during the school year.</p>
<p>NMSF does translate into automatic admission into UA's Honor College. However, the Barrett Honors College at ASU is far more selective. (As noted by other posters, the two honors colleges are very different in philosophy, programs, and administration.) NMSF status definitely helps to get into BHC, but admission will not be a sure thing. You will also need the grades, SAT/ACT scores, class rank, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah. I was afraid of that. Great SATs. Great AP tests. Good EC records. Grades -- B+ average. "One of these things is not like the other things." Smart kid/boredom syndrome. He belongs in something like the BHC to stay challenged. I guess we'll find out if the admissions people agree. Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>I agree with you about the campus terrifictom, the dorms leave much to be desired. Luckily the honors college is building an entirely new compound that should be opening this fall or next fall; the idea behind it seems great, faculty and students dining together and such. </p>
<p>I wouldn't be so worried about admission into Barrett Rick Tyler, while it is much more selective than the number driven U of A honors college, your son still has a great chance, but it's impossible to guarantee anything with their "holistic" approach.</p>
<p>My son is interested in physics/astronomy and has applied to U of A. Almost certain he will get in the honors college. Can someone give me some more specifics on the weaknesses of the U of A honors college?</p>
<p>bumpity bump</p>
<p>One weakness at UofA honors: you have to maintain a 3.5 to stay in. Also there is no grade inflation as UofA is one of the few schools left that doesn't use (+) or (-) in their grading structure.</p>
<p>When we visited we liked UA over ASU. Both would be fine places to attend provided the fit is right for the student. </p>
<p>For us, UA rolled out the red carpet, 8 hours of personal individual attiention. We visited their hydroponics farm and horse stables. My D is planning either a pharmacy or vetinary career. She also rides. Everybody at UA was friendly, attentive and sincere. </p>
<p>ASU the honors program seemed pretty nice, but there was this prevailing feeling of being "separate" from the college. They made us feel like a volume "sale" as if we were being pitched and if we didn't bite, they would just go after the next one. Sort of a throw it against the wall and see what sticks thing. I'm just expressing my feeling here, I'm sure others felt differently. </p>
<p>We visited ASU after UA and maybe it was the courting ritual. UA 8 hours ASU counting the tour hour and a half. With maybe 10 minutes one to one with a rep from the honors college. UA we spent around 4 hours 1 to 1 with different department reps. I'm sure it may be different with others. </p>
<p>However, as the person who bought the airline tickets and booked the car and hotel rooms for week we were there, spending 10 minutes 1 to 1 did not leave a favorable impression with me. It seemed like I was paying a couple hundred a minute. </p>
<p>We as parents liked UA better between the two schools. I think either can give a great educational opportunity. Our D, well she chose a small LAC in Oregon after much turmoil. She liked everything UA offered her, she just couldn't deal with the location and distance from home. There is no such thing as natural grass growing in southern AZ, if it wasn't planted and mainted it was dusty dirt. And while catus are beautiful and abundant, they'll never replace evergreen forests for her. </p>
<p>That's the advantage of that NMF status, you get hundreds of great choices.
As she fretted over this final choice, I simply put an end to the unhappiness. You're up to your waist in gold, what do you have really to complain about? Then her real concerns came out and snap! problem solved.</p>
<p>Opiefrommayberry, I just got back from a visit to both ASU and UofA and had a great time. However, when you said that the ASU tour was very short, you must not have done the personalized visit that lasts the entire day (8:30-4:00). I'm interested in Psychology and Poli Sci, so my personalized tour involved those two aspects heavily and was very informative.</p>
<p>After my visit, I'd have to say that I liked ASU better than UA. Not that UA is a bad school, far from it, but I liked what Barrett at ASU had to offer better than the honors college at UA (it was more of a community).</p>
<p>Quick question: for those who have been accepted or know people that have, would being both a National hispanic scholar and a NMSF, combined with very high GPA and SATs give me a very good shot at getting in. I fell in love with ASU when I went there, and it's now my top choice, so I was just wondering if my chances were high at acceptance.</p>
<p>aqsoccer - I'm interested in ASU aswell. I'm not going for the honors college, but if you could give me some information about the school in general that would be great.</p>
<p>thanks..</p>
<p>For you fellow CCers who are either NMSF or the parent of one: I wouldn't worry about getting into Barrett. The school is very proud of its NM kids, and I think you would have to do something really terrible to not be accepted! That is just my feeling from talking to people about it.</p>
<p>My daughter is a NMSF and she applied to Barrett. We haven't seen it yet, but I'm thinking a trip to Tempe may make a nice escape from a Northeast winter in February!</p>
<p>SoCal18 - I'm from New York and used to nasty winters and lots of snow. When I went to ASU, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful climate. Obviously that's not something to base a college decision on, but it does help that Tempe gets 350 days of sun and the temperature is perfect (i hear it does get very hot in the summer though). Some things I really liked about the college:</p>
<p>The campus was gorgeous. I really enjoyed the palm trees and fountains, and like I said before, I was very surprised by how green it was. Palm Walk was great, and I liked how there were many little cafes all over the campus (especially Starbucks). Another thing that I noticed was the huge number of kids wearing ASU apparell, and I got the sense of pretty big school pride, which is always nice to have. It seemed like all the kids I saw enjoyed being there. Some highlights of the campus in my opinion are the Student Union (esp. Cereality, a cereal bar with all kinds of different types and many toppings, a place where I see myself often if I do end up going there), the student rec center, which is gorgeous, and some of the dorms I visited looked very nice.</p>
<p>Also, Tempe is a great little suburb. Downtown Phoenix is a very short drive if you're into the bigger city, but Tempe is also very nice. The nightlife is something that I really enjoyed, and Mill Ave is a street with a wonderful stretch of restauraunts, bars (for those of age, of course ;)), a couple theaters, and many smaller cafes. Another good thing- the entire campus is wireless, as opposed to UA, which hasn't made that transition to all-wireless yet.</p>
<p>Academically, ASU is a solid school. You said you're not looking into the honors college, but ASU itself did not seem like it was a slack-off school at all. It does have a reputation for being a party school, and that's not necessarily bad for some people. </p>
<p>The athletics are not super good at ASU, but they do have solid programs. The women's basketball was ranked 12th recently, and the football team plays Pac-10, so you always see big games. Today ASU plays UA, and that's a huge rivalry and should be a great game. I don't know if you're into athletics, but they do have some very nice facilities, like the rec center and the swimming pool. It's also nice to have the Fiesta Bowl played at Sun Devil stadium every year, so you can see some great teams if you're a football fan.</p>
<p>That's just some general stuff. I don't know if it's helpful, I hope so. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>Thanks. That really helped me out, bc I'm trying to find out if ASU feels like a community with tons of school spirit. Everything about the school seems perfect minus the heat, but other than that it does sound great. I love football and the party school reputation, so that is another big plus.</p>
<p>I want to major in business so I know ASU is a great school for that.</p>
<p>And you said there was a lot of ASU apparell and big pride about the school so that sort of answers my question about the community feel.</p>
<p>So thanks, I'm pretty sure ASU will be one of my choices when I start applying to schools (I'm only a junior).</p>
<p>I know you said you're not thinking about the honors college, but I suggest at least taking a look at it if you would ever consider it, because if you like the community aspect, you'd probably really enjoy the honors college. It has its own little campus for honors students, with honors dorms, advisors & counselors, and some honors classrooms right there in the actual honors campus. That was the biggest selling point for me, the community feeling that I did not get from UA. It really felt like you were part of a smaller, liberal arts college, but you also take the honors classes with the entire ASU population, so you don't feel alienated from the larger university. You are part of the larger college and go to school with everyone from ASU, but you also have the smaller community in the honors program that feels like a family.</p>
<p>Plus, they're building a whole new honors campus, wich they say should be done by 2009.</p>
<p>Like I said, if there's any chance that you are somewhat interested in the honors program, check Barrett out. You still have plenty of time to decide, but I think you'd like it from what you said.</p>