<p>Today was a good day. I FINALLY got a call back for a job, I got to see the movie Jarhead, my debit card (after 3 weeks!) FINALLY came in the mail, and my beloved Kent State was added to the vaunted Alphabetic List of Colleges on College Confidential. I realize I will probably be 70-85% of the posts on this forum, but at least my mission to get this up was acknowledged by a few and accomplished!</p>
<p>Congratulations to KSU on achieving Alphabetic List Status! </p>
<p>Now is your chance to tell people why they too should want to be Kent Staters. . . . . . .</p>
<p>I went there, that should be reason enough. But they do have the only Library Science program in Ohio. One of the best architechture programs in the area. A top 10 fashion school. Plus they were ranked in the college list. The history (May 4th, 1970) and party atmosphere are top notch and it is a good school with many majors. More to follow if asked!</p>
<p>My son just received his acceptance letter to KSU. We are from Pennsylvania and making plans for the 6.5 hour ride to look at the university. Any advise from you would be appreciated. Where to stay, favorite parts of the campus, etc. Thanks</p>
<p>Stay in any one of at the hotels in Brimfield right off of I-76. I am assuming that is the way you will be taking in. campus is about 5 miles north of these hotels, and they are by far the most advantageous to what you want to accomplish. Be careful when driving up SR 43, as the speed limit changes many times before you hit campus. <a href="http://imagine.kent.edu/directions/kent/lodging.asp%5B/url%5D">http://imagine.kent.edu/directions/kent/lodging.asp</a> Ignore the "Inn at Kent" and "University Inn" listings, as those are strictly apartments now. (I actually stayed at the University Inn when I lived in Kent, nice place)</p>
<p>If you are looking for places to visit when you are down at KSU, obviously check out the May 4th memorial.<a href="http://imagine.kent.edu/directions/kent/building.asp?building=9999%5B/url%5D">http://imagine.kent.edu/directions/kent/building.asp?building=9999</a> It is pretty cool actually, there is a museum, but I never visited it. The artwork on campus is fun, (some of it is butt ugly) I would specifically check out the newspaper statue by the art building. The thing is a montrosity. Beyond the obvious things on campus, you could check out downtown, which is a typical quaint main street downtown with many quirky shops and the like. There is also stuff to do in nearby Cleveland or Akron, but it is a decent drive and I doubt you are there for that long.</p>
<p>Pay careful attention to parking when you are on campus. Park in the pay lot, or stop off at Parking Services and get a visitor parking pass, or they will ticket you.</p>
<p>If your sun is looking at dorms, check out the new Centennial court dorms. They are brand new, very nice. Stay away from small group, it is a dump. Twin towers is nice, but tri-towers is kind restrictive. </p>
<p>As for places to eat (my favorite thing to do) you can never go wrong with Mike's place. They seriously have the biggest menu of any restuarant I have ever seen. <a href="http://www.mikesplacerestaurant.com/main.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.mikesplacerestaurant.com/main.htm</a></p>
<p>Chipolte is popular among students, and there are a couple of pizza joints around campus. Head down main street to Rockne's a little east of campus, that is a fun eatery. </p>
<p>If you want to check out the party scene (if you are there over the weekend, or on a Thursday night) the most popular place is the Strip of bars down by the river. I loved the BW3s down there, but the most popular bar (and where Drew Carey sometimes hangs out) is Ray's Place. Be careful though, Ray's can get pretty packed on Thursday nights. <a href="http://www.raysplacekent.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.raysplacekent.com/</a></p>
<p>If you are just going to eat one meal, I would go to Mike's place.</p>
<p>Good luck and if you have any more questions, just ask! Here is a campus map. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. Due to time restraints we may fly, and rent a car. Is there an airport within a reasonable distance? I like the size of Kent State, do the students remain on campus or do they leave on the weekend? The university has extracurriculars he could get involved with. In high school he plays lacrosse and Football. He probably would like to do that at a club or intramural level. He is a busy person, he will need things to be involved in. How is their Gym facilities? Thanks again for all your help.</p>
<p>They just built a new student wellness and recreation center about 5 years ago, that is state of the art and provides great work out facilities. Many students call it their home away from home. </p>
<p>You could fly into Cleveland Hopkins (CLE), or Akron Canton (CAK). CLE is about an hour away, and CAK is about a half an hour away. If you can get cheap airfare into Akron-Canton, I would recommend that, because the cost of renting a car at Cleveland Hopkins is rather high. </p>
<p>Kent is mostly a commuter campus, with many students going home on the weekends. This doesn't mean that the town shuts down on the weekends, as about 6,000 students live on campus and at least 60% remain on campus during the weekend. </p>
<p>Depending on your son's skill level, he might be able to walk on to the varsity football team, as they are not very good. There are many intramural activities he can participate in. The residence halls hold different competitions to make things fun for the students. I have heard it can get somewhat competitive between small group and tri-towers.
<a href="http://www.kent.edu/campuslife/StudentOrganizations/Student-Organizations2.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kent.edu/campuslife/StudentOrganizations/Student-Organizations2.cfm</a></p>
<p>joev-
Congrats on the alpha thread listing.</p>
<p>My question is about the political atmosphere on campus, percentage wise, in your experience, how would you say it breaks down Lib-Conserv both among students and among professors? Are there student organizations for both and does one dominate over the other?</p>
<p>Obviously the Kent State riots and killings are well-known and legendary, but does that reputation hold today?</p>
<p>The school has a liberal reputation. The student body is probably 60-65% liberbal and 30-35% conservative. Not nearly as activist as back during Vietnam era. In fact most students are pretty apathetic. The police get called far more times to break up parties, than they do for political demonstrations. There are student orginizations how ever you are affliated. Professors tend to be VERY liberal, but they don't talk about it in class, and only will bring it up is you ask them about it.</p>
<p>I am conservative, and I never felt like my views were being compromised at all. (except for Halloween 2004 when I kept telling people to vote Bush, then I got in arguements with a couple people, but that was when I was still drinking)</p>
<p>(except for Halloween 2004 when I kept telling people to vote Bush, then I got in arguements with a couple people, but that was when I was still drinking)</p>
<p>Too funny!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!</p>
<p>Hey, joev, congrats on helping make KSU a forum.</p>
<p>Any idea what KSU is like for international students? Is there orientation for intels, specifically, before the freshmen orientation, or is it one put together?</p>
<p>They have a orientation for international students that starts a couple days before freshman orientation starts. So if the fall semester starts August 30th for example, freshman orientation would be 27-29 August, and int'l oreintation would be 24-26 August.</p>
<p>i have a really strange question. Why is Kent State in Ohio? I thought it was Kentucky state. Do u happen to know the origin of the name?</p>
<p>The origin of the name is just the city it is located in. Kent State is in a town called "Kent" in Ohio. KSU is about 55 minutes southeast of Cleveland. It has nothing to do with Kentucky:)</p>
<p>My school's star football player is coming their next year, you should watch out for him! :p</p>
<p>Awesome on getting the forum. I currently go to the Tuscarawas branch for my Senior year in high school. It's a pretty nice school, and a great way for me to get out of the high school, haha.</p>
<p>The KSU satellite campuses have cheaper tuition and are open enrollment. When I was at the main campus, I took a couple of classes at KSU Stark over the summer because they were at a convienient time. A fact that Kent does not want people to know is that if you don't get accepted in the main campus (pretty hard, you would have to have <2.5 HS GPA and <21 ACT) you can just take a semester at a branch campus (over 12 credit hours) get better than a 2.0 GPA, then just switch to the main campus.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on Kent State for grad school? I am interested in their IAKM program.</p>
<p>I know someone who got a fellowship and is going to grad school there for free.</p>
<p>Do you know which program at Kent? I doubt with my grades I could qualify for a fellowship.</p>