Any East Coast/Mid-Atlantic students who can talk about their time at ASU (and possibly Barrett Honors College)? Just wondering about adjusting to life in Arizona-- climate, landscape, people, etc. This student is ready/looking for a change, and is well traveled.
Though not the first, you found a great school and a great place. I am not from the East Coast/Mid-Atlantic area but am often there on business. I know many families whose kids are at ASU and Barrett. Not sure I’ve ever met anyone who regretted the choice. Good friend of ours from Connecticut had a Barret son who won a 2017 Marshall Scholarship, another from Virginia who plays in the marching band and pays no sophomore room and board as a Dorm RA, and a third from DC in the Polytechnic Campus’ Air Traffic Controller Program who recently graduated to a $70k/yr job.
People at ASU are from all over. And Arizonans themselves have families from the midwest and East Coast. It is not like southern states (Alabama, South Carolina, etc) or territorial states like Texas that look on outsiders a bit askance. AZ is open and friendly to all, and that’s one aspect recruiters from Silicon Valley and the national corporate recruiters like about Arizona State. ASU’s platform is pretty unique and highly effective for a large state university. And for that travellled student, he or she can speak whatever language suits him and will find a vibrant, interactive community.
HS senior here who grew up in AZ, has a sister enrolled as a freshman in Barrett, and who was accepted into Barrett himself: one thing I gotta warn you about is the social scene. Sure, Arizona is hot, and Barrett is an accredited research university full of passionate people, this is all pretty good stuff. One thing I’d like to correct tho is that the vast majority of students at ASU/Barrett are in-state.
The social scene, in my opinion, is bad. The party scene is downright insane, with liquor stores and bars just across the street from the dorms. There are tons of parties, and certain frat houses are very well known for drugging and raping people. There is alcohol at the parties as well as drugs being sold on campus like weed, coke, amphetamines, you name it. Just this year a student was so drunk at a party that they jumped off the balcony of the dorm and died. This is a recurring issue. I am telling you this because it is a HUGE ASPECT of ASU culture. You can avoid it, but the parties are one of the biggest ways, if not the only way that you can meet people, considering that there are roughly 80K people on campus.
@Brine - Interesting to hear your perspective. We live in northern VA and our son applied to 10 schools, was accepted at all except UVA where he is waitlisted and then decided in January he wanted to apply to ASU. Not sure why, but I let him but then after doing research, told him I would only consider letting him go out and look if he was accepted to Barrett. He told me a few weeks ago after joining a FB page for ASU class of 2022 that he didn’t think he would fit in because everyone posting seemed really into partying (and he’s not.) After getting into Barrett, he wanted to take a look. Our family of four flew out here for a Friday, 4/13 general campus tour, engineering school tour, and Barrett tour. We (mom, dad, and brother) are not happy about the distance from home but were all really impressed with what we heard at the info sessions. We were hoping that if he attended Barrett that those students might be a little more academically inclined and not as much into the party scene as some. Do Barrett students also have the party reputation? Also, it sounded like there would be plenty of people in the Barrett community to socialize with and make friends.
@SU88BFA - our son is also well traveled and looking for a change as well. I’ve heard that August and September weather (and all summer) can be really brutal and a tough adjustment for east coasters. I have a friend from Virginia whose daughter was super-excited to go to ASU after visiting and having great weather in Jan and April, then August was a total shock. She was hospitalized for dehydration and really homesick. She had moved home within two months. 
Big decisions here for us since ASU was sort of a last minute consideration due to Barrett. Good luck to you!
@LUVSML Barrett is impressive academically and is a really nice option for an out-of-state research university.
To answer your question, I do hear from my sister that there are Barrett students who do not get involved in the party scene, but I haven’t met one yet. A majority of Barrett kids do, if only because it’s one of the easiest ways to meet people and socialize. Another alumnus from my high school who went to Barrett (who for the record likes to party too) actually ended up moving out of Barrett housing halfway through his freshman year because the people on his floor were being rowdy and apparently “the hallways smelled like weed”.
What I’m getting at is that it is possible to avoid that scene and keep focused on your studies, but Barrett is not a safe haven, unfortunately. I personally don’t like parties at all and hiiiiighly doubt I would go to any if I enrolled at Barrett, but my sister was like that too before she went. I guess it all depends on your son’s personality and how focused he is on his studies. Partying in moderation is fine, it just tends to get out of hand fast.
Just to follow up on my original post-- My son will be attending ASU. In February, husband and son visited ASU and were really impressed with Barrett and all the program has to offer. He had other good school options, but he really wanted a different experience, and Barrett’s perks are hard to pass up. We know it will be a culture shock for him-- in addition to adjusting to the weather. We get 100 degree days where we live (VA)-- just not ALL summer. Won’t miss the humidity, and winters will be nice, for sure.
As far as the party culture-- it is what it is. What school doesn’t have one? We know he’s going to want to go out with friends and party while at school. We talk about it openly at our house and all we can hope is that he stays safe and “makes good choices.” (What I tell him when he leaves the house.) Hopefully he’ll know to keep it in moderation. School first, fun second, or else mom and dad (and ASU) stop paying tuition. He needs to keep up a 3.0 gpa to keep his scholarship.
Parent of two Barrett students - we are from California. Barrett is awesome. It is a somewhat isolated enclave on the larger campus. The heat in August and September can be rough. But, it never snows in the winter, so there’s that. The heat is manageable. I prefer the dry heat over the humidity any day.
Party atmosphere - totally an individual thing. If you want to party, it will not be hard to find. Just like any major university campus in the country. In my opinion, Barrett has less partying than the other dorms. As noted above, if you have a scholarship, you must keep that 3.0 gpa to keep the money flowing.
My older son is graduating in a few weeks. It has been a great experience for him.
Other recommendations - do not bring a car. My son has used the Enterprise program on campus. It works great for the occasional quick trips he needs to make. Parking is about $900/yr if you bring a car. The Enterprise program is $25/yr. It includes gas and insurance. I think the minimum age is 18. The hourly rental is between $6-$10.
@usma87 - thanks for your input on having two Barrett students. We were super-impressed with Barrett and our son’s acceptance to Barrett is the only reason we are considering ASU and letting him go so far away. Do you have any input on recruiting and if it would be possible to get internships/recruiting back on the east coast/mid-atlantic? I am excited for my son to experience living somewhere different but I would also like for him to come back home or at least back to the east coast after college. Our son plans to major in computer science and possibly get a dual comp sci/business major due to so many AP credits coming in.
@usma87 - thanks also for letting us know about the Enterprise program. I was not aware.
@LUVSML - My DS who will be starting next fall is also a CS major. I am not as familiar with the recruiting in that world. I do know there is a strong collaboration with Intel. ASU is also designated as a feeder school for the NSA. My older son feels that the recruiting for IT is very strong.
We live near ASU and my husband is an ASU Fulton Engineering alum. He actively participates with ASU’s Career Services and Fulton Engineering - CS, to be specific. His company is international and he hires interns for work locally but I know he has been able to place interns in their other offices (on both coasts) if they desire. He spends a lot of time doing resume reviews with students and tries to build relationships with them through the years. His company is very strong but it is not a well-known name so his lines are always short at the career fairs while everyone lines up at the “big names”. I would recommend he gets to know as many companies as he can, even as a freshman, and find out locations where they may be able to place interns and new hires down the road. If he has decent grades and is authorized to work in the US, he should have plenty of opportunities.
We just toured ASU with my son this week - he is currently a HS junior, but will be studying CS there the following year.
I will have two OOS students at ASU this fall. One will be at Barrett. Neither are partiers at this point. They know that at any school in the country, save a few, there are MANY students who party heavily. Several of the flagship, well regarded state schools where many of their high school classmates are going are known for their party atmosphere. I don’t think one should be concerned about the prevalence of partying. Either you will or won’t. ASU is no worse than other schools in this regard. Brine, I think you’ll find that what you’ve heard about ASU is no different from many universities across the country.
ASU is a major party school. Puts SEC schools to shame.
Another aspect to be aware of is the air pollution during warm weather months. Many friends told us that the air pollution was worse than the heat.
ASU has approximately 75% resident enrollment & about 13% international.
P.S. A nephew & father visited both ASU & University of Arizona recently as nephew had full ride offers to both schools. I will ask about their thoughts & impressions & post back tomorrow.
Just googled Phoenix, Arizona air pollution. Three way tie at number 2 worst air pollution in the nation–along with Los Angeles & another California city. (Poverty stricken Bakersfield, California is number 1 for worst air pollution in the USA.)
The article I hit was dated January 1 & claimed that folks experienced throat & nasal burning while sitting in their homes.
I hate to be negative, but it is important to be informed about this frequent health hazard.
We lived in the Phoenix area for about 10 years but have since moved. There will be bad air quality days in the summer mainly because of the weather. Phoenix sits at the bottom of a bowl, and there is no where for the air to go. Many times there will be advisories to limit/curtail outdoor activities. And the summer is hot - really, really hot. If you’re there for 4 years you’ll probably see it push towards 120, and that is just a horse of a different color. There will be stretches where the high will be 113 - for days. Want to see 105 at 10 PM? Yep that’s common. In the summer everyone, from the youngest to the oldest keeps a water bottle around. Hydration is a must. That said, if you survive the summers the rest of they year is awesome… :))