Is Barrett as nice as they say?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Arizona State University
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<p>I’ve always wanted the SLAC experience, but they’re so expensive! ASU is a little more budget friendly (well, as much as a college can be, esp OOS) and I’ve hears great things about Barrett, but can anyone give me some personal experience? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Barrett will give you the SLAC feel–so long as you’re literally somewhere in the Barrett complex. If you live in the honors dorms, you will recognize many of the people around the residential and dining halls by the end of the year. The Human Event is a really rigorous course which all Barrett students take which is what I imagine a course at a SLAC would be like: small with open discussion between the students and professor.</p>

<p>However, all your classes outside of Barrett (probably every single one besides The Human Event) are just what you would expect out of a large school like ASU. Your lower-division gen-eds might have ~200 students crammed in a huge lecture hall, and your professor may never know your name or face. Of course, you can (and probably should) develop relationships with your professors through office hours, Barrett honors contracts, etc., and you can take Barrett honors sections of courses which are typically capped at 25-30 students.</p>

<p>Thus, I would recommend Barrett if you’re okay with balancing the SLAC experience with the typical student experience at ASU, the largest school in the nation in terms of student enrollment! It does have it’s own perks!</p>

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<p>With respect you will not get a liberal Arts College type experience at ASU even through Barrett as @lindayay notes most of your classes will be with general ASu students. At a real LAC most every one of your fellow students will be very bright, amongst the brightest anywhere and you will learn much from them. Whereas most of ASU is just ASU with a 90% acceptance rate, you cannot compare ASU/Barrett to a Liberal Arts College. But ASu does have benefits like a huge alumus, tempe climate and alot of really easy classes, but then a 30% 4 year graduation rate goes someway to illustrate that many students have difficulty completing classes and remaining in college. btw Barrett dorms were nice some 4-5 years ago, but they are used so much now, some say 48-50 weeks a year with summer programs and the like, that they are in need of a refurb in the near future. Note to you will likely spend as much time at ASU living somewhere other than the honors dorms as in them, dont let that be a guiding decision maker. fyi</p>

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<p>@AP99654‌ Englishman bashes everything about ASU and loves U of A, even thought their rankings are very similar. There are pluses and minuses for each. U of A is great for premed. ASU is better for engineering and business. U of A has a more traditional college campus. ASU’s is more institutional. ASU’s honors college is higher rated, although U of A has really stepped up with a new honors dorm. I like Tempe better than Tucson, but there are probably just as many people that feel the opposite. My middle son has been accepted to both honors colleges. He prefers U of A, but then he wants to get a bit more than 15 miles from home.</p>

<p>Good thread: <a href=“Chance me for ASU Barret - Arizona State University - College Confidential Forums”>Chance me for ASU Barret - Arizona State University - College Confidential Forums;

<p>Also: <a href=“http://www.examiner.com/article/the-nation-s-top-public-university-honors-programs”>http://www.examiner.com/article/the-nation-s-top-public-university-honors-programs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Visit and see for yourself!</p>