<p>I couldn’t find a Pro/Con thread on UoA and thought someone might want to get one started for incoming freshman, prospective students etc etc.</p>
<p>I can reply and hopefully generate some discussion around pros/cons of attending UA. I am wondering if anyone has opinions/experiences with how attending UA would compare with attending U. Texas at Austin, Colorado-Boulder and Colorado State.</p>
<p>Pro - sunny and warm for those from the northeast
Pro - good SALT program for those who need extra academic support
Con - no direct flights to tucson from NY area</p>
<p>Bump... this is sad... lol
thanks for the reply yogidog!
1 for like 30 views haha</p>
<p>Anyone? Especially with the proposed funding cuts, I wonder how U. of A. will stack up against the other state universities.</p>
<p>The proposed budget cuts are brutal, but nothing has been finalized. I would not make a final decision regarding UA (or any of the other AZ school) one way or another until a clearer picture develops.</p>
<p>Focusing on financial aspects I would say:
Pro - Still one of the best deals for OOS state students among flagship state universities.
Con - OOS tuition has gone up by 15% for two years in a row.
Con - With the current budget problems, expect tuition to continue increasing by 15% or more for the next few years.
Con - Until the great budget debate settles, it is hard to tell how bad UA will be hurt.
Con - The great budget debate may not settle for another year.</p>
<p>Pro- tuition is cheap, students are pretty laid back, relaxed. pretty good academics and school in general
Pro- Honors college is pretty good, and great great weather</p>
<p>Con- like what SamK said tuition is going up pretty quickly
Con- well u of a campus is very nice but some part of tuscon is realllly ghetto... not even kididn
Con- Soome people think there is nothing to do in tuscon..well i disagree with that..</p>
<p>pro-HUGE support from Nasa
Pro-UA will be the control center for an upcoming mission to mars. The rover will be controled from campus</p>
<p>The campus is cool...it looks like knots berry farm.</p>
<p>Pro - really nice weather - sunny nearly every day
Pro - even with the tuition hikes, it is still a great value, especially instate
Pro - Tucson is easy to get around
Pro - Cheap housing all around the University
Pro/Con depending upon your perspective - Some people think Tucson is a bit of a hick town, but I like it that way
Con - I have friends who have had a hard time getting the classes they need to graduate in 4 years
Con - Not many direct flights - seems like you need to connect to go almost anywhere, although PHX is less than two hours and away and you can get most places from there.</p>
<p>Good points IMHopeful! Are you a student there now? How do you think U. of A. compares to other state universities? Any opinions on the dorms?
thanks!</p>
<p>No, I'm not a student . . . I am a mom of college age kids. We live in Tucson and have a number of friends who attend the University. While there are some frustrations with tuition hikes and getting classes, I don't know anyone who doesn't love it. In fact, many of my kid's friends who went away to college ended up transferring back. So, no opinions/knowledge of dorms. Re: comparison to other state universities -- I am just familiar with a few, like ASU, Minnesota, Texas, some of the UC schools. I would say that U of A doesn't rank with Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin on academics, but it is just fine. And some programs are top-notch. With nearly any school (even the most top-ranked), the quality of the education you get is somewhat of your making. As I mentioned before, financially I think it is a deal, especially in state. It is not anywhere near as huge as ASU, Penn State and the other mega-universities. The size is manageable. It just doesn't feel like a huge institution. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Yes, that does help! Thanks. Overall I am happy to have the benefit of in-state tuition for my daughter.</p>
<p>I just found this thread (I’ve been spending my time over in the graduate forums…) so I thought I’d put in my $.02 about Tucson/UA… I moved out here, sight unseen, for college six years ago. I am speaking from my biology background, so some may not be applicable to humanities, etc.</p>
<p>Pros</p>
<ul>
<li>definite bang for your buck, even with the tuition hikes</li>
<li>even with the budget issues and cuts, the college of science is going to stay solid</li>
<li>if you’re into science, the research opportunities for undergrads here are amazing. Lots of push to get undergrads into labs and pay them reasonably well</li>
<li>it’s a big school, which means plenty of opportunities and resources (clubs, organizations, support, student jobs, research, internships, etc)</li>
<li>Tucson weather is fantastic. Only the first summer is miserable. It’s currently 85 degrees and sunny while the east coast is covered in snow.</li>
<li>cheap to live here (eg: 3 bd/2ba house with swimming pool, garage and yard for $1k/month)</li>
<li>not a very big city, but plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do and desert fun</li>
<li>mountains in every direction, beautiful sunsets, lots of cacti, interesting critters</li>
<li>liberal stronghold of the state (which some might see as negative)</li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, I really feel like it’s a school where you make of it what you want. You can float by without becoming engaged, but if you want to get a lot out of it, it’s all right there waiting.</p>
<p>Cons</p>
<ul>
<li>not a very big city (but Phoenix is a reasonable drive for things like museums, Ikea, etc)</li>
<li>UA is undergoing some restructuring, so tuition may go up and classes become more difficult to get in to</li>
<li>not one of the “name brand” schools</li>
<li>size of school means no individual attention unless you go in search of it; easy to feel lost in the crowd</li>
<li>this school takes ~80% of the people who apply, so it’s full of people who probably shouldn’t be in college. Lower-level classes can be mind-numbing and painful since they’re full of disinterested, under-prepared students</li>
<li>many lower-level classes also taught by TAs instead of professors (esp. math classes), so be forewarned</li>
</ul>
<p>Pro - no direct flights to/fr NY.</p>
<p>thats a con mr. sarcasm</p>
<p>Pro- Nice campus, and Tucson is friendly and a manageable city
Pro- Recognized as a top state school w/o huge price tag
Pro-Great weather
Pro-Diverse major programs and diverse student population
Con-Admits a lot of ppl
Con-Lots of ghetto around the school
Con- Many dorms are kinda gross</p>
<p>Any opinions on UA vs. ASU? I’m also looking for more info on UA in general. (Nice list of pros and cons so far!) My DS is a hs junior and for some reason keeps mentioning ASU. We live in Virginia! No idea why he wants to go that far, but it’s <em>sounding</em> like UA might be a slightly better institution of higher learning. BTW, the boy has no idea what he’d like to study in college.</p>
<p>To ingerp; You really can’t compare UA ot ASU. Although both are public schools, University of Arizona is a research institution with peers such as CalTech, Stanford, MIT, Berkelely, Texas A&M… [Association</a> of American Universities](<a href=“http://www.aau.edu/]Association”>http://www.aau.edu/) </p>
<p>Thirty percent of students are from out of state and a lot are from Virginia!! Don’t worry about the major, most students are undecided, and he has up to the end of his sophomore year to decide.</p>
<p>Lots of Admits, but not everyone accepts. In UA’s Tour, they disclosed only having 30,000 undergrads while ASU as close to 100,000. That’s a HUGE difference as far as how much attention a student receives.</p>
<p>Good info–thanks!</p>