<p>Hi,
I'm curious what people know about the University of Arizona. It has an ok ranking, but I've heard mixed reviews about it. My daughter is interested in applying due to the climate there and, of course, it would be an adventure for her to go there as an out of state student. I don't think it ranks as well as our in state flagship university (Massachusetts), but don't want to discourage her from applying if it's a decent alternative. Does anyone have any first hand information other than what I can find out on the school's website?</p>
<p>Because Arizona has few public four year schools (UA, ASU, NAU), it is likely that they have very wide ranges of student academic motivation and ability within each school.</p>
<p>Whether it will be academically satisfying likely depends on what she wants to study, and whether she can handle an environment with a wide range of students.</p>
<p>Interesting that you should mention student motivation. She is a student with a 3.8gpa, but not an enormous amount of motivation. She studies when she has to, but not because of any intrinsic desire to do more than what is required. As you might imagine, this attitude is not making us too happy. Same goes for her SATs. They are in the mid 500s, which are ok, but not spectacular. She can do better next time with some concentrated study, but again, this is like pulling teeth. Sigh. We keep trying to think of ways to motivate her, but this is not easy. We are wondering if the prospect of applying to an out of state school she is interested in attending might be the motivating factor she is lacking. I’m interested in finding out as much as possible about U of A, since she has expressed interest in this school.</p>
<p>I’m not sure UMass or UA is very good for a student lacking motivation. </p>
<p>There is much to take your mind off of studying at UA…pool parties to go to, skiing at nearby Mt Lemmon, Etc. I am familiar with ASU and the students that lacked motivation were easily distracted.</p>
<p>UA is a fine school. I think every bit as good as UMass.</p>
<p>I want to go there to if I have a good financial aid package. But yeah like everyone else said you get what you put in. If you only study when you have too then you probably won’t do to well and get caught up I’m the partying.(it always ranks in the top party schools not as high as ASU though. So yeah if there’s motivation it has a lot of oppurtunities.</p>
<p>It’s a popular destination for some California students, especially those who want a big rah-rah atmosphere but who don’t have the stats for Berkeley, UCLA, or San Diego State. There is some merit aid which can drive down COA. Academics run the range. </p>
<p>One area where UA excels is their program for students with learning disabilities [Strategic</a> Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center | Strategic Alternative Learning Center](<a href=“http://www.salt.arizona.edu/]Strategic”>http://www.salt.arizona.edu/).</p>
<p>I find the Arizona and Nevada schools particularly uninspiring, with the exception of a couple of specific majors (for Arizona- no redeeming value to Nevada schools…).</p>
<p>Hmmmm… food for thought. You are right that so many warm weather distractions could potentially derail a student who has so-so study habits. I guess that’s why so many universities are in out of the way places in upstate NY. Kids are so cold, they might just stay indoors to study! On the other hand, she could just as easily zone out at UMass. I’m hoping that between now and next fall her motivation improves. Actually, I’m hoping that between now and April she starts getting intersted in going on some college visits. Any suggestions of decent universities for a student like her who has excellent grades but not as terrific SATs? There is certainly an argument for her going to a school where she’d be surrounded by more serious students than herself. Perhaps setting the bar higher would be a good thing. I just don’t know.</p>
<p>I agree with Momofwildchild. I see nothing about any Arizona state school that is compelling, unless I were an Arizona resident with financial constraints. This falls into the category of – I’m not paying for you to go to an inferior out of state school when I’ve got a perfectly good in state option for less.</p>
<p>^^ Not to mention the travel expense. I DO love Tucson, though!</p>
<p>I guess it’s a matter of how much you want to pay when she might not be that motivated to take advantage of the education offered. Big state schools offer LOTS of distractions and no hand-holding. Perhaps she might do better at a smaller school a little closer to home. Pennsylvania has a bunch of them!</p>
<p>I have some first-hand experience. One of my kids attended U of A oos and, frankly, I found the academics strong-- stronger than their admissions percentages would suggest. In other words, if your kid is willing to put it into gear and work at UofA, she will get a very good education. It’s a big state flagship with excellent opportunities. I would not call it an inferior school at all and it has some very strong departments.</p>
<p>I do agree, however, that there is a fair amount of partying for kids so inclined. We are on the East coast and my kid found it not diverse, said there are a lot of instate kids and, compared to the East coast, the oos kids were overrepresented by California, volleyball-playing, died-blonde kids aspiring to be beautiful people. (No offense to Californians. I am not trying to define all Californians, merely the impression my East coast kid had of the subset of 18yos who attend UofA.) The school is also close to the Mexican border and some of the kids will cross the border to go partying since the drinking age is lower in Mexico. My kid is not a partier and found a crowd among oos kids and grad students, of all things-- but left after a year because of money. Kiddo eventually transferred to a top school so I do think UofA academics and grades are well-respected. At the time, my kid was deciding between Indiana and Arizona and I think Indiana would have been better socially-- but kid was lured by sunshine. I would not send a kid who is easily distracted there, especially at oos costs. I would send a bright kid who has a checkered past, needs a challenge and is willing to put in the work.</p>
<p>Thanks for the first person perspective! Actually, my daughter has a friend who lived for a year with her dad in Arizona and came back with a similar story about the area being full of “the beautiful people”. Apparently my daughter’s friend was extremely intimidated by this and came back East to live here instead. I agree that paying an out of state tuition is not something I would prefer to do. I’m just kind of batting it around in my mind and putting feelers out to see what the university itself is like. Did your daughter say that most of the students lived on campus or did most of them commute? How were the dorms? The website said that housing was limited, which is of course, another consideration.</p>
<p>Interesting comments! I grew up in Tucson but left 30 years ago. My sister graduated from U of A. It has a medical school, so I would guess there are some strong academics but SAT averages don’t look great and it never was a blip on our radar screen, though we’re only one state away. Tucson is quite left leaning. It’s hot until late October and gets hot again in March. There’s lots of sun. There’s lots of partying at U of A. It’s a big football school. Tucson is surrounded by 4 gorgeous mountain ranges. It’s very spread out and has a desert-like feel because it’s in the desert. :-)</p>
<p>I live and work in Tucson. My D received the AIMS so that would have given her paid tuition but she luckily received an ROTC to Fordham where she was really interested ( NYC and east). That said it is funny that her second choice was UMass Amherst and Smith. Hard choices. She is home now on break and really enjoys the weather at home far more. Do you have any specific questions. I work for the Police Dept. and have lived just outside the Tucson Metro area for 22+ yrs. I attended UofA and my husband received his Clinincal Psych degree there and taught for a short while.</p>
<p>My kiddo lived on-campus and had no problem getting a dorm which was described to me as a “typical dorm room.” (We were so broke that I never was able to travel out there.) It was pretty common to go off-campus after the first year BUT some areas are very borderline (my kid actually got mugged in Tucson!) and kiddo said a car was really necessary (and out of our budget).</p>
<p>azmomm,
It’s funny how kids yearn to be as far away as possible from where they were raised! Your daughter was brought up in Tucson and yearns for the East Coast, while my daughter is being brought up here and yearns for the warmth of the Soutwest. Go figure! She is tentatively thinking about majoring in biology or a genetics related major. We are curious about the makeup of the student body and whether or not it is a campus where kids go home every weekend or if mosts kids stay on campus for their social lives. Obviously, as an out of state student, she would be looking for the whole campus experience. She is a social person, but would need enough serious students around her to motivate her to study. Any school is potentially a “party school”, so I assume kids will do the normal student types of things. I am trying to determine whether there is also a serious atmosphere at U of A where students can strike a balance between their studies and social pursuits. I also notice on the website that they don’t guarantee housing for 4 years. In that case, where do the upperclassmen live? Other questions are: Is there an airport in the Tuscon area? Is the area generally safe? Thanks for answering my questions :o)</p>
<p>2collegewego,
Getting mugged is just the type of thing that would worry me. Sigh. I’d much rather have her be on campus instead of in an off campus apartment. I guess that goes with the risks of city living. Fortunately we are just in the preliminary stages of thinking about different colleges at this point.</p>
<p>My d’s friends who chose to go to uofa seem to be making the most of it. I would say the makeup is mostly caucasion and hispanic, my d is half asian. The kids enjoy the honors program which allows early/preferred registration. The courses are rigorous depending on major, just like anywhere else. The rub, some classes can be as large as 200-300 in lecture. Many kids live on campus, really nice if you ask me, lots of new housing. Much nicer than Fordham. Many choose to live off campus at very nearby rental homes and apts. Average cost about 500 a month for a nice 2 bed apt with pool and gym shared with simeone this includes utilities. Cost of living is much less than other college towns. Beautiful new gym with rock walls juice bar and multiple swimming pools. There is an above avg presence of marijuana use around but i wouldnt say the college kids are the problem or the main users. Uofa is an open campus but very safe overall. The community really supports the college and lots of sports and activities here. Would i pay out of state for the academics? No. Would i pay out of state for the amenities, sports, weather and proximity to san diego, mexico and mountains? Yes.</p>
<p>Nearest airport is tucson international on tucson blvd south of valencia. It takes me 8 minutes at 9am to get to the campus. Basically two turns and a driveway away.</p>
<p>The campus is large but bicycle friendly. I would suggest a car but you can definitely get where you need using the cat tran or city bus, excursions to the river or other places are posted in the rec center all the time.</p>