What is the reputation of the University of Arkansas?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Arkansas
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<p>family mate of mine got his masters in Univ arkansas. Not an amazingly great school, but its good. Got a great job after graduation and works around many mit, cornell, u mich etc grads. Often at a much higher rank than people who graduated from these other schools, who have worked just as long as him at the company. So you still have opp to get an amazing job, if u do well at University of Arkanasas. </p>

<p>Plus the campus is tight! I luved the place, and arkansas is such a cool place irregardless of what many peoples stereotypes might be.</p>

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<p>I’m aware this is a dead thread, but these questions will likely come up again, so I thought I’d offer the opinion of a recent graduate who did have many options when selecting a college:</p>

<p>When I began my college search I was looking for prestige at first, until I started touring campuses. I hated Duke. Purdue was nice, but not for the majors I was considering. Loved Northwestern but didn’t see a way to pay for it. Liked WashU, but didn’t particularly like the student atmosphere. Hendrix was too small… etc. Anyway, I started reading, and being an Arkansas high school graduate (FOR THE RECORD: recent rankings place Arkansas’s public education K-12 system as the 10th best in the nation. The public schools here are actually very good, the misconception about our schools systems is always caused by the education LEVEL in the state, which is entirely different. Arkansas has the second worst percentage of residents with college degrees. A lot of this is due to the largely agricultural economy in all but a few city centers, many of our students move out of state for higher paying jobs, thus leaving us with a low level of educated workforce), decided to look at my public options. The University of Arkansas rose to my notice after reading about their recent (2001) fundraising campaign that added $1 Billion to their endowment and capital improvements funds. They also have the single best endowed Honors College in the nation ($200 million endowment for their small (1000-1500 students) honors college, more than the entire endowment of some competing state flagships), a 24th ranked business school, top 20 (11th public) architecture program, top 70 engineering program, 5th ranked creative writing program, one of the highest first time applicant success rates to medical school (67-70% versus 35% nationally), and the 3rd ranked Poultry science/5th ranked Animal science programs in the nation. I was honestly very surprised to find these rankings (mostly US News, Business Week, and Princeton Review rankings cited above) and decided I should give it the benefit of the doubt. I toured their campus, was very impressed by the beautiful setting, the city of Fayetteville they’re located in (a fun small city with a LOT of trees), and the welcoming atmosphere of students who were much more interested in their studies than I’d expected for a state school. The UofA was no doubt my most surprising college tour, I’d always associated them with the Razorbacks sports program and never really looked into their academics, but I’m certainly glad I did. I attended there on a full academic ride and had access to undergraduate research opportunities, study abroad funding, and professors I could have never received at a similarly sized school. I graduated last May with a B.S. in Biology and am currently in the medical school application process, so wish me luck, but most of all, give Arkansas a look. Stereotypes mean nothing when compared to rankings, atmosphere, and most importantly, how you feel there.</p>

<p>EDIT: So you all know I wasn’t making up the Arkansas public school thing: <a href=“http://www.walletpop.com/specials/best-and-worst-public-school-systems-in-us[/url]”>http://www.walletpop.com/specials/best-and-worst-public-school-systems-in-us&lt;/a&gt;
I was pleasantly surprised by that.</p>

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<p>Thanks. My D is now in 11th grade and Arkansas is still on her list.</p>

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<p>No problem. I’m new to this forum, but I’d be happy to help if you think of questions I might be able to answer.</p>

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<p>I graduated from the Accounting program 10 years ago. I loved my experience and I have been gainfully and happily employed since. As an aside, I’m still in touch with many of my professors. </p>

<p>U of A is a good school. It’s not an Ivy League school, but if she chooses U of A she’ll get a good education in a safe environment that allows her to experience college life and you won’t be left sick with worry. </p>

<p>Visit the campus and take a good look at the program(s) she’s interested in. College is as much an experience as it is an education, so look at the big picture don’t get lost in all the details. She’ll be happy wherever she ends up and as long as you know she’s safe and learning you’ll be happy too.</p>

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<p>missypie-
My oldest daughter is a student at the University of Arkansas. Truthfully, I pushed against that decision for a long time, wanting instead for her to attend a more “prestigious” school that would better reflect her strong academic record. I was so wrong and thankfully, she didn’t listen to me.</p>

<p>She has had a terrific experience in the Honors College. All her class sizes (except Freshman Chem) have been small and she has developed a great relationship with her advisor and professors. Her scholarship is generous so she will graduate with no debt. She will study abroad in the fall (UofA Rome campus) and has been very active with some student government and service organizations on campus. She even works part time at the football and basketball games for the athletic department where she is paid a terrific part time wage.
I will tell you I never dreamed that the UofA could provide as much as they have for her. I have been duly impressed and rightfully so. Their endowment is HUGE for a public university and the honors college has gobs of money and they make sure their students have every opportunity they could have obtained at a smaller private.
Anyway, just wanted you to know that just because it is Arkansas it is not lower quality …</p>

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<p>Here in north Texas there is so much regional prejudice. The funny thing, I’ve heard folks who slam U of Arkansas because it’s in Arkansas just rave about University of Oklahoma. Hello - it’s in Oklahoma.</p>

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<p>I’m glad to read some props being given to the University of Arkansas. People have this impression of Arkansas from stereotypes. It really isn’t like that at all. The U of A is a very solid choice. They give in-state tuition to qualifying students from any state bordering Arkansas. It can be quite a bargain. </p>

<p>I live in Texas too. I’ve heard people talk up OU as well when compared to Arkansas. The test scores are the same, with ACT averages of a respectable 26 for each. As far as the area in which to live, Fayetteville wins by miles over Norman.</p>

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<p>Per the initial inquiry and the various, mostly very considerate responses (one implied that business was the only significant major) - and as a completely biased architecture grad who was surprised that only one post even mentioned the program(!) - I would position the architecture major as the best offering of the University of Arkansas. I would never devalue the education and subsequent pursuits of any of my Agriculture, Business, Art, or Engineering colleagues/friends, but I’d be curious to see a study that showed the number of UArk undergrads that went on to Ivy League or other top graduate schools per major. I’m certain that the architecture program has the highest representation (perhaps twelve-fold…probably significantly more) but I could be wrong. juliaxgulia?</p>

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<p>I can’t tell you how great it would be (from a financial standoint) if my D fell in love with Arkansas!</p>

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<p>Hi, I’m a sophomore at Arkansas. I am an honors college music student, and I used to be against the whole Arkansas thing. My mom pushed me towards Belmont/UNT/Mizzou…but once I visited, I fell in love.</p>

<p>Sure, we have a lot of kids that are the whole “Southern” stereotype. But our campus is extremely diverse. My roommate was from Chicago, imagine that!</p>

<p>I wouldn’t listen to the whole stereotype. Just come visit and see how well you like it before you judge it. And half the people I’ve met when I was a freshman were from Texas. It was kind of a joke in my dorm, because everyone was from Plano, Texas. :)</p>

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<p>Just FYI (since I started the thread a year and a half ago), my D has now toured 11 schools and Arkansas is in her top 2!</p>

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<p>Just out of curiosity, what is the other school in her top 2?</p>

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<p>My daughter will begin her Freshman year next month. She is majoring in Architecture with a minor in Interior Design. I did apply some pressure to attend her other options (A&M and Rice). She held firm and I must say that based on my experiences thus far, I am very impressed.<br>
The Campus has been very welcoming on her visits, and more importantly to me EXTREMELY responsive to all inquiries - from the Housing Staff to the Honors College to the Financial Aid Department.
I am very excited for the opportunities ahead of her and feel comfortable that she has made the best possible decision.</p>

<p>Good luck to all in your future endeavors.</p>

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<p>While I’m sure no one is bound to read this who replied earlier, I still want to put this online.</p>

<p>I live just 20 miles south of the Campus in Norman (Oklahoma University) and many of my high school friends went to school there. OU has a major following in this state, and most people rarely think of school in Arkansas, and never speak of Texas (sorry!).</p>

<p>But I actually just recently applied, and was accepted into the University of Arkansas.</p>

<p>My testing scores would have allowed me to go to the OU, which may have been around the same price, and closer than Fayetteville (which is 4 hours away) but I was completely against going to OU. And being in the position of your daughter, I understand why she wouldn’t want to go those schools in Texas, because I know how similar they are to Oklahoma.</p>

<p>Fayetteville has wonderful weather, the leaves of fall, and the winter weather is going to be very different from Texas, and OU I can promise you that! The community is also what made me decide. Norman, Oklahoma is in the center of the metro of Oklahoma City. The entire area is just one big connection, which isn’t exactly true for Fayetteville. The town is in a mountain area, but it still has all of the perks of the area like Norman. You get your city feel without being in a city. It feels like a town. Which I can promise you Norman does not!</p>

<p>My entire community was very shocked I decided on going out of state to UA, and they all had the same ideas, of Pigs and hicks running wild (this coming from Oklahoma, which I honestly believe doesn’t have much room to speak to begin with) so it took quite some time for them to warm up to the idea, but just visiting Fayetteville, shows a major difference than OU. The UA campus is very large, but you don’t feel that bustling fast paced you get at the Norman campus. The school is centered right around major businesses and streets, so I loved the more relaxing environment of Ark.</p>

<p>As for tuition, being out of state, I was awarded the price of In-State, so it’s not a budget pusher for my parents, but I still get the feeling that I’m NOT too close to home. I’d ask for you to give Arkansas an opportunity! I’m proud to be a Razorback!</p>

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<p>D has been admitted there. She only applied to two schools.</p>

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<p>ElizabethGrace- excellent post, thank you for sharing!</p>

<p>Missypie- Now the fun part of the decision process begins, right? :slight_smile: Was your daughter applying for scholarships too?</p>

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<p>Well…she is getting in-state tuition, so in her eyes, it is already inexpensive. It is going to be difficult to persuade her to complete additional scholarship apps. The difficulty with her is the teacher recs. She’s pretty quiet in class, so there aren’t a lot of teachers who know her well, and the ones who did have left the school. I’m going to wait until football season is over (which could well be tonight!) and then revisit the issue.</p>

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<p>Missypie,
I understand, no high school senior wants to fill out more forms than they have to. The priority app for Arkansas is due Nov. 15th, so if she wants a decent shot at scholarship funds (especially with continually increasing applicant numbers), she really needs to have the initial application in by then. I think she has a little while longer to get the recommendations in, but I could be mistaken. The silver lining is that it’s all online this year, so it’d be much easier to get in by the deadline.
A bargaining chip might help motivate her, haha. If she gets scholarship funds, she gets _____ as a reward often helps persuade them a bit :).
-Matt</p>

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<p>@missypie - have your D take a look at the scholarship application.</p>

<p><a href=“http://scholars.uark.edu/[/url]”>http://scholars.uark.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Two recommendation letters are only required for FELLOWSHIPS. They are not needed for general scholarships, as I read it. </p>

<p>My S did the scholdship application today, it was very simple biographical information only. Next step is to upload these supplemental documents:</p>

<p>1) Academic Resume
2) List of 5 books read in the last year with a few sentences about each
3) ~ 600-word essay on one of the two topics provided</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>