I'm 26 and after doing completing six years in the Air Force, Traveling a LOT, and one semester at Temple University Japan Campus, I came back home to go to school because it was the cheaper route to finish my degree up. (ran out of money in Europe!)I want to preface by saying this is my first semester and I'm only taking two General education classes and two classes towards my major. Please don't rely too heavily on my opinion as it's possible it will change since I'm early on here.
Conway, Arkansas isn't too bad depending on when you're used to and expect. As long as you're assertive about your own entertainment and open-minded then you'll have plenty to do here. If you only want to drink and part and that's it.... well you'll have a bit of difficulty here. It's a dry county but a few restaurants serve alcohol. Otherwise, you'll have to drive a little bit to towns nearby to get something. There's a lot of outdoors stuff to do. I'd say that's the bulk of the activities available without going into Little Rock.
The school itself I would suppose might be best suited for kids straight out of high school. All my classes I'm taking now seem to treat every student like this. If you're a non-traditional student, or just share similar viewpoints of someone older like myself, this can get a bit annoying. The one assumption I've got from all my teachers so far is that we're all fresh out of High School and have plenty of money via student loans, mommy and daddy, and etc.
My biggest gripe is teachers who are unsympathetic to financial issues and books!!!
- My German class requires a textbook that is supposed to come with a CD and a login code for the online workbook (to do all required homework). I got my book used so I didn't expect the CD but there was also nothing mentioned about this login code in the syllabus. Every single person in the class, with a new or used book, did not receive this login code. Our instructor had no sympathy and still requires us to now purchase this code online on the website for $75 after she discussed the issue with us and admitted it was just a packaging error (and pretty much that we were all screwed).
In the LEAST, she could have made accommodations and done our homework assignments a different way so that each student didn't have to pay $75 due to a packaging error. Especially since there was no mention of the login code in the syllabus.
-For my writing class I got my "textbook"...this REALLY makes me angry. Turns out the "textbook" is actually A 256MB USB KEY with ONE file on it! This file isn't an eBook with a lot of pages. More like a larger size power point presentation. My instructor for the course wrote this "textbook" . Oh and this 256MB USB Key with one file is $50. If I can get a 4GB USB key at Wal-Mart (and most places) for under $10... how can anyone justify charging so much?!
SUMMARY
Overall not too bad of a school. Definitely geared towards younger students straight out of high school. Great outdoors activities in a laid back small to mid size town. Not a place if you're looking for a good party school though. Overall this seems to be one of the better schools in the Central Arkansas area.
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