The University of Arizona

Like many universities, U of A is becoming more like a business. It's nickel and diming everyone to oblivion, and instead of bolstering the academics, they're plowing money into Rec Centers and Student Unions and new dorms, because that's what gawky seventeen year olds want in a college. Also, if they get kids to live on campus, they can tag them for dorm fees and meal plans. (Hint: Live off-campus. Way more freedom, and cheaper.) One of the departments I was in (I double majored) lost a tenured professor to Ithaca, but instead of replacing her, they juggled classes between cheaper, part-time adjunct professors. To be sure, this kind of stuff is happening at a lot of places, not just U of A.

The best part of U of A is Tucson. Yeah. I said it. This town rocks. There are so many cool little bars and funky little clubs, it's so much more alive than Tempe. Even before you're 21, there's a bunch of hole-in-the-wall food joints off campus (Sonoran Hot Dogs and Carne Asada Burros from El Guero Canelo. If you're down visiting, skip the Student Union and head there instead). Yeah, south of campus is sketch, that's why the new light rail runs to the west towards 4th Ave and downtown. That's where the fun is, folks. If you want your life to be clean and sanitized, go somewhere else. Keep Tucson Weird.Bottom line: If you're in-state, U of A's your best bet. If you're coming in from California, you might want to check out how shitty Arizona's education system is before these people become your classmates.