I was overall pleased with my experience at Berry. You are not treated as an ID number. It is extremely easy to seek out assistance, whether it be from professors during office hours or constructing your resume through career services. Don't expect an academic "walk in the park" just because the school doesn't attract Ivy-League caliber students. Most classes have tough courseloads and there is no such thing as an "Easy A" here. The professors are required to have 10 office hours a week and I never encountered one who was inaccessible. Most of the Gen Ed courses seem like unnecessary busy work, but when you get into the upper level classes in your major and minor (if you choose one), the classes become more relevant to the professions you are interested in or the graduate programs you wish to pursue.
Make sure there are activities that interest you at Berry before you decide to enroll... whether it be intramurals, Christian life organizations, or Student Government. There are very few organized activities on campus, and fewer on weekends. KCAB, the student entertainment organization, does an excellent job trying to think of new activities, but most receive little participation. Many RAs seem to be more interested in enjoying their larger dorm rooms than actually facilitating hall get togethers. Berry has no Greek system, though most students (including myself) prefer it that way. The school really has no cliques... other than the Campus Entertainment Committee seems to have inflated egos at time.
Berry does a nice job of keeping the dining halls, student athletic facilities, and library open at reasonable hours for the weekend. I wouldn't call it a "suitcase college," but there isn't much to do on-campus. I would advise that you have some friends nearby at some of the state schools so you can road trip.
All students have the ability to work on campus. I believe 90% do. Be advised that you only make minimum wage... However, on-campus employment is a lot more flexible than if you look for a job off campus. I never pursued an on-campus job, because working hard for $6.25/hr. in between classes wasn't worth it to knock off at most 10% of tuition.
Even though alcohol is banned from campus, it's not too hard to find off-campus parties if that's your thing. Granted they are much tamer than Greek parties you'd find at say UGA, but it's your best hope if you want to blow off some steam on the weekends.
Berry has the prettiest campus of any college that I have ever seen. It encompasses over 26,000 acres, though the school buildings are close together. It's kind of a welcome relief, because once you leave campus you are thrust into Rome, Ga., a town of 50,000 with nothing but fast food restaurants, two Wal-Marts, a dinky mall, and a downtown full of dilapidated buildings. I would recommend getting the largest on-campus meal plan possible, unless you really like ordering fast food.
For a campus that is incredibly beautiful, all the dormitories are absolutely fetid and poorly maintained. Maintenance does the best they can when there are major plumbing problems or structural problems, but some things are too old for them even to fix. Every dorm is in desperate need of renovation. Just do the best you can to deal with it and eventually you can move into the New Residence Hall when you are a junior or senior.
If you're a rabid sports fan, you might want to think twice about going here. Athletic events are poorly attended and few people watching sporting events on television. Intramurals aren't that popular and don't seem to be particularly well organized. Still, if you like to keep in shape, Berry just opened the Cage Center which, for a school of Berry's enrollment, may be the nicest in the country. There are numerous basketball courts, a natatorium, a fantastic workout facility, and several racquetball courts.
One misconception about Berry is that it is a school for right-wing conservative Christians. Granted there are a segment of students whom religion is very important to them, but they aren't proselytizers. Berry is not affiliated with any church, so the school has no agendas.
Also, if you are a guy, don't choose Berry because it is nearly 70% women. If you are looking for a hookup culture, look elsewhere. I would posit that the majority of Berry women are more concerned about their Mrs. degree. Many Berry students are in serious relationships too, as in almost engaged type, not the serious relationships which last a month that you see at bigger schools.
Two things which did surprise me about Berry:
1. There is a decent marijuana culture there. I'm not into pot, but it's not hard to find and quite a few smoke on campus.2. There are surprisingly quite a few out-of-the-closet homosexuals. While I'm sure that it ruffles some feathers of the super-religious, most students are okay with it.
Articles
