http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html Life at ASU - Comments en http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html Appalachian State puts too much effort into trying to market the campus. The school tries to market a "one love" diversity type feel to the campus, its very transparent. I transferred in '08. back wh... Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:06:07 GMT StudentsReview 795-92610 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 795-92610 795 18 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc Male Undergraduate Alumnus Class 2000 Advice Appalachian State puts too much effort into trying to market the campus. The school tries to market a "one love" diversity type feel to the campus, its very transparent. I transferred in '08. back when they really started to pour money into the campus via football. which what from I understand really changed the whole school.It bought a different type of people to the school than I imagained.The school milks the victory over michigan pretty hard, even though it was 5 years ago. Frats and Soroties got much bigger just within the three years I was there.Before I got there I think there were more "hippies" and other laid back liberal arts types.Appstate seemed like it was turned more into a business school than a liberal arts school when i was there. The student body is pretty cliquey (full of bro'd out stoners,finance majors,fundamentalist christians,frat boys, soroity girls,hispter types,atheletes,occasional hippies, somewhat outdoorsy types,and people who are really stoked about campus life.) Alot of the students can be self absorbed, including myself at one point. It can create a really superficial, unfreindly, and uptight enviroment.there are some good genuine people though you just got to dig. I attribute this to the town of Boone. It really can be a dull place to be with not much to do. Although it has quaint downtown. It has really pretty summers and great hiking and swimming spots. Watch out for floridians though they are the seasonal summer plague of western NC. There are some nice bars and beerstores surrounding. The bartenders at boone saloon can be really unfriendly(due to an undeserved beer snobbery)they are nice to girls though.The real estate is terrible.Most of the rental agencies rent cheap, crampt apartments. Some are owned by people in Florida others by people in town. They make a quick buck by exploiting the students into coughing up like 500-600 bucks a month on average for a small shitty apartment, I had a freind with black mold and his landlord refused to do anything about it. Not all are bad i would say 80% are pretty awful to rent from and a minority are sub-par to fine, just be careful when you live off campus, and you will the school is too small for the amount of students the school wants to bring in. Which means dorms are hard to get. the student advising is pretty poor, when I transferred I was assigned to this women who was a real dummy, i dont remember the specifics, but alot of people complained about her. Im not sure how she got her job. Finding summer jobs are tough here.

Its not all bad though...there is a great local music scene growing with some coffee shops and houses, they bring alot of musicians regionally and nationally in which is really pretty cool. The art department changed alot when I was there, it got much better. One of the few saving graces of appstate are the devotion that the art faculty and other facutly have to their work. I was actually going to transfer a second time but through developing relationships with them convinced me to stay.I learned alot about art, probably more than I would have at the other school i previously attended. Appstate in that regard was not bad. The library has some sweet art books you can check out.The writing center helped me alot. The art department is okay as far as art schools go, you get out of it what you put in. I was never a fan of art expo though. I felt it bought an unhealthy rivalry with students. And fed egos. My art got way better out of school, which is the goal of art school. There are some galleries in town which are supportive of students and let them hang work and have shows. In retrospect i think I needed a school that was less football and less business focus.

If your looking for public schools that have more of an "artsy" focus in NC try UNCG or UNCA. The students i met from there were alot nicer and much more freindly and open. I think there are defiantly better places to go to school and better places to live if youre a student in north carolina or Western nc like the Asheville area or even the chapel hill area. All in all i dont like Appalachian state or boone that much, but I made alot of cool freinds , and had some great experiences. Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:06:07 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html Completely disregarding the fact that 75% of my friends from high school all went to the same different college, I would come here again given the choice. The campus is beautiful, the staff is friendl... Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:17:47 GMT StudentsReview 795-92015 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 795-92015 795 7 Business - Management and Administration Male Undergraduate Class 2016 1st Year Neutral Completely disregarding the fact that 75% of my friends from high school all went to the same different college, I would come here again given the choice. The campus is beautiful, the staff is friendly, and the academics are challenging (yet fair). The dorms are okay, about the size of a standard prison cell (pretty normal for dorms anywhere). Dorms on the East Side of campus, which I'm on, are a bit better than the ones on the West Side. The food in Central Dining Hall is good, but, like most places, you'll get tired of the same food over and over. Your advisors and people everywhere are always willing to help. The only real problem is is finding something to do. Boone is a small town, so there's not a whole lot going on unless you really like to party... I don't. I spend most of my weekdays in my dorm, but that doesn't mean there's NOTHING to do. There's some student organizations, sports groups, etc. Overall, good school. Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:17:47 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html ASU is not what I wanted out of a college experience AT ALL. I transferred to a large SEC school after only one year at App. Being from the south (not the upland south), I was very much out of my el... Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:25:19 GMT StudentsReview 795-91233 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 795-91233 795 7 Business - Management and Administration Male Undergraduate Class 2002 1st Year Negative ASU is not what I wanted out of a college experience AT ALL. I transferred to a large SEC school after only one year at App. Being from the south (not the upland south), I was very much out of my element at ASU. I grew up in a very social family and town. App is more of an every-man-for-himself kind of place. Yes, there were Greek organizations, but many of those in franternities at ASU wouldn't be at the school I later joined a fraternity at and graduated from. I found ASU to have quite a "hillbilly" type student body mixed with NC city kids who didn't get in to Carolina or State. Over the years, I have heard about how the business school at App is up and coming and that this and that about the school and the town of Boone are "up and coming." These are the same things people said about ASu when I was there years ago. Thus, it is the same ole place. Also, Ole Miss was a much better fit for me, weather-wise. App can be VERY cold! And as another poster said, the buildings are very HOT inside in the winter. I recently visited Boone for the first time in years. I will say that the campus has seen many improvements. The buildings look very nice. My advice to those considering ASU" If you gte into a better school, don't go to ASU. It is NOT on the rise at all - all propaganda from 20 years ago forward. Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:25:19 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html I originally came to App from a Northern state for its Music Therapy program, which is top notch. For reasons unrelated to the quality of the program, I changed majors in my sophomore year. I heavily ... Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:05:55 GMT StudentsReview 795-90469 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 795-90469 795 17 English Female Undergraduate Class 2012 4th Year Neutral I originally came to App from a Northern state for its Music Therapy program, which is top notch. For reasons unrelated to the quality of the program, I changed majors in my sophomore year. I heavily considered transferring because my grades and test scores matched up with more competitive and challenging schools, but I ultimately decided it wasn't worth the trouble, time, and money. Plus, I simply didn't want to leave App. I was happy there.

I loved the mountains. Hiking is a mainstream, popular activity at App, not a niche "hippie" thing at all. Boone is beautiful and very safe.

I had to work harder to be challenged and to find interesting people at App than I may have had to work at other schools, but ultimately it was possible. I liked being an English major because most of that material is as easy or as challenging as the student wants to make it. The professors were very accessible and focused on teaching (as opposed to research).

I also greatly preferred small house parties to big Greek parties and the like, and this is how App operated. I wished the student culture focused more on academics and less on drugs. It was harder to stay motivated and do my best work when everyone around me seemed to be drinking and smoking weed constantly. However, "seemed" is the operative word here. By the end of my time at App, I found many people who also cared about academics and did productive things. They are just less visible than the obvious partiers and drug users. Taking Honors classes and getting involved with extracurricular activities was a good way to meet these people.

Now that I've graduated, I'm about to begin service as an Americorps VISTA. Once I began to start seriously searching for jobs, it took me about three week to acquire this position. Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:05:55 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html I loved Appalachian. The negative things are mostly my own fault. I am unemployed because I am injured, and I'm considering going back to school because I think I made the wrong decision in terms of... Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:36:25 GMT StudentsReview 795-89939 Copyright 2013 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. 795-89939 795 38 Psychology Female Undergraduate Alumna Class 2000 Positive I loved Appalachian.
The negative things are mostly my own fault. I am unemployed because I am injured, and I'm considering going back to school because I think I made the wrong decision in terms of majors.
However, App is the only place I think I could have enjoyed so thoroughly as an undergrad. There is no comparable natural setting, and the town is a place of old-time culture mixed with Southern conservatism and hippie liberalism. It is really an atmosphere like no other and does not trap students in an overly stressful atmosphere. People are very friendly and professors are very accessible. However, you must be self-motivated to find success since the academics can be hit or miss. Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:36:25 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/NC/ASU_comments.html