The University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Date: Jun 09 2004
Major: Sociology (This Major's Salary over time)
UNL has a fairly strong academic reputation, but I can't emphasize enough that Nebraska isn't for everyone. I ultimately transferred out after two years, but not with any hard feelings towards any of the people here. It just wasn't the right fit for me.

The pluses: people in Nebraska are incredibly friendly, especially in comparison to the urban west coast where I'm from. It's a large university, but not large enough to fall through the cracks. Most of my classes were fairly large, but the professors were usually accessible either before or after class or in office hours (although there are a few cranks, unfortunately). Same goes for Lincoln—it's big enough to have what you'd expect from a large city, but no big that it overwhelms you.

The minuses: If you're not from the Great Plains, there can be a bit of "culture shock." Most of the students I encountered were from rural Nebraska, and while typically friendly, weren't always as open-minded as I wished. While not a "bad" city per se, much of Lincoln is quite ugly and difficult to navigate without a car (to be fair though, there is ample on-campus housing available and there are also parts of Lincoln that are quite charming). Also, the winter weather here is shocker. I have never felt so cold in my entire life!

Also, not necessarily a good or bad thing, but be aware that football is HUGE here. People eat, drink, and breathe football during the fall semester, almost to the point that it's like a religious tradition or something. Even if you aren't a football fan, you'll inevitably become aware of it because it's all people can talk about.