Methodist University

Date: Mar 13 2008
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
Well, well…I just received my diploma from MU last December, and i have a lot of things to say about my three and a half years there…But then I would be here for an eternity…

I'd rather focus on saying that I think you will like Methodist as presently constructed if…

1. A golfer. They just invested in a new golf course at King's Grant, and the PGM (Professional Golf Management) program is the equivalent of a Harvard or a Duke in terms of training golf professionals.

2. A hot chick, or even a semi-attractive one. You'll get a lot of attention, a lot of admiration, and you hold all the cards as far as dating goes…

3.An athlete; about two/thirds of the traditional population plays at least one sport, and most of the teams are competitive. But the revenue sports have had problems fielding teams that consistently win from year to year.

4. A devout Christian.

5. A bookworm. This place is quiet enough for you to study your ass off.

6. A butch lesbian. If you are confident enough, you can get any chick you want.

7. Moderately conservative or ultra-conservative (politically).

8. Anyone who is invovled in singing or music education.

9. An international student; you will get a scholarship, and you are protected by the administration like no one else.

10. Anyone who fits the traditional _________ stereotype. Most, if not all human stereotypes roam free around here.

11. Anyone who believes anything Mommy and Daddy tells you and anyone that has never seen the outside world.

12. Anyone that can make and keep good friends that have cars and connections to parties, etc.

13. Anybody that can kiss the administration's ass and feel no shame.

You won't like it here if you are…

1. A straight male looking for companionship. Keep in mind that this school is 70% male (counting day students only). Baseball players, golfers, soccer players, military men, butch lesbians, and muscular football players are the only ones with a shot to score the hot ones. I thought I had a girl before my last semester began but I guess once she saw all of the jocks on campus, she quickly lost interest in me. My friend told me once I got to Methodist that the STD rate is around 35 percent.

2.Any guy that isn't any of the above listed in the Like section.

3. If you don't have a car.

4. Uber-liberal politically…they are the minority here.

5. Gay men. There are only a handful of them around on campus.

6. Anybody that hates rap or country. Hardly anybody here cares for hard rock, indie rock music, or any of the good music that's left around nowadays.

7. Anybody looking for a good time in Fayettenam, as they call it. There's nothing but a couple of bars close by, a bowling alley, and some strip clubs. Most of the clubs here are somewhat shady and most students have second thoughts about frequenting some of them. Everybody used to go to South Beach on Wed., but once someone was shot there in the summer of 06, the majority of MU students stayed away in droves. That said, I don't think Fayetteville is that bad.

8. Looking for a Greek Life lifestyle. Before I got into my frat, I heard that they used to throw kick ass parties until the Dean and about a million cops showed up at one of them. You can also ask the men's soccer team about the administration's crackdown on partying both on AND off campus.

9. If you hate drama.

10. If you want to mingle with students that are there just for academics…the inbalance toward academics and athletics is an abomination.

11. Hate cliquey enviroments.

12. Want to be treated like an adult. Trust me on this. Previous comments on the residence halls being prison like are true.

13. Seeking cool, large college parties. They are infrequent to begin with, and most of them get busted anyway. Most of them are sausage fests.

14. Anybody who wants a school with the right balance between academics and athletics. For example, we have Homecoming King elections every year, and if you are not a football player, you have no chance in hell to win. (unless the voting gets screwed up)

15. Anybody that wants to freely express themselves. I wrote for the school newspaper my entire time there and I have watched it morph into a public relations leaflet. SGA and RHA are held down by their own advisors.

16. Anybody that wants a true liberal arts education. You can count the number of English majors on two hands. Theater dept. is struggling too.

Plus, this school cares about money more than anything else, so they over-over-recruit for football, baseball and basketball. You could say that they dont have scholarships, whatever. But they do this to fill out the rosters for useless JV teams and to FILL SPOTS FOR THE SCHOOL. Yes, some athletes are recruited here just for that 28k in tuition AND to fill their coaches' pockets. It skewers the ratio and it really makes their retention look awful, because then the said athletes peace out. 56 percent of freshmen were retained for their sophomore year last year? Come on. I'd look at that if I was an athlete looking to play there.

Plus, the dorms leave a lot to be desired, and this year's freshman class brought in some snotty folks. However, the academics (namely Biology, business, and PA school) are top notch. Plus for the most part all of the professors and many of the students are freindly…but I'm worried that the school's rapid growth may erode the family atmosphere that the students of METHODIST COLLEGE enjoyed. I felt this love for the first two years of my stay there. Now it's becoming more cliqueish, and more of a rich kid's school…I think I graduated at the right time.

If the ratio was even and if the students were given a tad more leeway concering the rules, and if I would have drank less, I would have left that place with NO regrets and I would have had even more of a blast. I had a good time overall, and the academics are solid, but there are enough things wrong with this school for me to hope that I get into grad school at a state institution with a balanced ratio and better opportunities, just so I can further my earning power and wash the lonely nights out of my mind.

But I will always care about Methodist. The negative commentary that I wrote was out of love for the school, because I want it to be the best it can be.