Brigham Young University - Provo

Date: Oct 24 2008
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I find it interesting that many of those giving negative comments appeared surprised by what the found at BYU. The university does not hide the fact that it has strong religious ties, that there is a code of conduct, that too radical of ideas or attempts to tear down the church or its doctrines are not acceptable. If this makes you uncomfortable, then be forewarned that you would likely not enjoy BYU. However, if former students did not feel personally accepted because they held differing beliefs, then I feel sorry that this happened to them. Unfortunately, it is true that some who attend BYU do have a tendency to be less accepting, but I assure you it is not the majority. Perhaps, some of those who had these experiences were in apartments where there were more cliques (just like some frats and sororities on other campuses) or perhaps they have personalities that find it more difficult to integrate. I met both types while I was there. However, I had little trouble finding those with whom I could associate. Please do not assume that a few bad experiences or disgruntled reviews are truly representative of all or even the majority who attend BYU.

I have attended 3 universities in addition to BYU and also taught at 3 other universities. I have also guest lectured at probably half a dozen more. I can confidently state that BYU attracts a brighter group of undergraduates than any of these universities and it likely only surpassed by the most elite universities. In recent years, BYU has hired some of the top researches and educators in many fields. If you desire solid academic or professional preparation for a bargain price, then consider BYU. Yes, it is true that all teaching is kept within the bounds that the church allows, but these bounds are quite open for most subjects. As could be expected, certain topics or stances that run contrary to church doctrines or practices are not readily discussed. For example, a health class at BYU would discuss the practice of abortion including the procedures, statistics, outcomes, etc; but it would never condone the practice or recommend it expect in extreme cases. This should not be surprising given church sponsorship. As another example, I took a course on world religions while at BYU. We discussed everything from Islam to Zoroastrianism to atheism. I even attended a Jewish religious meeting. The university sponsored this class and instructor was well informed. Again, being that this was a LDS school, many of the class discussions made comparisons to LDS doctrine and we were never encouraged to question our leave our faith. If you can be satisfied with this type of study, then BYU may be appropriate for you. If you want an environment where you are encouraged to challenge and reject your deeply help beliefs and experiment with all that the world has to offer, then BYU is likely not the university for you