Boise State University

Date: Jul 06 2010
Major: Nursing (This Major's Salary over time)
BSU is essentially a football program with a college campus built around it. That isn't to say there is nothing of value to be found here but it's certainly not an academic powerhouse. If your budget limits your options you can find enough gems here to make it worthwhile and equip yourself well for whichever career field you choose, but fundamentally BSU is a community college on a grand scale.

The campus is strikingly ugly, which is surprising given the area it's located in. However, there is a lot of new and current construction going on so some facilities are quite pleasant and useful. Campus life, as others have mentioned, is nonexistent from about 5pm. The student body is almost entirely lilly-white. Having come to Boise from the east coast this was quite a shock, but there is a strong Midwestern sensibility among the student body and I've found the vast majority of my classmates to be engaging, interesting and very friendly even despite my "advanced" age (I'm a 30-something working toward another degree).

Academics and instructors are extremely hit or miss. I've had some instructors who were truly outstanding and worth every tuition dollar and classroom hour invested. I've also had instructors who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a whiteboard. Your best bet is to ask others who've taken the classes you're interested in whether or not they enjoyed the instructor.

Your biggest hurdle at BSU will be in dealing with anyone in the administration building. If you or your parents cannot pay the full tuition out of pocket your only options as far as the university is concerned are Pell Grants and student loans. "Scholarship" is a dirty word in the financial aid office, and any expression on your part that you want to avoid mortgaging your education will be met with incredulousness. I was encouraged to file for unemployment in order to pay any tuition I could not pay out of pocket (despite, to my understanding, this being expressly forbidden by Idaho's unemployment benefits guidelines). If scholarships are your thing prepare to do all the research and applications without any guidance from the F.A. office. As for transfer credits… forget what you think you know. BSU will be extremely selective in accepting your credits. This warning goes double for military vets who've completed MOS-based or leadership schools and/or on-base college credits. Your ACE transcripts are worthless here, and many of those classes you took from the University of Maryland or Embrey-Riddle will be similarly worthless.

Of BSU's ~20,000 students fully one third are military veterans going to school on the G.I. Bill. To handle all of those claims the university has one V.A. rep (an outstanding guy, but way overworked). Military folks, you should also be prepared to be addressed in nothing less than completely condescending and insulting tones by reps from the Regent's office. The assumption is that you were nothing more than cannon fodder when in uniform and, as such, you should be grateful that any university let you through its front doors. I don't expect fealty or hero-worship as a result of my veteran status, but I do expect to be treated as a fully functioning, rational adult with a brain rather than as a developmentally stunted man-child with a limited vocabulary.

In short, the bargain-basement price of ~$2600-and-change per semester will get you a bargain-basement college experience.