Ball State University Top Questions

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My classmates are grade-oriented, friendly, and hopeful.

There are a wide variety of racial and religious groups represented on campus. I don't think any kind of student would feel out of place, as there seems to be a group for everyone. The majority of students are from Indiana, but there's a strong showing of students from Ohio, as well.

There are all kinds of diverse groups on campus. The first three weeks, you get to see all of them out advertising. This school gives off the feeling of accepting everyone. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in organizations, groups, and taking action.

I have noticed quite a few different races and religious preferences at Ball State. I find it really interesting, because I have been able to make multiple friends that are different from me. I have learned a lot about other people, and they have learned a lot about me as well. LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) students fit in just like anybody else would at school. They have clubs and meetings for the LGBT as well, and it's not embarassing to attend and just make new friends. I lived in Lafollete this past year, and I had a lot of Korean and Chinese International students living in the dorms. It was really interesting to see so many different people, but it was a great experience as well. People from all around the world come to Ball State. It is a great place to meet new people. Especially, the International students are always thrilled for an American student or just anyone in general to come up and meet with them and find out what they are about.

Most of the students at Ball State are from the Muncie/Anderson area or Indianapolis. Typically people wear very relaxed clothing (sweat pants, t-shirts, flip-flops)... I feel like most students at Ball State are liberal. We have a large LGBT community. There are several students who regularly attend church, but there are also atheist/agnostic groups on campus. Predominately, Ball State's student population is white. There are also more female students than male (3 to 1). I came from a small town, so Ball State's campus was a culture shock for me. There are several international students (from China, Japan, India, etc.) and Muslim students as well. As different as everyone is, the atmosphere is great! Everyone tends to get along and everyone is eager to learn about each others' cultures/religions.

Variety

The most obvious aspect of the students here are that they are involved. The university literally has hundreds of clubs to join. I have noticed many of the clubs take particular effort to promote diversity. The GLBTQSA club on campus has a large and active membership that often partners with other clubs in order to promote diversity. Racially, there are so many clubs for different ethnicities that the university even has clubs for African American Graduate Students or Dancers, not just African Americans. The university also supports religious diversity from many Christian clubs to even a couple clubs for Atheists. While college campuses generally are a haven for Democrats, this campus is rather right-wing. The College Republicans are far more involved than the Democrat counterpart and the university tends to invite more people from the right side of the political spectrum than the left. While Ball State is growing, the campus is not the most prominent in the state; as a result, students can from an exceptionally wide variety of socioeconomic statuses. Some students come to class in designer clothes and take notes on their iPad 2 while others work full-time after classes just to make enough to stay enrolled. Because of this variety, the students come from many different locations. Some come from Chicagoland, like myself, while some walk to campus from the house they grew up in. However, I would say that the vast majority of students come from in-state.

There are a lot of niches on campus. Everyone seems to fit in in their own way. There are definitely some groups that get negative publicity, but for the most part everyone gets along.

Ball State is fairly diverse, but as far as I know, it hasn't been an issue. Groups do develop, but they are mostly made up of people in the same class, club, or dorm. Religiously, the school has many christian groups, as to be expected in Indiana. There are many churches on campus and they do recruit heavily in the first week or so. After that, it calms down. This does not show up in the classroom and does not cause controversy. Most of the students here are laid-back and socio-economic status hardly mean a thing to most people. Money is not all that important and most people do not flaunt it if they have it. Their attire is casual as well and most people wear jeans, if not sweatpants, and t-shirts. They are very friendly and very willing to strike up conversations on a whim.