University of Kansas Top Questions

The scholarship halls at KU are very unique as compared to many other colleges in the U.S. You must be selected to live in the scholarship halls, so the community is really close knit. What I love about it is that different halls have different events all of the time! Since I don't drink, this is very useful because I can have fun and be with my friends without getting intoxicated and watch people make fools of themselves!

It all depends on who you are but everyone can find a party secene, especially if you go to veggie lunch.

It all depends on who you are but everyone can find a party secene, especially if you go to veggie lunch.

The most popular groups are the religious ones, especially those affiliated w/ Christians, the gay/lesbian groups/supporters, and anything politically left. I live in a scholarship hall and we have girls leave their doors open all the time. Athletic events are EXTREMELY popular. They are a very big deal at KU, to the point that we have to plan ahead for many days to get a seat. We have guest speakers all of the time. Theater is not as popular. Students more often go because of a homework assignment. Dating is harder today than for the past generations. One, we have to differentiate between if the person is gay, straight, or taken. Then, since our generation is very technological, many people are a lot more hesitant to ask people out face-to-face, so they do it over the internet or through texting, which makes it more impersonal. I met my closest friends through my house and classes. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am doing homework/studying for a test. People party all of the time. We have a saying, "Thursday is the new Friday and Wednesday is the new Thursday." So basically the bars are hopping during the nights of Wed-Sat. And if there a big celebration or event occuring, the more parties there are. Those in fraternities/sororities think they are extremely important. But those who are not in them could care less for them. Last weekend I celebrated the NCAA Championship. A Saturday night w/o drinking: you could go bowling for free on campus, watch a movie on campus for $2 or go to a movie theater.

Definitely the most popular people right now is the basketball team. We love KU basketball, and are beginning to love KU football. People will camp out weeks in advance to get good seats at Allen Fieldhouse. People do not leave their doors open in the dorms. The only exception is to the scholarship halls, where I live. There are 50 of us that live in each "dorm", so we know each other a lot better than the 600 people in each regular dorm. I met my closest friends through classes and through other friends. One of the coolest traditions at KU is to walk the hill for graduation. Another is doing the rock chalk chant and the alma mater before every game and after any game we win. The Greek system is huge here, but many people feel like you have to be rich to rush. They do many things for the community, including giving money to the KU cancer research center in KC.

i study a lot during the week. political groups are pretty popular on campus, but people play a lotttt of intermural sports. ku puts on tons of events and social activities so there is something to do literally every weekend. dating is fun, and there are always lots of options. i met my closest friends through my scholarship hall. frats and sororities are big, but most people just stereotype them. they really aren't that cool and we all know it. last weekend i had a girls night with movies, ice cream, dinner, and friends. i also went to a KC wizards game with the KU club soccer team since lawrence is so close to KC. i don't drink, never have. there are PLENTY of non-alcoholic options. friends can always find fun things to do.

A lot of students are involved in activities for their housing--Greek life or scholarship hall parties, shows, and volunteer work. Multicultural groups also get a lot of participation. I've never lived in a dorm, so I don't know too much about the experience there--I've heard theft can be a problem in certain dorms, but if you're careful, you'll be fine. In the scholarship halls, we have number pads and codes for all the entrances, so within the hall we can leave our doors open. I met my closest friends through the scholarship halls. If I'm awake at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, I'm either up late talking with my roommates or working on a big project. Athletic events are insanely popular, because KU sports rock! I would like to see more support for women's athletics, though. Guest speakers often present to full audiences; KU brings in speakers of great interest to students, many classes encourage students to attend these events, and the general public is often welcome to listen as well. KU has a renowned music program; students and community members come to concerts. The Lawrence community strongly supports the arts, including theatre. KU has more traditions than I can even think to list here. Some of them are shared with freshmen on Traditions Night during Hawk Week. I don't know how often the average person parties--some people go out every weekend, starting on Thursday night. Fraternities and sororities aren't very important--you don't have to be in one to "be" someone. The sororities have some of that rich, ditzy, shallow stereotype, but this certainly doesn't apply to all members of every sorority; I know many individuals who belong to both sororities and honors programs. The fraternities don't have quite as bad a stereotype. On a Saturday night, you can see $1.00 campus movies, go out to eat downtown, or see one of countless concerts or shows.

There is always something social going on at KU. Between sporting events and tailgating, concerts and plays, house parties, the bars and Greek Life, there is always something going on and somewhere to be.

Being an athlete, I spend a lot of time around athletes, and I also am not involved in some things that other students are. I don't know a whole lot about the night life, since I am in bed by 10:00 or 11:00 most nights. I am involved in a local church as well as some on campus Christian groups, and that is how I have met most of my best friends that are not on the track team. The greek community is huge and very active. Athletic events are the center of activity for most students, though the music and theater departments flourish as well. Downtown is the hub of social life, and you can find people doing anything from bar-hopping, hanging out at coffee shops, and volunteering to help the homeless.

SUA keeps us very busy, but when there is a day or evening when campus is quiet, it is guaranteed that Lawrence won't be.