University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

I had four great years at Mizzou, which started a week before freshman year, and didn't end until I graduated. The alumni network is huge, and even in Chicago, I run into Mizzou grads all the time. It's a big school, and it might be easy to get lost in the crowds for some, but if you put in the effort, you'll find yourself part of a wonderful community, full of tradition and with the recent resurgence of sports, a lot of school spirit and pride. The school is wonderful, but the town is equally awesome. There is a reason why so many grads are reluctant to leave after graduation. As far as small cities go, Columbia is just about as cosmopolitan as they come. There are, of course, plenty of bars to choose from, but the restaurant selection is stellar for the area. (Seriously, if you visit, check out Flat Branch and their Chokes and Cheese Burger.) There is a thriving local arts scene, and the District is good for an infinite number of strolls down 9th Street and Broadway. There is a little bit of clash between the Townies and the college students. Obviously, some of the locals are not going to be wild about loud parties - this is made easier by the fact that, for the most part, the groups self-segregate. Most students that live off-campus concentrate in East campus or certain apartment complexes. It can be hard to drink underage without consequence (MO is a Minor in Consumption state). It's not a particularly diverse place by the numbers, if that's high on your list of importance, but there are plenty of different types of people. And, it seems like lately, the tuition and fee increases have been pretty extreme. But, that's just college and the nature of decreases in state funding of higher education... whee!

The best thing about Mizzou is everything is setup to meet people. Beyond the traditional class structure and lecture hall, all of the campus is made for making friends and developing lifelong relationships. For example, every year there is the activities fair that showcases every club on the campus. Its a good way to find something you can dive into and enjoy. I would of changed about my experience is taking more risks meeting people. I was very preoccupied with going to the biggest parties, and popularity. It didn't amount to much. I would of now simply invested myself in my student activities and hobbies to meet people. When you think the college experience, the size of Mizzou has got it. Its a good fit. Close friends and family reacted very positive to my selection in going to Mizzou. Its sheer amount of people and activity provided opportunity to be successful and happy. I spent a lot time on campus at the Alumni Center (University Club), Eilis Library, and the Student Success Center. I worked as server at the Alumni Center. It's one of the rare places to make a good amount of money with a flexible schedule. It met some real good people working there. Furthermore, if you work a double shift or closing shift, you get to eat real good food for free. The college town vibe is there. It's no more evident than when the summer or winter breaks hit. The activity significantly drops. Its not a ghost town, but its quite noticeable. The administration is quite helpful and are there to be of service to you. Ms Morton of the history department is a badass adviser. She definitely helped my development in my academic life. The financial aid advisers are professionals and get a lot crap from students. They are like firemen, they only see you when you come by with a crisis. But they're good. The biggest controversy on campus was our student president getting caught being drunk at formal functions. At times there were racial controversy. I don't enough about though to speak of. The school pride is there and not. It's centered around football and basketball. The Greek culture supports the sports and much of the pride from other students develop after graduating. The unusual thing about Mizzou is the ability to obtain an elite education in the Midwest. I work and live in DC. My peers come from Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, and so on. I can say that Mizzou provide me the tools to compete against these folk out here. One experience I will always remember is my study aboard trip to Mexico. Mizzou has a robust program for international study aboard programs. Its most cherished experience. Students often complain about the Journalism school. It's very rigorous and weeds people out. Its method is almost dogmatic and sometimes inflexible. Another complaint is missing home. Although normal and expected, most adjust.

The best thing about MU is its size. It has some 28,000 students - a daunting number to some, an opportunity to others. This means that if something exists there is a group on campus to support it, and a chance for you to exploit it. My freshman year I decided that I wanted to ride in a boat. So I looked through the Student Organization database and saw that MU had a rowing team. A couple of emails and two weeks later I had joined MU Crew and was learning a sport I had never imagined doing. This experience can be extended to anything - music, activism, cooking, agriculture, etc. The more one gets involved, the easier it gets to find the niche of people at MU that you imagined being friends with in college. It is not uncommon for students to be part of the "I'd never say I'd go to Mizzou but here I am" group. As a high schooler in Missouri, MU is often a safety school. It is not particularly selective, and it's the biggest school in Missouri. Give it some time here and it quickly fades. It's easy to fall for MU because, in the end, it is still college and most people love that. While MU is huge, Columbia is not. MU makes Columbia what it is, though the town itself is growing. Sprawl is getting to be a problem, especially when talking with locals who chose the outskirts of town to be away from the traffic and closer to nature. I love the ability to drive for 15 minutes to explore caves, climb the Pinnacles, or take a scenic walk next to the Missouri River on the Katy Trail (which goes through the edge of campus). What I did not like is the lack of good shows coming to town. The Blue Note and Mojo's do their best to bring in good acts as well as MU's music committee, and they are getting better. Wilco, The Walkmen, TV On the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Nada Surf, and others have all come in the past two years. I feel that the administration of MU walks a tightrope with it's students and with it's curators. A recent "controversy" on campus is the condom initiative where multiple groups of students with the backing of the Student Health Center sought to install condom machines in dormitories (condoms are already free at the Health Center) for easier access. While this initiative saw overwhelming support from it's students, the administration was forced to slow the process because it's curators opposed it. In the end the condom machines will be installed. It is not uncommon for a curator to say something ridiculous (i.e. the constant questioning of the existence of the Women's and Gender Studies Dept., Black Studies, etc.).

SIZE Mizzou is a large institution with an undergraduate body of over 20,000 students. Many people think that they cannot overcome the level of anonymity inherent to such a large body. Surprisingly, it is not difficult to quickly feel at home at the University. Joining a FIG (Freshman Interest Group) or a Greek Chapter can provide an immediate base of friends from which you can branch out mere days after your first hour at the University. Additionally, while many introductory level classes will have over one-hundred individuals in attendance, small classes are plentiful if one simply takes the time to thoroughly browse myZou. It's all about individual initiative. I have had a personal relationship with around 3/4 of the professors I have had at Mizzou (basically, any professor I have wished to meet), and all of the professors within my particular discipline. On a similar note, I have never had trouble learning in a large class, nor obtaining outside help from the professor if I found some facet of the class to be difficult. Especially after sophomore year, larger classes become less common. I have heard that many individuals are apprehensive about attending a "big school," but I think that many of their fears are generally unfounded. REPUTATION Mizzou commands a great deal of respect throughout the state of Missouri. Outside of perhaps Washington University in St. Louis, no other institution within Missouri can compete with Mizzou in essentially any aspect (and even when you include WashU, one must consider the urban setting, relative lack of athletics, and other items unbecoming to most individual's ideal of a college experience). As previously mentioned, many individuals from the state of Missouri tend to associate the University with academic excellence and some degree of financial security (not near the level of wealth associated with private institutions, but certainly above the regional institutions). Mizzou commands a fair amount of prestige at the regional level, with a mutual level of respect maintained among the other institutions of the Big 12 (Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor) and other universities in the surrounding area (Illinois, Arkansas). Additionally, Mizzou maintains respect at the national level. Individuals from other areas of the nation are not in awe of Mizzou (it isn't Harvard or Yale), but they tend to recognize the University as a respectable institution. Outside of the Big 12, I have met individuals from across the nation, including the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Pennsylvania State University, and all of them treated Mizzou with respect. While not generally considered a "national school," the University of Missouri is certainly one of the best institutions in the Midwest. COLUMBIA Columbia is an exemplary college town. With a population of less than 100,000, Columbia has retained much of its small town charm while meeting the needs of the college community. Columbia is home to several local restaurants of various taste and an active night life. Additionally, Columbia has consistently been rated among America's best places to live, and is roughly two hours away from St. Louis and Kansas City.

It's hard to sum up Mizzou without inaccurate generalizations. Some of the professors are great; some not so great. Some of the students are great; some not so great. In general, the atmosphere of the school is very friendly, and the academic programs are decent. Columbia, MO, is the quintessential college town. Liberal, medium-sized, relatively safe. The Mizzou campus isn't too ugly.

One of the best feature about Mizzou is easiness to make friends on campus bacause there are many events to get known new people and most of freshman live in dormitory together.

I love the location and size of Mizzou. I come from a town of 500 people so coming to Mizzou was a big change for me! However, I've loved every minute of it! Anybody I talk to is excited for me that I go to Mizzou. They feel like it has a lot to offer its students! I love Mizzou for their school pride because most students walking around on campus are wearing mizzou clothing pretty much everyday! They support their sports teams and get involved in many activities on campus! I feel that Mizzou doess have a lot to offer its students, however there are a few things I feel Mizzou could work on! For one...parking is rediculous! Hello...we have to pay a bunch of money already to go to this school, why should we have to pay to park what seems like a hundred miles away from the rest of campus!! There needs to be a better system there! Believe me, I love being on campus, but when it takes me forever to get to my car just to get off campus for awhile, its almost not worth it and its definitely not convient!!

Best thing: Opportunities. You can almost find any group on campus that meets what you want to do in life. Mizzou is large, but it gets smaller as the years progress. It depends on the person when I tell them that I go to Mizzou. Most of the time it's, "Great football at Mizzou." I spend most of my time in class and at the library and student centers. Columbia is a college town. I believe that the amount of violent crime on and around campus is the biggest controversy. Yes, there's tons of school pride, especially when sports teams are doing well. One experience... really too many. Most frequent complaints: "My advisor is a dumbass." "This department screwed me over and now I have to take more classes."

I think Mizzou is a great school. It is a large campus, but it offers a lot of different option to help decide what you want to do in the future. Everyone is great help. They have many things to do, with the rec center and organizations to join. I think this school is just right.

I love Mizzou. It's a great environment in a fun town. Since it's a small city centered around the school everything is very spirited. Football season is fantastic, there's so much energy, especially on big 12 games.