Ball State University

Finishing my last semester as a junior at BSU in the creative writing concentration. I'm taking up minors in Ancient Greek (almost done with that) and if I have schedule time, I'll also grab another in Classical Culture.

I'd say my one complaint about the CW program here is that there isn't enough stuff to do! My main interest is in doing Narrative Design for videogames so I took screenwriting and fictionwriting, though we've also got nonfiction and poetry. Neither are my thing, so I can't comment about those classes. However the screenwriting and fiction courses are classes I would GLADLY take again!! Minor-wise: the classics profs I've met are really my favorite profs I've ever had, Dr. Shea in particular.

Outside of my interests, the core curriculum requirements are pretty unnecessary and I do feel like english majors particularly should be exempt from the writing proficiency exam. I'm in 400-level classes, how on earth is it unclear that I can write? I'm in ASTR124 right now, btw, and the class is basically an excuse for the prof to lecture about his opinions on climate change (he actually called Al Gore's book "propaganda"). On the upside, Dr. Prater's ART290 is one of the most fun electives I've taken (and I'll probably take it again for credit).

Anything I rated at around a C in the survey was mainly because there's no other way to quantify mixed results. Generally though, the more into your major/minor(s) you get the better the classes are. I've heard though that TCOM professors and teachers are really bad at the teaching part, so your mileage may vary. If you're interested in ancient greek or latin, definitely try to get classes with Dr. Shea or Dr. King. They're really friendly and great. Classes beyond the 200 level have 30 or fewer students, so that's a huge point in BSU's favor.

The one thing that I really, really hate about the atmosphere on campus are the "Greek Life" people. It's a huge contrast to the really friendly staff and faculty; a lot of students are in sororities or fraternities and the ones I've met tend to get really snobby. Rich white kid stereotypes to the max. There are a lot of parties if you're into that I guess. The worst of it is probably at the very beginning of the year (fun stories about students getting expelled for drug use before classes even start).

I've been in the dorms my entire time here (Woodworth mostly) and they're alright. If I'd had the extra ~$2K I would have been able to get a double-as-single room this year in particular, but my assigned roommate is pretty nice. I haven't decided if my last semester will be in the dorms or not (if so I will definitely make sure I take enough loans out to get the double as single room).

Muncie is pretty meh. The MITS bus system is really great. There's the standard array of midwestern stores and franchises. Walmart, Meijer, et al; also fast food. The Village is a good place to be if you can legally drink; there's also the cafe Damask restaurant on Bethel(IIRC) which I've heard really wonderful things about. Greek's pizza isn't bad either.

Fun fact: there are "multicultural advisors" and some dorm programs in place to help rich white kids overcome "culture shock" (of course, it's not explicity written that it's to help white people not be racist).

I mean it is really, genuinely nice to see a relatively high level of diversity in a pretty white part of IN!! I'm serious!

I only really do one extracurricular, playing in the ECICO, so I can't really comment on much about Student Orgs and the like but they seem very LGBTQA+ friendly. One of my fav things about BSU is definitely that I feel like I'm not being discriminated agianst for being a)bi and b)female.

Overall I'd say BSU is a really good choice if you're interested in these majors: Education, English, Classics, Music, Nursing, TCOM, Archaeology, Architecture, possibly Art, Theatre, Dance

Last but not least: the counseling center surprised me with how friendly the staff are, and how easy it was to talk to my counselor. So overall BSU is like, a 4/5 for me personally.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2015

Education Quality: A+, Useful Schoolwork: C

I actually don't go to BSU, but I went to the boarding school (indiana academy) on campus, so I know all about it.

The best thing is probably the diversity. There are people of all kinds, and while there are a lot of preps, there are a lot of cool people also. It was a wide varity of people, like goths, hipsters, preps, nerds, and anything else you could think of.

Muncie itself sucks, yes, but you have to make something of it. If you're a cool person who likes indie music concerts at a record store, fountain diving, or hanging out by the river and roasting marshmellows over a burning stick, there's plenty of opportunities for that and plenty of people to do it with.

There are A LOT of parties and drunk kids, and not everyone is serious about education. it's probably the number 1 party school in Indiana, but not everyone is like that. you have to find the right people, and that's easier to do than you'd think. Where I am now, you can't find anyone cool. But at Ball State, everyone is aproachable and it's easy to find the kind of friends you usually have. Some times things get clicky, but if you knock they'll let you in.

I hear the chemistry program is really great, and I know that as far as education and arcitexture go, you're golden. I always felt free to be myself on campus, and never felt excluded from anything because the way I looked, or even the fact I was a highschool student living on campus!

It's not very safe, but if you're not stupid (like walking home from a party drunk at 2am) you'll probably be fine. I also never saw any segregation and everyone seemed to be pretty excepting of others, not at all like the "redneck midwest" some people describe.

Ball State can be awesome if you let it. you may have to make your own fun, but it's not a problem. academics and too much partying are the only places it really goes wrong.Needles to say, I'm transfering when I get done with my freshmen year where I am now.

1st Year Female -- Class 2014

University Resource Use/ spending: A+, Surrounding City: C-

This is a great size school for someone going to college without a bunch of people from high school -- it's small enough that you get individual attention but big enough that there's plenty to get involved with and plenty of people to meet. I'm a shy person but had no problem making friends in the dorms and through Greek life. I agree with those who say it's much more fun after you're 21, but the university tries to provide fun things (free movies, Late Nite every Saturday, etc.) to keep those under 21 on campus during the weekends. Some of the buildings need work, but Ball State's put a lot of money into making the campus nicer in the past few weeks.

4th Year Female -- Class 2009

University Resource Use/ spending: A+, Surrounding City: C-