BYU- you get more than you pay for

Introduction
What sets BYU apart from other school is that it is filled with Mormons. I grew up in Boston, where the LDS church is much smaller, and so this part of BYU intrigued me. What new BYU students need to realize is this: there are tons of Mormons here, and due to the laws of averages and mathematics there are all sorts of Mormons here too. Outsiders think BYU is homogenous. I think that that is more of a commentary on the Mormon church than of BYU. As far as a group of Mormons go, BYU is really diverse. I am from Boston. Two of my roommates are from California, One from Kansas, One from Washington...NONE from Utah or Idaho. People who struggle to make friends here struggle because they don't try. There are Mormon students here from every walk of life, and if you can't find anyone with anything in common with you, well, you aren't looking very hard. It's true. I've never met so many Mormons that I've disliked. But it has to be said that I have never met so many brilliant, unique, and inspiring Mormons too.

Campus Life and Social Life
Socially I think that Provo is THE place for unmarried members of the LDS faith.

Provo police think that they live at the hub of the modern crime world and treat BYU students like inmates. Thus "partying" doesn't happen as much as at other campuses. Almost no one drinks alcohol, so the parties that do happen are very different from the parties I went to with my friends in high school.

BYU sports are great. The student body is much more supportive than other schools'. Though the big profile teams aren't always dominant, all of the other teams are very good, and you can have every bit as much fun at a volleyball game than you can at a football game, and this is coming from a huge sports fan. Advertisement
Academics
Academically BYU is competitive with other big schools. A degree from BYU, good test scores, and good GPA, will get you into the graduate program of your liking. There are bad teachers and good teachers, just like at every school.

Student Body
The typical BYU student is pretty clean-cut and conservative, but i believe it is important to note that not everyone really fits that mold. There are lots of international students, but I would be lying if I said racial diversity is a strength.

In Closing...
BYU costs so much less than every other school, and graduate schools respect a BYU degree. I am the only one of my friends from home who is going to graduate from college with no debt at all, and I haven't even taken out a loan, and I only had a scholarship for one semester.

It's easy to complain about living in Provo or being annoyed with Mormon culture a little, but when all the superfluous stuff melts away, you realize that BYU is actually a great place to be.