A Great Value, But Far from Perfection

Introduction
I love Mizzou - it's got some of the top programs in the Midwest in a lot of areas. The school is definitely on its way up, and the administration tries to accomodate the vision - lots of new buildings, new professors, lots of new student spaces. It's a big school, though, and it takes a while to get through the huge lecture halls. I chose it because the program for my major is as good as you can get pretty much anywhere, and the campus is beautiful and very accessible. Everyone is very friendly, but the size was initially a little intimidating. You have to make the effort to get professors to notice you. They're not going to seek you out. If you need a little hand-holding, or are nervous about a big campus, probably not the place for you.

Campus Life and Social Life
The best part of campus life is the general amount of free or cheap stuff going on. There's a huge hot tub in our new rec center, and a really great aquatic center. There are dollar movies on weekends, and everything is very central. For going out, downtown is very nearby, with lots of bars, restaurants and shops. Lots of people go home on non-football weekends, especially in the dorms, so living space is either really quiet, or full of people partying or coming home (at least slightly inebriated) from partying. Worst part of campus life: (beyond the designation of dry campus) the really good parties are generally the Greek parties. Academics
I'm in a science major, so this maybe isn't an accurate description of everyone's experience, but people have homework, and you have to study to do well in classes no matter what. My workload is pretty intense. TAs can either be really great and helpful, or they can suck and make your life hell. Professors are generally very nice, engaging, but not sympathetic. Good departments on campus: anything life science, chemistry, business, accounting, and of course, journalism. Departments that kind of stink: the ones that you would think are small and underfunded. It's pretty true.

Student Body
Most of the students come from St. Louis and Kansas City, but the school attracts a lot of out-of-state students for journalism. It's a big school, so there's really not a typical student - if there's something you're interested in, someone else (and probably a few others) are interested in it, too. I've been told that it's not as diverse as some people think it should be, but the mixture is pretty varied from where I stand.

In Closing...
It's a great school if you can manage not to get lost in the shuffle. It does happen. Everyone's really nice, and you get what you pay for.