I have a couple of quesions I was wondering if any of you on here can answer.
What made you pick to go to BU?What is your favorite thing about living on campus?What is your least favorite thing about living on campus?Did you have any problems with your roommate?What are some good thing to get into at BU?
Hey Nicole - Maybe I can answer a few of your questions!
Why did I pick BU? GOOD QUESTION! For me, it was all about pharmacy, which may not apply to you. But, academics were definitely key. Butler has small class sizes, which means that you get a lot more time for class discussion, and you can meet with your professor easily if you're ever having problems. Another thing that really excited me was the dorms. Compared to some of the other colleges I looked into, Butler's dorms are a lot nicer and the rooms are pretty big. I wouldn't make your entire college decision about dorms, but it's something to take into consideration!
Favorite thing about living on campus - Well, I'm a senior, so I live off campus now. But, I lived on campus for three years, so I have a bit of experience to pull from! Freshman year was awesome because everyone keeps their doors open in the dorms. You can walk to the bathroom and get distracted for half an hour just talking to people that you see. I also liked being so close for the sporting events (which are free for all students, FYI). I could always walk to Hinkle Fieldhouse or the Butler Bowl within ten minutes, and I definitely took advantage of that.
Least favorite thing about living on campus - Parking is one of the things that comes to mind. It's great that Butler lets freshmen have cars on campus, and I was one of the many people who took advantage of that policy. Parking isn't always bad, but when you get back from somewhere late in the evening, good luck trying to find a spot! I've been lucky enough not to get a parking ticket (I'm always looking for the signs to make sure I'm parked legally) but I know a lot of people who haven't been so lucky. If you want to avoid the parking problems freshman year, live in Schwitzer Hall - it has a much larger parking lot than Ross Hall!
Roommate problems - Yes, I have had roommate problems. It happens. And, I hate to tell you, I'm not the only one. Strangely, a lot of roommate problems (including my own) happened after freshman year. For whatever reason, Butler does a pretty good job of placing people together who are compatible for the first year. I know people who kept living with their freshman year roommate until they graduated! The problems seem to arise when people start choosing their roommates. Maybe best friends don't equal best roommates. Who knows. Just remember, if you do run into roommate problems, you're not the first person to have a problem!
Good things to get into at BU - I don't even know where to start with this question! I recently wrote one of my blog posts about interest sessions at the beginning of the year. They are by far the best way to check out organizations that you might interest you. Butler has so much to offer for everyone, trying to give you advice about what might interest you in particular is difficult. But, I would say joining Dawg Pound, the student cheering section at BU, is a good place to start. It only costs about $15 to join (I think....Jake S, my fellow blogger and Dawg Pound president would know more about this) and there are a lot of cool opportunities offered, like free transport to away basketball games! SGA (Student Government Association) is another large organization on campus, and provides a lot of leadership opportunities if that's something that appeals to you. Other than that, go with your interests...you'll be able to find something you like!
I hope this answers some of your questions! If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask....we're here to help!
how is the pharmacy program at BU?
I won't sugar coat pharmacy, because it's not a walk in the park. It's a lot of hard work. But, the faculty is nothing short of amazing. I can't say enough great things about our professors. Despite the fact that our classes are probably the largest at Butler (lectures have about 120 people) all the professors make an effort to learn everyone's name and they are always available to help and offer words of advice. The material we learn is hard, but the professors do everything they can to help us learn and to help us succeed. Butler pharmacy grads have a very high pass rate on the NAPLEX (the licensing exam for pharmacists). I believe that we have the third best pass rate in the country on the NAPLEX.
There are also a lot of opportunities to network for your future career while at Butler. Every year there is a pharmacy career fair, which attracts a lot of big-name employers. There are also a lot of pharmacy organizations to get involved with, and they're a great support resource and a great resource for meeting fellow students, faculty, and alumni.
Another advantage of pharmacy is that once we're done, we don't have to go to grad school....we're done for good! A lot of people wonder why we would want to go to school for six years, but a lot of people don't take into consideration that most people end up in grad school, so they end up doing a lot more time in school than we do!
Hope this helps you out! If you have any more questions about pharmacy or Butler, just let us know!
Ashlen
Hey Nicole! So I'm studying abroad in Spain and missing Butler very much, so I totally went overboard with answering your questions, but hopefully you can find something helpful in the novel I wrote you ; )
--- Christina '10 http://go.butler.edu/cs/blogs/christinaL
umm....Christina...this is the MOST EXTENSIVE answer I've ever seen....HA! GREAT JOB!
Megan ORourke
Assistant Director of Admission/Chicago Regional Rep
Butler University
wow. thanks for the wonderful answer Christina. I think you answered very well. Great job. I like all the stuff that I have been hearing about Butler. What are you studing in Spain?
Megan, this is the consequence of Butler withdrawal! I have to write long-winded love letters to BU on the forums : )
Nicole, I'm glad that my ramblings were helpful to you! lol. I am studying in Alcala de Henares, which is an adorable town outside of Madrid. I am having a great time! If you want to hear more about it you can check out my blog: http://go.butler.edu/cs/blogs/christinal/default.aspx
when i visited campus (which i loved :)) i saw that there were many opportunities to get involved in greek life. i'm not really interested in rushing, and was wondering if the majority of students participate in greek life and whether i would feel left out or disconnected from the community. thanks!