Disclaimer: I'm not writing this post because I'm jealous of BYU or embarrassed about BYU-Idaho. If either of those things were true, I wouldn't be attending the school I am.
I really love my school. I chose to go to BYU-Idaho for a lot of reasons: their nursing program is shorter--I can get my RN in half the time than I could at BYU. I love the small campus/small town. Last but not least, it was the right choice for me. The best way to describe the way I knew where I should go is this: I visited BYU and BYU-I within a week of each other when I was 14 years old. In Provo, I felt like a visitor on campus. In Idaho, even though I was at least 5 years younger than everyone around me, I felt very much at home--like I fit in. THAT'S why I'm going to school there. Not because I hate Provo or didn't think I could 'keep up' with all the classes at BYU or because I just love potatoes.
My brother loves to tell people: "My sister got into BYU and CHOSE to go to BYU-Idaho!" People don't know how to react--but they usually think I'm insane. Those people are usually BYU students.
Many times while I was at school in Rexburg, I'd mention something about BYU--a story, a rule that they don't have that we do (and there are a lot of those), a professer--and I'd get a reaction like this: "Wow, BYU is so...I don't know. The Spirit is just not as strong there." "I can't believe all the stuff that goes on down in Provo." "I'm so grateful for the strict honor code. I'm glad I have a curfew--things are just different at BYU because they can stay out all hours of the night."
People, there is a problem with both of these scenarios. The idea that BYU is hell and BYU-Idaho is a nunnery needs to just:
BYU is an older, more academically prestigious university. Something important to remember is that it's been a 4 year university for WAY longer than BYU-I. BYU-Idaho was a junior college just 13 years ago!
But that doesn't make BYU a Mormon Harvard, for Pete's sake. It's harder, but it's not Ivy League.
People will claim that BYU is "wayy hard to get into"--false. Compared to a few schools I googled, it has a pretty high acceptance rate, especially for a private university.
BYU-I: 99%
University of Washington: 59.2%
BYU: 55%
Liberty University: 22.8%
NCState: 49.6%
Notre Dame: 24.3%
UNC-ChapelHill: 27.6%
Stanford:6.6%
BYU-Idaho is (extremely) easy to get into and less rigorous than BYU but that does not mean all the classes are a breeze. I'm not dumb, and I had to work to get the grades I wanted. News flash: COLLEGE IS HARD WORK. I'm not saying every college is equal, but let's cease and desist with the mentality that Rexburg is full of clueless people.
Except those clueless people that say this: "BYU is the church's school and BYU-I is the Lord's school." I'm not even going to give you any more commentary than this: The church belongs to God. Both schools belong to the church. Wearing shorts and flip flops doesn't make you a sinner--it just means you're not overheated in the summer. BYU is not the great and spacious building. And Rexburg is not heaven. There are good, upstanding people and people who don't want to follow the standards at both universities.
I think it's the BYU rejects (and there's no shortage of those in Rexburg) who make disparaging comments about Provo. Sour freakin' grapes!
I love BYU-Idaho, and President Clark. I DO NOT like the curfew, or the dress code. I could've attended BYU but decided against it. I'm proud to be a Viking (bet you didn't know that was Idaho's mascot, did you? :).
I love Provo. I think BYU's an excellent school. Both my parents went there, tons of my friends, and my siblings. Go cougars!
You can be successful, smart, hardworking, and upstanding at any school you attend, whether it's a party school or a strict private school or a community college. There's no reason to criticize or judge any other university in the world, so just take some advice from a wise German friend of mine.
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