Comments on: Angry Letter: Leave UVSC alone!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:53:50 +0000

Hey, starting in July those of us lucky enough to have gotten into the “High School on the Highway” will now be officially a University!!!! So there all you BYU snobs….with your Wilkenson centers & BYU Sparkle & math programs that you can actually pass!!! We just might get a good football team too…..but I graduate this year, so I’m not holding my breath any…..

(yes, I know this is probably a dead topic, but like all other UVSC students, I have to put my own inconsequential opinion in as well!)

By: queuno

queuno — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 02:51:47 +0000

As a former computer science student at BYU, I have to acknowledge that UVSCâ€™s program was better. You leave with practical knowledge from UVSC; BYU was teaching me plenty of theory, but companies donâ€™t ask you THEORIZE how to build a system.

Funny, but my graduate committee cited BYU’s theoretical background as reason #1 why it has a stellar reputation.

Then again, my graduate committee didn’t want graduate students who had practical knowledge in what was already done, but the theoretical knowledge needed to build a new system.

At my current employer, we’re building new systems every week, if not daily. And not cookie-cutter. We’re writing code. We’re analyzing things.

But go ahead, take a BYU graduate and a UVSC graduate (with similar grades and relevant outside experience) and stack them up against each other in front of 50 employers and graduate schools. If you get more than 5 who prefer the UVSC grad, I’d be shocked!

By: Chocolatestu

Chocolatestu — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:32:34 +0000

Wow, a little tense? You kind of proved my point - almost all UVSC students are from Utah Valley. I realize that non-members have to pay more at BYU, and it goes without saying that non-Utah residents have to pay more at UVSC. So yes, most UVSC students (LDS or otherwise) are Utah residents, which (back to one of my original points) means not as much cultural difference among the students. I’m sure there are some, I myself know someone from Virginia who got residency and went to UVSC (ps - because she couldn’t get in to BYU). I also realize that anyone who is not LDS is not likely to want to go to BYU. But they also probably don’t want to stay in Utah Valley ( I know I don’t, and I am LDS). If they’re all as incredibly smart as you say (cream of the crop, if you will) why aren’t they going to a good, better-known college that’s out-of-state? Or if they prefer to stay in Utah, why don’t they go to U of U? Some of them probably want to stay close to home, but I’ll bet a lot of them are there because their grades aren’t high enough for a more prestigious school. Please note, I did not say all of them.
I also know that some people want to avoid the restrictive standards and LDS influence of BYU. I also have several friends who got a GREAT education at UVSC, two in nursing (which is hear is an amazing program at UVSC - that’s why they chose that school) and one in education. Here’s the thing - none of those 3 friends are planning to leave Utah. If they did, and they applied for the same position as someone from BYU, and they were exactly qualified in every way, the BYU grad would get it. That’s all I’m saying - I didn’t say the education was bad at UVSC, I have friends there who got amazing educations. But (and please note, this was the point of my last post as well), a BYU diploma will open MORE doors than a UVSC diploma. That doesn’t mean you can’t get jobs with a UVSC diploma. It just means you won’t have the same wide variety of opportunities.
Please don’t assume that my statement means that I have no idea what I’m talking about. I looked at both schools myself when graduating from high school. I also have friends and family at both schools. And also don’t assume that I think only LDS people are smart. I’ve lived ALL OVER THE WORLD and most of my life I was the only LDS person at my school. And I was never the smartest, my grades were good but I was hardly valedictorian material. The kind of people who think being LDS means you’re better than everyone else make me sick, and I resent being lumped with them, even by mild implication. And I still stand by everything I said. UVSC may have good students and cultural diversity, but not to the same extent that BYU does. And it certainly doesn’t have the same recognition. But I’m glad you’re getting a good education.

By: Jason L. Wright

Jason L. Wright — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:58:36 +0000

Chocolatestu,
From your comment it would appear that you really don’t know much about UVSC and are going of off what you’ve heard. BYU doesn’t always get the cream of the crop. In some instances they do but some people don’t go there because they don’t want to…or they aren’t LDS. Has it ever occurred to you that not every smart person in Utah Valley is LDS? I know it may be shocking but it’s true. I know that BYU has non-member students but not many from around Utah Valley. Many of those students choose to attend other schools to stay away from the church affiliation. The diversity at UVSC is also quite large. I am a member of two business organizations at UVSC. Last year we had 40 members with only 2 being from Utah. We had 4 students who were international and 34 from other states. I’ve had the opportunity to work with students from Kenya, Belgium, Taiwan, Japan, and Brazil in my classes. The education is good and it isn’t as easy as people think. A cousin of mine who was a 4.0 student in High School went to UVSC thinking it was going to be a cakewalk and that she would be able to transfer her easy credits to BYU. Now she’s walking away from her first semester having not earned any credits because all she was ever told growing up was that BYU was real college and UVSC was easier than High School. In some regards it is but I would never trade my education that I am getting.

By: OMAllen

OMAllen — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:40:37 +0000

Neil is right. I graduated law school in ‘03, finding a job is rough for lawyers. The jokes are true, there are too many of us. And law schools have increased enrollment considerably in the past 10 years. Treen, the problem with the gov’t atty jobs (usajobs.opm.gov) is that each job usually has over 25 applicants. A friend of mine, an atty for DOD, said that there were 75 applicants for his job. Your hubbys best course of action is get good grades, get a good internship b/n 2L and 3L summers and network.

By: The UnMighty

The UnMighty — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:25:59 +0000

I have never been so proud to be a UVSC alumni. Thank you, Megan, for so eloquently arguing on all of our behalves.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:05:33 +0000

In my experience (BS from BYU, grad school out of state), BYU undergraduate education is regarded as better than average by those who are familiar with the university. It depends on the department, but some are very well regarded nationally. The former editor of the American Economic Review (Orley Ashenfelter, at Princeton, if anyone cares), told me that he considers the BYU undergraduate econ program as one of the 10 best in the country.

Knowing this, I am still embarrassed when I hear someone call BYU “The Harvard of the West.” It’s decent, but let’s not go nuts.

My favorite UVSC joke: “Then they began hiring professors instead of hobos.”

By: Chocolatestu

Chocolatestu — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:36:04 +0000

PS - Eric, I had a weird dream last night where you married my little sister. It was odd. Just wanted to share.

By: Chocolatestu

Chocolatestu — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:34:25 +0000

This is just my personal feeling, but BYU will always be a better school because of a few reasons. First of all, they get to pick from a wider selection of students than UVSC does. They get the cream of the crop. Secondly, their students come from a wider range of areas - I’ve met people from Europe, from South America, from Asia, you name it. UVSC attracts mostly Utah residents, because it’s a state college. Thirdly, because of its prestige (mostly thanks to the first two reasons stated), a diploma from BYU will always carry more weight than a diploma from UVSC. It may be just average on a national scale, but people have heard of it. Outside the state of Utah, no one has even heard of UVSC. If you’re planning on staying in Utah your entire life (heaven forbid), a degree from UVSC may be helpful. But once you leave the state, you won’t have as many options as you would with a BYU degree. So there you have it. Better pick of students, a wider variety of culture and experience, and the prestige that comes with a university that people have heard of (outside of Utah valley). That is why BYU will always be the better school. Just my opinion. A person may go to college to get an education (which may be a good education at UVSC, I know people who got a great education there), but what happens afterwards with the rest of your life is the most important thing. A BYU degree will open more doors than one from UVSC would, and to me, that’s the bottom line.

By: Jason L. Wright

Jason L. Wright — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:03:40 +0000

UVSC will never measure up to BYU in athletics but in academics (the real reason for college) I think that UVSC is already equal to BYU in a few areas and will continue to improve to the same and higher levels. The campus size at UVSC is physically smaller but the facilities are there. Instead of having lots of spaced out buildings they are all on top of each other at UVSC. This can be an advantage sometimes. After speaking to a friend who fell slipped on some ice, fell down some stairs, and broke her leg between classes at BYU, I was grateful that I could go from class to class anywhere on campus without going outside. As far as athletics go, UVSC could have the best basketball team in the nation and they wouldn’t have the fan support that BYU has and they will never even try to get a football team.