Almost without exception, students’ favorite thing about K-State is that everyone is so friendly and welcoming. Students are comfortable at K-State “
because although it is a large university it still has a small town feel to it,” writes a student majoring in education. Another student says, “
The students at Kansas State are very friendly. It is hard to walk across campus and not have people to smile at or say hi to.” As for the school’s location, it is in Manhattan, Kansas is the quintessential college town. “
Calling Manhattan a college town is a huge understatement,” writes a junior majoring in English. “
The town has about 50,000 people here and 25,000+ are students.” A recent alum says, “
Pretty much all of Manhattan breathes K-State. You can see the Powercat everywhere, and Willie the Wildcat is a local hero. On gamedays (football AND basketball), the town is swarming with purple, both from students and from fans no longer in college.”
While students enjoy the small-town feel of K-State and Manhattan, they dislike the stereotypes that come with it. To many outsiders, K-State is a school full of “
Small-town white kids who come from farms.” It is true that 91% of K-State’s student body is white, and 86% of students come from Kansas, but K-Staters still feel that the stereotypes are overstatements. This sophomore studying engineering comments, “
There are quite a few people at K-State who fit that description, but K-State is way more diverse than people give it credit for.” Despite a relative homogeneity and conservative bent, students are generally accepting and laid-back.
About 40% of K-State is Greek, and Greek life consequently plays a major role in the social life of the campus, with fraternity and sorority houses holding regular parties and charity drives. “
The only way I met most of my friends this year was through my sorority,” writes one sophomore. The other main social outlet for K-State students is Aggieville, a stretch of Manhattan full of restaurants, shops, and bars that are geared towards college students. This junior writes, “
K-State may be in the middle of nowhere, but we have 2 big lakes nearby, a big water crossing, lots of apartment pools and hot tubs, and tons of parties!! It is a pretty big party town, every night of the week there are parties, and the bars in Aggieville are always going strong.” A senior says, “
I love the locally owned shops and the many coffee shops around town each have a different atmosphere and cater to college students' need for caffeine and study space.”
If you’re not into the party scene, there are more than 400 student groups to get involved in, and activities like bowling and intramural sports. “
There are many other things to do in Manhattan if you're not into the bar scene,” says a junior English major. “
The Student Union offers $1 movies, bowling, and games rather often, there are always great athletic competitions to attend, prestigious lectures, city parks to relax in, a couple of lakes within a 10-minute drive, etc.” Then there are the sports events, which draw huge crowds of rowdy students and locals. Tailgating is popular and game days really bring out K-State pride. Remember, this is a Big 12 school. A freshman writes, “
Football and basketball are really big events. They are a lot of fun and you get to practice the Wabash — the most recognized K-State tradition.” The lines of fans bedecked in purple, stirred up by Willie the Wildcat, is known to be quite a spectacle.
Just as sports events can be big at K-State, so too can classes. Introductory classes will often have hundreds of students in them. However, as this junior studying education points out, “
By the time you have your major chosen, your classes shrink, your professors know you quite well, and you feel more acknowledged.” Another student reports, “
I've had a class with as many as 500 students once but most of my class sizes are between 12 and 30 people” Professors seem to be very committed to students if the students make an effort to break out of anonymity and get to know them. “
Despite large lectures for major classes, the professors seem genuinely focused on teaching undergraduate courses,” writes a sophomore in engineering. “
Many stress their office hours and help sessions, and smaller recitation classes provide a very personal experience.” Plus, if you really want to avoid larger classes, “
there is an honors program with smaller class sizes and very interesting course work. I took Honors Seminar Psychology in Film, a class of less than 15 people. It was a blast,” recalls a sophomore studying accounting.
K-State has large education and agricultural schools, and as one recent alum argues, “
If you’re interested in agriculture, KSU is the number 1 agriculture school, with the best and brightest ag professors in the nation.” He continues to say that “
Education at KSU is geared toward you getting a job when you graduate,” which largely seems true. The other large school at K-State is the business school. Whatever a student is studying, though, he or she will probably feel a part of the larger K-State community.
