Ball State University Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?

Molly

The stereotype at Ball State is that the students are ranked lower than the students at Indiana University or Purdue. This stereotype is not accurate at all. Ball State is its own successful community with thriving students.

Morgan

I don't know that there is one

Arjun

Starting answering!no

Bethany

n/a

Rob

Ball State has a party school reputation, but that has decreased lately. You can't really describe everyone at Ball State in a few words, because there are so many unique people here.

Jacquelyn

Being in the Architecture Program there is absolutely a stereo type, and i see it first hand. Being in the program people automatically assume you spend all your time working in studio, but actually we do work a lot but its something we want to do so its not hard work to an architecture student. We have just as much fun as anyone else! In general i don't think Ball State students have a general stereo type because there are so many different forms of studying and it all seems to collaborate nicely.

Bradley

Ball date student are often considered Partyers or Frat kids and those kind of things. Although there are some of them on campus the majority are not. The campus is a 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} dry campus and they have a zero tolerance policy for anything related to such activities. Most Ball State students are actually very dedicated and hard working students who enjoy what they are doing.

Brittany

Ball State has a reputation as a "party school." I think there is some truth to this because I see drunk kids every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Seth

One of the main stereotypes of the students at Ball State University is that they are "partyers". The students are known for throwing a lot of parties and a lot of underage drinking going on. As far as I have experienced, there are quite a few students that are like that. A lot of students like to go out and party and get stoned as well. However, I have met quite a few students that work really hard and focus on schoolwork more than the partying scene.

Chelsea

Laid back is the stereotype. If you go to IU or PU and go out girls are always in heels and dresses, here its nice and casual to just where jeans. I feel the environment is more relaxed then up tight trying to play jersey shores. It also depends who you hang around with.

Sam

Within the first few weeks of attending Ball State University, I was told that our school was known as a party school--contrary to whatever admissions might say--and that a lot of the students were partiers. In my experience, though, this stereotype is only quasi accurate. Yes, a lot of students party, with some majors (i.e. theater and business) being more well-known for partying. However, I don't party and never felt pressured to. I feel that the school is so big that it's easy to find a niche regardless of which stereotypical label you might claim.

Lacey

Ball State University has a reputation for being a "blow off" school, but that hasn't been my experience. A friend's mother once told me Ball State was a stoner school, but she's the only one that I've heard say that. Stereotypes are almost always wrong, so don't necessarily believe what you hear.

Scott

The stereotypes that seem to be attached to Ball State are that it's a party school, there are tons of frats and sorority kids, a stoner culture, and that it's an easy school so everyone is pretty dumb. From my time at Ball State I've learned that you can find a group of people from any kind of background, but the school is still not easy. I believe this comes from the amount of students the school accepts per year, which is rather high and they have fairly low requirements for acceptance as an undergrad. However, many of the students that lack the dedication and drive for an education end up leaving before the end of their first year while the rest continue on.

Jacqueline

Type your answer here

Parker

A big stereotype on our campus is that there are a lot of film snobs here. Now it is true that our telecommunications program is very expansive and because of that we do have quite a few people here who are very interested in films to the point where some people become obnoxious about it. But there are quite a lot more majors on this campus so this stereotype is not entirely accurate.

Alex

The school can often be associated with being the "backup" school, meaning the school people do not hope to attend but eventually settle for. As a result of this, the students here are stereotyped by those from other schools as being less intelligent or less driven. However, this could only be further from the truth. I have seen motivation in students that most people could only dream of as well as a level of intelligence to the point that one can already tell many of the students here will make a difference int the world.

Brandon

Some of the common stereotypes about athletes at Ball State is that they are all rude and obnoxious. There are extremes for every group, but for the most part I had a good experience interacting with them.

Elisabeth

Before I attended Ball State, the only stereotype that I heard about was that the school was a party school. A walk on a friday night will prove that many students do, in fact, drink, and I have heard students talk about parties that they attended over the weekend. Even so, I've met many people who do not drink and it is very easy to find people who do other activities over the weekend. I believe that our reputation as 'partyers' is an exaggeration, having about the same amount of parties as other schools.

Joseph

Prior to applying to colleges and deciding to attend Ball State, the prevailing stereotype that I'd heard was that it was a party school, that everyone partied hard. I hadn't heard anything about "frat boys" or whatnot, but indeed, when you come to Ball State, it does soon seem as though fraternities are a big deal. A lot of people do party, and there is often drinking going on at the bars on campus or houses just outside of campus. Also, there is plenty of unseen drug use as well, primarily of marijuana. On another note, since many students come to Ball State for telecommunications and similar technology majors, there is a healthy "techie"/ nerd culture too.

Veronica

We're known as a party school. I'm not sure if this is true, but I do know this; it's easy to stay out of the party scene, if you want, or to get into it. I don't go to parties; I know people who go every weekend. There are frats and sororities, some of which house their members inside the residence halls, so I'm assuming they don't drink as often, though I know that many do. There are also conservative activities every Friday and Saturday night, through the university, as alternatives to parties, which many people attend.

Bethany

Ball State University is known for being the perfect college for average students. There's a wide variety of people ranging from Jocks to Stoners to Theater geeks and everyone in between. Generally, it's not as difficult to get accepted by Ball State as it is by other state schools in Indiana. Although recently, the Cardinals have taken great strides in the academic arena. Three Ball State students have qualified as Rhodes Scholar finalists in the last two years. (For those who don't know, the Rhodes Scholarship is a highly revered, full-ride opportunity to study at Oxford for two years.)

Layne

The one joke I've heard made about Ball State students of pretty much every conceivable social stripe -- by BSU students themselves and others -- is that we're slackers. (A realistic response to that statement by a BSU student would be, "Uh, of course we're slackers; why do you think we go to Ball State?") Even our most famous alumnus, David Letterman, is well-known for his 2.0 GPA and plaque in the telecommunications building dedicated to C students everywhere. It's a jab made at ourselves usually with aware, self-deprecating humor and, given the right context, a toast made with fifty-cent cans of Natty Ice or Boxer, depending on whether you're a fraternity brah/sorority girl or hipster kid. Some of that attitude comes from living in Muncie, Indiana. I mean, it's Muncie -- sure, there are way worse places to live, but Muncie is no vibrant college town. It's a fairly small, economically struggling Midwestern city in a dull landscape where winters seem like they'll last for a soul-numbing eternity. (This, by the way, does not mean Muncie hasn't been a good place to live the past four-ish years; honestly, it's been one of the best things to ever happen to me, but for reasons not relevant to answering this question.) That is the setting for BSU students' collegiate glory days. So regarding accuracy, I don't really think slacker-ishness is any more prevalent here than anywhere else, regardless of what jokes we (or Letterman) crack; I've met tons of self-starting and ferociously intelligent people at Ball State. I think more likely is that the self-deprecating humor of labeling ourselves slackers lets us acknowledge the context in which our college lives are taking place in a way that makes our situation funny and endearing. We can identify with and grow fond of a place that's associated, regardless of accuracy, for having low standards by saying we have low standards for ourselves -- and doing so in a way that makes our friends laugh.

Tricia

Several years ago, Ball State used to be a major party school, and I think the outside conception of Ball State students from some prospective students might be that we view college as a social more than an educational experience. The reality is that Ball State is very focused on academics, increasingly selective with its acceptance process, and quickly becoming state and nationally recognized for its great academic programs, like our award-winning architecture and nursing programs, among others. I feel like Ball State has a great balance of social and educational opportunities that allows students to both enjoy and benefit from their college experience.

Christina

I feel that there might be a few stereotypes here, but if they are applied, it's most likely because a student desires that stereotype. The cultural diversity here is decently rich. We have many people who come from different countries, but of the students who are not from overseas, the majority of students' home towns are in Indiana or from Chicago, IL. When first coming to Ball State, I thought that there was a definite stereotype for people in Greek life, but my opinion since then has completely changed. There will always be alcoholics and constant partiers, but as far as my knowledge goes, there is no solid group made up of just those people. Overall, I feel that Ball State is great about letting students be who they want to be.

Hillary

If you're looking to be judged or accepted by the 'Midwest Hipster' Ball State University is your college of choice. The university's creative/artistic scene may be recognized, but not fully understood or appreciated. This artistic scene has caused numerous hipsters, young people who are thinking progressively and have a love of all things art and wit, to flock to Muncie, or rather transform once they arrive. If you're thinking of attending BSU be sure to cut your hair in an androgynous way, buy tickets to the latest underground show, and ignore the culturally-sheltered mainstream. If you follow this pathway vaguely, there's no doubt your college experience will be a fun and life changing one!

Jacqueline

Ball State began as a normal school and has expanded to a higher education facility. Though we compete with students from other local colleges including Indiana University, Butler University and Purdue University, our students' Ball State spirit shines through. We recently defeated Butler in basketball that sparked our unity. Students at Ball State University are considered a mixture of normal. There are kids who receive scholarships, who fight for our school in sports and who join Greek life to benefit our community. Ball State is education redefined.

Taryn

Students at Ball State have a reputation for being immersed in alcohol, rather than learning. When many think of Ball State University students, their minds instantly jump to images of wild parties, crowded bars, and drunk students stumbling all over the place. In reality, this is not what ALL Ball State students are doing. A small portion of the student body engages in regular alcoholic activity, while a larger portion can be found participating in one of the university's student groups or clubs. The media coverage tends to center around the negative aspects of Ball State University students and therefore tends to allow outsiders to view the students only in that sense because that is the only view they are given.

Bradley

Ball State University is really a rather diverse community. Stereotypes seem to be applied to the individual colleges and programs rather than the university itself. For instance, the CCIM (which includes the nationally recognized TCOM media program where David Letterman hails from) is full of outgoing individuals who try their best to be unique in a world of snowflakes. You can usually spot a TCOM student by their hipster-esque appearance. This, of course, is just one of many colleges at BSU that has their own look and style. (Almost) no one will judge you, though, if you dress or act a little differently than other people in your major or field. I think pretty much anyone can find their niche here

Shannon

I don't know, I don't judge people by there looks. Besides I'm a freshmen and I haven't made many friends yet.

Olivia

Stereotypical would not be a word I would use to describe Ball State University. We have a well diverse group of students who are all striving to achieve their goals and move onto the next steps into their lives. Ball State University has a population of about 20,000 students and of course their are friend groups. However, one of the qualities of our campus is it doesn't really matter how you look or dress everyone is friendly and willing to hang out with each other. I personally will say in my friend group there are jocks, frat boys, stoners, sorority girls, hipsters, and club bangers but we all love to hang out with each other. Each person brings a unique aspect to my friend circle.

Olivia

Stereotypical would not be a word I would use to describe Ball State University. We have a well diverse group of students who are all striving to achieve their goals and move onto the next steps into their lives. Ball State University has a population of about 20,000 students and of course their are friend groups. However, one of the qualities of our campus is it doesn't really matter how you look or dress everyone is friendly and willing to hang out with each other. I personally will say in my friend group there are jocks, frat boys, stoners, sorority girls, hipsters, and club bangers but we all love to hang out with each other. Each person brings a unique aspect to my friend circle.

Olivia

Stereotypical would not be a word I would use to describe Ball State University. We have a well diverse group of students who are all striving to achieve their goals and move onto the next steps into their lives. Ball State University has a population of about 20,000 students and of course their are friend groups. However, one of the qualities of our campus is it doesn't really matter how you look or dress everyone is friendly and willing to hang out with each other. I personally will say in my friend group there are jocks, frat boys, stoners, sorority girls, hipsters, and club bangers but we all love to hang out with each other. Each person brings a unique aspect to my friend circle.

Olivia

Stereotypical would not be a word I would use to describe Ball State University. We have a well diverse group of students who are all striving to achieve their goals and move onto the next steps into their lives. Ball State University has a population of about 20,000 students and of course their are friend groups. However, one of the qualities of our campus is it doesn't really matter how you look or dress everyone is friendly and willing to hang out with each other. I personally will say in my friend group there are jocks, frat boys, stoners, sorority girls, hipsters, and club bangers but we all love to hang out with each other. Each person brings a unique aspect to my friend circle.

Taylor

Most people that I have talked to think that kids who go to Ball State are huge partiers. I think that this stereotype is true of some students, but not the majority. I think that the majority of students not only know how to work hard, but they also know how to have fun and relax.

Emily

Several people think that Ball State is a party school; therefore, it is full of "crazy party people." However, almost every university has parties and Ball State isn't as high on the totem pole as people think it is. Yes, there are parties at Ball State, but there aren't "more" and they aren't any different than parties occurring at other schools. I think that there is about an equal amount of different types of students that attend Ball State (jocks, nerds, Greeks, punks, etc.) You are bound to fit in somewhere because it's so diverse here. I love it!

DeeAnna

Going into Ball State, I was not aware of stereotypes present. After getting here, the comradery was more then I could have expected. Stereotypes from high school of the "jocks" and the "geeks" disappear when you get to Ball State. Instead of having cliques, everyone is simply here to get a degree and work hard. Socialize with those you find interests with and respect those who you don't.

Lacey

Ball State University has a reputation for being a "blow off" school, but that hasn't been my experience. A friend's mother once told me Ball State was a stoner school, but she's the only one that I've heard say that. Stereotypes are almost always wrong, so don't necessarily believe what you hear.

Jessica

There are a lot of "hipsters" at Ball State but it isn't a bad thing. Students are interested in hidden treasures and they are artistic, expressive, and emotional. Ball State really is innovative. It is also diverse, however. There are so many different types of people.