Indiana University-Bloomington Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Victoria

One of the worst things about IU is being one on the many faces in a crowd filled with caffinated, sleep-deprived, and busy college students. Going to a school with 46,000 students, it's hard to personally get to know everyone in your classes and residence halls. As much as we think we're ready for a Top Ten college, nothing can prepare you for the feeling of isolation following your first venture into the depths of the comapus during orientation. This may instill newcomers with the fear that they will never meet new people and make friends.

Hannah

They could try harder placing Arts and Sciences students into jobs. Kelley seems to be the only school finding work for students.

Brandon

I believe the worst thing about my school is entry level chemistry lab professor. He did not put a lot of effort into teaching a very vital course for those pursuing Chemistry and Pre-Health degrees. He would lecture about the next experiment one day a week and that was it for him. He would never stop in to the labs and check on his students and was not the best about replying to emails. Most of the class failed the final and he didn't care to curve it.

Gustav

For some people there may be too many options and it could be difficult to overwhelming for some at times.

Bridget

The weather, it's always changing!

Brennan

I am not from the state of Indiana. Going to Indiana University I did not know anyone, which was difficult for the first month then I felt right at home. The worst thing about IU is that the vast majority of students are from Indiana. In all honesty I don't even think about this anymore. At the beginning of freshman year it was annoying, but now it isn't noticeable.

Roxana

The worst thing about my school is that graduate students are not advised thoroughly throughout their careers in school. When I was admitted to the PhD program, I was not assigned an adviser. As I got closer to my qualifying exams, I was supposed to find my own dissertation adviser. During those innitial years, few people knew what my interests were, and as a result I did not receive close guidance. Had I been oriented from the start in regards to the directions my research could take, my dissertation work overall would have been much easier than it is now.

Brittney

The worst thing is the construction on certain buildings through out the school campus, it's loud at times and can be annoying.

Tanner

The dorms can be loud sometimes so there is a need to find a location can is quiet and you are able to study. It is an inconveience sometimes because it can be hard to concetrate when working on projects or papers.

Emily

The worst thing about IU is honestly the hills. As beautiful as Bloomington and the campus is, the up and down walking does a number on you, but it is good excecise. It takes the first few weeks to get used to the terrain, but it is pretty smoothe sailing after that. My advice is to buy good walking shoes and not try and wear sandals or moccasins - I did that and got a stress fracture. I was in a boot for 6 weeks! Other than that, the school and campus are fantastic!

Amanda

It's honestly a pretty great school. Every school has it's flaws, of course, but overall, this place has been a great school to attend.

Virginia

Cost of tuition. It is expensive for someone who is paying their own way through college.

Joe

The worst thing about Indiana University is the massive size of the student body. As long as you get out there and find your group by being involved, it is easy to make friends and to have a social life, but there are still negative things that result from the size of the school. For example, the student recreational center is always full after 5pm on school nights. It takes forever to get in on a basketball game or to get at the weights. It also can be difficult to make your way through the halls of certain buildings.

Hillary

The worst thing about our school is that it is commonly known as being a huge "party" school rather than being accredited for its rigorous academics. There are hundreds of very intelligent and influential people who attend and graduate from IU but they often are pushed to the wayside because many people across the country only associate IU with extensive partying.

Amy

There really wasn't anything bad about the school. I enjoyed all 4 years I attended. I made a lot of friends I will have for life and graduated with a BA to go on to Grad School to study Law.

David

It is a very large school so it is easy to get lost in the crowd.

Ashley

The costs that they charge for everything.

Kelsey

I do not agree with the cost of tuition, or the fact that freshman have to live on campus. For students wanting a good education, but with little to no help financially, Indiana University is hard to afford.

Olivia

The worst thing about Indiana University is that as a freshman there is so much going on around campus that it can be overwhelming. There are posters for internships, clubs, research programs, etc... Sometimes it is hard to decide where you belong and what you should be doing. However, I know that these opportunities will only help me as I continue my education here!

Marlon

It is so big that I need to walk to much.

Caitlin

The weather is not the best, it gets really cold in the winter. Some of the introduction classes are taught by grad students instead of professors and that can be annoying. The party scene with the fraternities are pretty bad, but otherwise it is ok. Some of the professors are not as understanding as you wish them to be.

Alex

While it is not a big problem, Indiana University has almost 48,000 students which makes it feel a little impersonal, but it is very easily overcome by the smaller class sizes.

Aleksandra

It is very expensive.

Abigail

Extremely expensive and not worth the money. Stay at home and get more bang for yuour buck.

AnaTeresa

The worst thing about my school is that scheduling classes can be a hassle. So many students are enrolling in limited amount of classes and it can be frustrating trying to fit all of your classes that you want to take in a semester.

Juandiego

the worst thing about my school is that it is far away from home for me in particular. I could live the entire year there if i had to but unfortunately the school year ends and so do friends. overall, the worst thing about the school is you just can't get enough of it.

Alishia

The school is so large that it can seem to be a bit overwhelming at first, but I believe IU could do a better job of advising students who are in the university division prior to their entrance into their prospective majors. During that stage of college the important pieces of advice like intern opportunities, financial advice, and lastly proper course placement is taken for granted and not a concern to the advisors who assist the students.

Sydney

The worst thing about my school can be the rigorous grading the students are subjected to. The students are expected to be on top of their game, and any kind of "off day" can result in a slip in their final grades.

Thomas

The stress of waitlists and not being able to sign up for classes because of the heirarchy system, because if the course is required and you need it to keep your future schedule organized but can't get in, that makes it very difficult to stay focused on classes that you are already enrolled in.

Anthony

It has some very large classes.

Nicole

After paying for a food program at the school, I attend, I find that the food that the school system serves in it's food areas, is mostly fast food and is not what I would consider good food while trying to get along in school. At a time when you are stressed about just being at the school, there is not much that I can say about having a choice in comfort foods.

Sylvia

There really isn?t much that I don?t like about my school. The only thing I guess I could say I don?t like about it is the location. The reason I say this is because I do not like cold weather at all, and probably would like to have gone somewhere where is doesn?t snow and the temperature is never below 55 degrees. There isn?t anything I can do about that situation, but all in all I don?t think my school has any real flaws.

Marcy

Everything about Indiana University is exactly what I expected. I love all of my classes, which are so interesting. The professors are not only great educators and involved with students, but they are excellent role models. The campus is beautiful and offers numerous schools that any person could attend and love, just as I do. No academic aspect has been unsatifactory at Indiana University. The only part of Indiana University that has not reached "par" is the confusing online bursar office website, which is never clear on due dates.

Carmen

I would say the worse thing is probably the size- there are so many students, it's almost impossible to have quality time with a professor during classroom lectures or discussions. Fortunately, though, each professor and their AI's have office hours in which you can speak with them one-on-one.

Keyonna

The worst thing about the school would probably be how much money you have to pay to live on the capus in the dorms or on campus apartments.

Jillian

I think the worst thing about this school is the greek system. They seem to run everything on campus and if you aren't invovled in it your organization is unable to benefit from things on campus.

Nicholas

A great deal of the social activity at IU revolves around fraternities/sororities and sporting events, which can leave freshmen and the uninitiated feeling like an outsider. Luckily, however, for those willing to become involved in other activities and groups, and there are many of them, it is easy to make lasting friendships and feel as if one is part of a community in Bloomington.

Amanda

The worst thing would tuition and generally cost. The tuition isn't cheap and they raise tuition more than they should. Living off campus helps with not having to pay for the dorms, but it is still expensive. The books aren't cheap and selling them back to the bookstores won't get much, if any money back. Though a lot of great services come from the tuition, it isn't cheap and aid besides loans isn't common and even IU doesn't give out a loans that will cover things often.

Jordan

I love attending my school, but I would say that the one thing they could change or make better would be the parking. It's horrendous.

Amanda

I have to drive 77 miles (1 hr 35 min) to get to campus. Why don't I attend a closer college? I am enrolled in both IUPUI and Indiana University Bloomington, however I am only attending 2009/2010 classes at Bloomington, because IUPUI does not offer Russian.

Cynthia

The worse thing has to be some of the professors have a strong accent which can be difficult to understand.

Jessica

For someone like me who wants to try everything and can be a tad indecisive, all of the choices for classes, majors, and extra-curriculars can seem a bit overwhelming. Even though IU provides great resources for its students and a large advising staff, with such a large student body it is easy to feel lost among thousands of others.

Brittany

Often times the sheer magnitude of opportunities at Indiana University are overwhelming. It is frustrating to discover of a missed opportunity after the fact due to lack of communication. The university has an excellent student newspaper, but even that cannot possible cover every amazing activity that takes place on campus. However, it is a bit of a paradox, as the university's size is the primary reason so many diverse and wonderful activities exist!

Grace

Many people are not exactly focused on college, but more on drinking and partying.

Brian

I reallyu can't say anything negative about my school. The only thing I can say is the size of the school is very large which some students may not like. But this is not true for me.

Gurprit

I do not consider anything that is bad about Indiana University but one thing that I don?t like is the University Division Academic Advisors. They tell you everything not in the interest of you but in the interest of the University. Personally, I was told to take a certain class which I didn?t need and I had to withdraw from it because of that. Once you?re in your specific college, your advisors changes and they want you to do great in the field your studying.

Shae

The worst thing about my school is the cost. As an out of state student I am paying a very large amount in comparison to in-state students. It is pretty overwhelming at times but loans and scholarships help out.

Margaret

I would say the worst thing about the school is that the students are incharge of all the bills. Sometimes we miss things, more so then our parents. For instance, my housing is 2000 extra because I missed something. Also I would say out of state tuition is on the climb, I hope it goes down so I can continue to go to this great school

Kurt

The winter weather can make life somewhat depressing.

Keeley

The lack of diversity.