The academics are great - - personally, i've never had a complaint about one teacher. Actually that's a lie, but you find out pretty quick from others which professors not to take. The classes are challenging, but not overwhelming- - as with any school, I guess it depends on your course load. That is also speaking from a non-honors standpoint.
The people are incredibly fake - - literally, every one of them. It is bad enough that even you yourself are forced to be fake around people, just to avoid confusion. The students, in my tenure, tends to be the frats/sororities or anyone else held to a higher standard by the rest of the facebook-addicted, drone like student body, that are very used to getting their way. People become preoccupied with other people, and other people's problems, I can honestly say there is very little privacy at the school. In addition, the VAST majority of the students are preoccupied with other things, notably working and tanning. I can understand picking up a side job to help keep the refrigerator full and utility bills paid (if you live off campus), but students are working 40 hour weeks, resulting in, i swear to god i've heard this.."I don't have time for school, i have to work!!" Is our country and its citizens so obsessed with making money to blow on beer, weed, food that we forget that taking six credits a semester is going to keep your ass here longer? I'm on pace to graduate in four-years, and have never worked here. I couldn't do it, but then again, don't believe everyone who tells you they can. Sure, they are making money, but they're taking 4 classes and failing 2 of them.
As far as the surrounding area of Long Branch, its residents despise the existence of Monmouth University. The school will never develop the way it wishes too, and off campus parties are usually called in to the station as the DJ equipment is going INTO the house. Students are given no respect, although for the aforementioned listed reasons, I'm not entirely shocked.
School pride is for shit...Its not like a Rutgers or Penn State when school pride is actually...well, school pride. Our homecoming celebration consists of about 4 days of hype which then involves everyone at the school getting blackout drunk and walking to the parking lot outside the football field. The game is 5th, maybe 15th priority, most don't even go. It's just an excuse to get fucked up, receiving the same treatment as Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick's Day.
In all honesty, the subterfuge of trustworthy, honest, true friends took until the Spring semester of my Junior year for me to fully realize how much I truly dislike it at this school. It has contributed to a lot of recent anxiety problems for myself, which have since subsided since I finally got out of there this year. Fortunately though, I have met some people that I can vibe out and realize that they aren't just acting a certain way because certain people are around -- the most common trait at Monmouth. It is so absurd in that sense that you could be having an honest heartfelt conversation with someone, and one of your "boys" (and i mean those quotation marks to the highest degree) comes over and the whole atmosphere changes.
- - Dining Hall food wasn't half bad, and life gets a lot simpler once you live off campus.
Overall I'd give Academics a 7/10, only because they don't offer enough classes
Atmosphere I'll give a 7/10, right by the beach and the area is really navigable
Social standpoint I'll give a suck/10, obviously if you've read this you know its my biggest complaint, as well as one of the biggest from others. Fake, spoiled, immature are only some of the words that describe a large percent (upper 80's) of the school's population.