University of Kentucky ... the good, the bad, the ugly??

[dirty ethel rackham]

Dd is looking at colleges and UK came up as a possibility for merit scholarships, has the majors she is interested in, and is near world-class rock climbing.  We are looking for information and seem to be drowning in non-relevant stuff.  Anyone on the list have experience with this school? 

 

She has a high gpa and will likely have a good enough ACT score for their merit scholarships.  She is  not sure what she wants, but is interested in possibly psychology, biology as well as want to continue to do art. 

 

What are some great things about the school?

Not so great things?

 

[KarenC]

It's a very big school.  They have tried to make it more student friendly by having living learning communities.  There are different themes like engineering, creative arts, first generation and a bunch more.  The new dorms are very nice, but after freshman or sophomore year you would probably need to find a place off campus to live.  There are a lot of new apartments nearby, but most are pricey.

 

They have made the campus much more walkable and will place you in a dorm fairly near the majority of your classes ( unless you choose a different living learning community).  The library is great and there are many restaurants near campus.

 

If you like basketball you are in the right place.  I don't know about rock climbing, but the school is so big, I'm sure they have a club for that.

The psychology and biology programs are strong, but lower level classes are likely to be taught by TAs and the intro classes are probably going to be huge.

[Mom25girls]

When one of my daughters was at UK this summer (which she LOVED) for gymnastics, they were very pro homeschooling. That has NOT generally been our experience. In fact, she was invited to a Homeschool Day but was unavailable to attend because we live in Upstate, NY. 

[8filltheheart]

We toured UKy last yr and Dd applied. Campus is small rolling hills. They have a lot of new construction and their honors dorms are super nice, some of the nicest I have seen. I can't remember the name, but one of the students we talked to was in a neat honors program.

 

Dd decided it was not a good fit for her bc the Russian dept is extremely small and they have only had a couple of students at her level. Otherwise, it seemed like good flagship option.

[DawnM]

I don't have a lot to add as I haven't been there, but one of my best friend's daughter's went there and loved it.  She also ended up staying in Lexington and is still there 5 years later and married a guy from there.

[obsidian]

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Edited March 21, 2017 by STEM

[Julie of KY]

I did my residency at UK and loved Lexington and the people.

[historically accurate]

I don't have a lot to add as I haven't been there, but one of my best friend's daughter's went there and loved it.  She also ended up staying in Lexington and is still there 5 years later and married a guy from there.

 

I went to Transylvania University, which is also in Lexington. My roommate for the first two years at Transy transferred and completed her studies at UK. She liked it. I loved Lexington, and I wanted to stay after I graduated, but it wasn't to be.