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Anyone have any opinions or knowledge about Ball State? How does it compare to Indiana University (Bloomington) in reputation?

By amd on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 10:16 pm: Edit

It started as a teacher's college. Almost certainly, its reputation is not as good as that of IU. However, I know a lot of Ball State graduates and think highly of them.

amd

By Roger (Roger) on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 11:00 pm: Edit

Anon, I had a chance to visit Ball State last spring. I was pleasantly surprised by the campus, which had a mix of older and modern architecture and was, I thought, quite attractive. Where I live, BSU is a common in-state choice, and has a reputation as a school where partying is a higher priority than academics. The large majority of students are Indiana residents.

Despite the party-school reputation, however, Ball State has several nationally recognized departments. The business school is ranked in the top 100 by US News, and their entrepreneurship program was #5 last time I checked, well ahead of many big name B-schools. Their architecture department is also strong.

I had a close-up look at the communications school, which was quite impressive. They have multiple operating radio and TV studios, including NPR and PBS affiliates. The faculty looked to be a mix of academics and professionals with plenty of real-world experience. The prof who showed us around had many years of experience on US and international assignments at CNN. David Letterman is BSU's most famous grad, and has contributed to the school. My take is that BSU would be a good place for a communications major looking for hands-on learning with seasoned pros. IU Bloomington has a well known communications school as well, but is considered to have a more theoretical orientation.

Overall, Indiana Bloomington is more selective and enjoys a better academic reputation. For those departments where Ball State is strong, though, it's definitely worth a look.

By Shortii22 (Shortii22) on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 10:05 pm: Edit

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By Lindapann (Lindapann) on Monday, August 16, 2004 - 10:38 pm: Edit

How is Ball State's reputation with their school of music -- specifically the music engineering / technology program that is fairly new? Any feedback?