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My time at Ball State University has been an incredibly valuable experience both academically and personally. As a finance student, I have been able to develop strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills through challenging coursework and hands-on projects. The professors have been supportive and knowledgeable, and many of my classes connected real-world business concepts to practical applications, which helped prepare me for my future career.

One of the most rewarding parts of my... Read More experience has been balancing full-time work while completing my degree. Managing school, work responsibilities, and extracurricular interests taught me discipline, time management, and resilience. Through internships, presentations, group projects, and finance-related assignments, I gained confidence in my ability to work professionally and collaborate with others.

Beyond academics, Ball State gave me opportunities to grow as a person. I met people from different backgrounds, improved my leadership and teamwork abilities, and became more independent throughout my college journey. The environment encouraged both personal and professional development, and I feel much more prepared to enter the workforce because of the experiences I had there.

Overall, my time at Ball State has helped shape my goals, work ethic, and future career path. I am grateful for the education, experiences, and connections I made during my time there, and I believe the university provided a strong foundation for my future in finance and business.

Graduate degree in Applied Behavior Analysis gave a good foundation; however, the true grit of education comes from your clinical experience, which the school (at the time) did not provide. That is where the majority of learning comes from. The program did a great job setting you up with foundation skills and deep understand of concepts, but putting them into motion was the true test. If you are unable to secure clinical placement, you are left with a large gap in understanding, leaving several students... Read More behind. Some students left the program altogether. I would make sure to have a good, strong, clinician to help with hours while in the program; however, I would return to do it again, as the level of rigor helped me become a strong clinician with a deep understanding if behavior analysis.

Something I loved about Ball State University, but did not realize nor take part in as much until later in attendance, was the wide variety of resources, assistance, and entertainment the university offered. The huge library was full of resources, both in literature, studying assistance, and technology assistance. There were other academic resources that I did not necessarily need to look into myself, but if someone needed help there seemed to be a lot of avenues. And there was so much artistic entertainment,... Read More be it live concerts on or just off campus, tiny theatre plays, or large theatrical productions on the big stage. As far as academics, I thoroughly enjoyed most of my classes, except for the large lecture classes. This was due to the large classes being far more of a general sweep of knowledge, where I was often ahead or it got so technical (sciences) that they brushed over explaining well due to the massive amount of people and little time. I also did not appreciate when so many teachers in a variety of classes excused people not doing the homework, not reading the assignment, not coming to class ready. There really should have been more repercussions-- it is college after all, not preschool. I also felt that in my specific major of photo/video and the fine arts, that they did not prepare us at all whatsoever for entrepreneurship, which is a must in this modern age. We learned a lot about art and techniques, but nothing of how to apply everything to the real world, to job searches, to career advancement post-college.

This program is unbelievably bad. Run poorly, constant issues with third party platforms, advisors do absolutely nothing to help. I had to withdraw from a class because their Shadow Health system didn’t work for the first four weeks of the semester despite spending about five hours on multiple calls with the customer support team. I was forced to withdraw from the course and they refused to give me my money back even though it was their issue. They schedule exams on the same days as clinical competencies,... Read More only giving a one day option to do both. I had work that day and couldn’t find a shift switch so I had no option to complete the competency, which is an automatic fail. The instructor did not get back to me when I asked why this was the case. They change requirements mid semester and do nothing to help secure clinical placements, including refusing to provide the paperwork required from the school to match with a clinical site. There are no lectures and its supposedly an asynchronous program, however every class has group projects every week despite everyone choosing the asynchronous program given that we all work full time and have families. The work is busy work and does not prepare you to be a nurse practitioner. The course work and course calendars are poorly made and instructions make no sense, even things as simple as explaining basic due dates. My cohort is all straight A students and despite this nobody understands what the expectations are for the classes. It’s a very disappointing program. Highly recommend finding a different program.

Ball State University was a great fit for me. Here is why Ball State may be a good fit for you. Are you searching for a school that offers a variety of ways to get involved on campus? Searching for a place to go that feels small town, but you have access to nearby larger cities? Are you searching for a diverse array of professors and educators who will make you feel seen and heard? Ball State may be a good fit for you. During my time at Ball State, I was able to get real-life experiences with on-campus... Read More media organizations, developing hands-on skills, which really set me up for success in the field I was studying.

I don’t believe the degree was helpful in obtaining a career. The instruction did not mirror the requirements of the employment opportunities that I experienced. The administration was HORRIBLE. The on-campus experience was fine, except for parking which is HORRIBLE. The school nickels and dimes you to death. Even something as simple as obtaining a copy of your transcripts for a completed degree that you paid tens of thousands of dollars to get, costs $18, and only the admin can send it on your behalf.... Read More Clearly they are wasting tuition dollars building more and more buildings. Too many close friends graduated as unemployed debtors. Can’t really recommend this schools just from my experience. You can get better bang for your buck for an in-state bachelors degree. Can’t speak to architecture or journalism, which might be cost-effective. Seemed like those kids did decent upon graduation. But again, expensive for what you’re getting IMO. Don’t do a meal plan. Don’t do on-campus housing. Rent textbooks online when possible.