Montana State University — Attraction in Bozeman

If you are a well-rounded person of any political leaning looking to enter the social sciences to have your ideologies and preconceived notions of the world challenged by being exposed to a wide variety of political thought, open discussion, and civil debate, this is absolutely not the university for you.

If you're a rabid Leftist that's totally consumed by misguided social justice crusades grounded in the ideas of Marxism, simply looking for validation in your beliefs, you'll have a great time here.

I graduated from MSU in 2017 with a degree in political science. I spent three years reading Marx, Chomsky, and Stuart Hall. Never once did any professor -- the supposed academic "experts" -- in the political science department offer up the likes of Solzhenitsyn, Bastiat, or Tocqueville. Any time I pointed out the glaring political imbalance of our reading load, they would say they "weren't familiar with any conservative texts relating to the subject." The social science professors as a whole are willfully ignorant at best and maliciously anti-conservative at worst.

I attempted to start a conservative student group on campus that advocated for a position the University was vocally not in support of -- the Students for Concealed Carry. To be a student group on campus, you need a faculty advisor. I visited close to 100 faculty offices looking for an advisor. I was ridiculed by several professors for advocating such a "dangerous" and "stupid" position. I was called an "idiot" by more than one professor. I found 3-4 professors who agreed with our group's message, but felt they did not have the job security to represent our civil rights group. We were finally able to find a second year, untenured professor willing to sponsor us, simply because he didn't like the fact that we weren't able to have a voice on campus. After not backing down from several threats to his career by the administration for sponsoring our group, he was fired without cause two months into representing us. The University destroyed his career for sponsoring a student group centered around civil rights.

If your son or daughter wants to obtain a degree from MSU in the social sciences, be sure they know to question everything. Every single social science professor has a readily-identifiable agenda if you simply look for it. It was devastating to see, especially in my intro-level classes, so many moderate young people being swayed by the one-sided political ideas presented to...

It's a great college, for the most part.

On the academic side of things, it's pretty solid! Most of the teachers work hard and care about their students. I'd complain about the few that make a student's life hell, but every school has those. The classes I've taken so far have been educational and I've learned quite a lot.

The support services open to students are fantastic from my experience. Every faculty member I've interacted with has always has always wanted the best for the student and worked hard to help them in whatever situation they find themselves in.

The outdoor participation here is unmatched! Personally, a big part of choosing my college was for the skiing, and you won't be disappointed for any other outdoor activities either. You're only about 20-30 minutes from Bridger Bowl, and if that's not your cup of tea, you can drive about 1 hour to Big Sky. When it warms up, you've got rafting, hiking, climbing, camping, just about anything! Plus, the outdoor rec center on campus has pretty decent rental prices.

The food is mediocre. You'll likely start out enjoying what's offered at Miller or Rendezvous Dining Hall, but by the end of my first semester, my taste buds were dying of boredom. They try their best to change up the selection on a weekly basis, but even that gets old. At the end of the day, it's not any different from most universities.

The parking is a joke. As you'll see from most of these reviews, MSU is in need of a serious overhaul to their parking services. The overcharging and overselling of parking passes is a serious problem. It is ridiculous to see two lots, side-by-side, that both cost the same, but with an extremely disproportionate number of cars in one versus the other. Most lots located near the residence hall's are always packed and you'll be lucky to find a spot during the weekdays. It's clear MSU oversells their passes, despite claiming they don't, and you better be careful about parking violations because you'll rack up enough tickets to easily buy two passes.

Overall, it's a pretty good college. I didn't go over every part of college life here, but I'd encourage you to visit if you're already reading...

Campus is ok. Buildings need repair. Equipment for undergraduate science labs is scarce, old, out of date. I had questions about my financial aid so i called financial aid, got passed around to several people, still didn't get anything resolved. This has replayed with the registrars office, and advising. It's clear employees want to get you moved on and out of their space instead of helping you. The campus is not visitor friendly. Parking is a mystery and if you do happen to find a spot that looks legal you'll still get slapped with a $50 ticket anyway. Also you'll have to hike at least a mile to your destination only to find out their closed or have moved or the person you need to see is out. All ok but no one else seems concerned with stepping in and helping you. Students are rude. Cut in front, pushed, a lot of bad language out in public where there are small children. I was walking on a sidewalk and a young man pulled his vehicle directly over the sidewalk then sneered at me "to hard for you to go around?" and some employees nearby openly laughed at me. Yes, this was on campus. My impression is unkind, cold, uninterested, snobs, unhelpful, expensive for what you get. Bozeman is also really expensive and most jobs don't pay more...