South Dakota State University — Attraction in Brookings Township

Extremely odd layout for lots compared to all other land-grant universities I’ve had the opportunity to visit. Parking lots are all across main public roads, which is inconvenient.

Professors are decent, with a major inconvenience of not being allowed to write their own material for classes (especially the mathematics departments, they are all forced to use the same program and note guides for everything). This is paired with the university not wanting to have multiple exams, so they lump mathematics exams all together for a subject into the wee hours of the morning, before all other classes. Obviously this has a negative result on performance for all the classes, but they saved money not changing the numbers 5 times!

Also, be warned that the advisors are not there to help you, but seemingly to lock you into paying for classes regardless of whether you want them or not. There are holds for the next semester that are automatically placed on your account after the withdraw with refund date for a semester has passed, so that if you want to drop a class later on, you need to get the hold removed (even though it’s for a later semester).

I have yet to hear of an advisor that will do this without trying to insist that you meet with them during office hours, even if you clearly state that you know what you’re doing and you just need the hold removed.

Just for comparison, the community college I earned my AA degree at had advisors that were available to assist you, but they did not place advising holds on your account, and you could add/drop classes on your own. The professors also got to write their own note guides and exams, which was highly beneficial to learning, largely because that meant you got to take exams during normal class times, and not 6:30 in the morning.

The Brookings area also has a disappointing lack of attractions to keep you busy, the city owns the only liquor store, and the cost of living here is fairly high.

All in all, if what you’re majoring in is only available here, then suffer through it, be aware of these traps that exist, and get out the other side. If it’s available somewhere else, take your money and your sanity...

One of the better looking universities in the area, but recently it's gotten more expensive, the great professors have left or only teach 1-2 classes a year because of finding issues and out of classroom experience is tough.

Honestly, I would only go here for an ag-degree. The others (art, comp sci, engineering, math, etc) fall short and nursing is very cutthroat (2 years of classes and you get one B means your not accepted). Engineering professors care, but experience outside the classroom is vital and its tough to get an internship or full time job outside Brookings without a connection. The only place to work is Daktranics but they aren't student friendly

I've found year to year, classroom material differs, not covering necessary sections or professors hurry through concepts or examples to finish in time and expect you to fill in the gaps.

Graduating in 4 years is tough, even 5 is hard with 16 credit semesters and summer classes. There also aren't enough quiet places to study. The library isn't big enough and don't have power outlets everywhere, voices echo in the dorms, classrooms are locked at night and weekends so you have to call campus police to let you in, coffee shops and the common areas don't have big enough tables to actually study; so good luck. Another thing is the lack of parking and car pooling into campus if you live off, the "required" dining plans the first two years where one meal costs $7-12 but you're only allotted $10 a day, the random closures at the gym, few jobs are available for students but tuition is high enough that you need 20-25 hours a week to afford next semester after government and school loans.

Overall, it's decent looking school in the area, but there are some serious issues and I would have looked elsewhere if I knew...

I did my undergrad here and just graduated in May. I can say that it was an ok town to go to school in. However, coming from a town with a big university and almost 250,000 people, Brookings was a MAJOR downsize. If you aren't from a small town, you may not enjoy it here. It's also extremely hard for people who want to get a degree and move because others who were born and raised near Brookings, ultimately get "stuck" there and they're interested in people to hire who will be there. The winters were all Awful, on campus housing was AWFUL and options for food/work/entertainment were AWFUL. To enjoy yourself even a little, going to Sioux Falls or even the Twin Cities was needed. My first two years were decent, professors knew their stuff, very flexible with homework and understanding. However, due to the university not compensating certain professors enough for their time and experience, my favorite professors were pushed to find employment at other universities. I was extremely irritated that good professors were not being taken care of. My last two years were a JOKE! Money down the drain for ultimately a "Google studies" degree. The courses were ridiculous and not thought out. I lived in Brown hall because it was the cheapest, but while under construction in my second year, we didn't have a lobby area and had to deal with constant construction on a daily basis. There was no compensation for this, no discount on housing because ours was being renovated, nothing. The meal plans were also a little expensive and the food overpriced. If I could do it over again I probably would've chosen a different university.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are NOT here for nursing or ag, GO...