University of Idaho — Attraction in Moscow

I attended school here from 2011 until graduating in 2016. My departments and professors/instructors within (Microbiology, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, German) were excellent. The university as a whole, is not. The main problem with the UI is the administration, not the professors. My freshman dorm experience in Wallace was HORRID. Two, decades old rooms were joined together with 2 people in each room, all 4 of whom had to share a bathroom that was in one of the rooms and not the other. The rooms were disgusting and had chunks taken out of the cork-board that lines the outside of the cabinets. Not to mention they force freshmen to stay on campus and charged nearly $6k a year and $2k/semester for a meal plan (you are forced to buy it, no choice). These dorms were no joke designed by a guy who designed prisons. I moved off-campus as soon as possible. The new-ish President of the University, Chuck Staben, who I have not heard one good thing about from anyone, decided he would "re-implement" the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program to boost out-of-state enrollment since they stopped giving new scholarships to non-Idaho students (there are a lot of us) for a few years. "Step in the right direction" I thought, except I found out that he only extended this program to Washington and Oregon students. The WUE program is comprised of not just Idaho, Oregon and Washington, but also Alaska, Wyoming and Montana. So no, President Staben, you didn't "re-implement" anything. I have heard nothing but distaste and animosity from numerous PROFESSORS, of all people, as to why they all dislike him and think he's arrogant and difficult to work with. Even had a similar experience. Get this - in my fiance's final year while struggling with financial aid, President Staben literally told him that it was his job as an out-of-state student to subsidize the education of in-state students and that he wouldn't be helping him obtain any aid other than loans. This was the first time my fiance ever asked for any help from the university financially, as he paid out-of-state sticker price every year in full with money he made as a commercial fisherman (UI refused to give him the out-of-state grant they offer for 4 years even though he had a 3.5 in high school and great SAT, and refused to honor it when we brought it up again). I was there for this conversation and I couldn't believe what kind of garbage was being spewed from this President's mouth. The last President we had was so kind and helpful, especially in comparison to this guy. My own graduation in December made me feel like a hostage - the ceremony was unnecessarily long because every other person who spoke was forced to remind the graduates to "donate donate donate to your university now that you've graduated". They even made the poor sophomore class president tell us to donate for the final time, which you could tell made him incredibly uncomfortable. Multiple families I spoke with who came into town for graduation commented on how disrespectful the ceremony was toward the graduates. Just appalling. Overall, the only reason I stayed at this university is because of my specific department being chocked full of NIH grant-obtaining professors and an excellent learning environment. I don't know how the UI is able to retain such brilliant people but it does in the College of Science. To sum things up, if you are an out-of-state student with few scholarships and you want to pursue a field of study other than those in the Colleges of Science or Engineering, listen to me when I say: this school is a giant waste of money at $20k/ year. Even graduating from one of those colleges, I never would've paid that kind of money for an undergraduate education. When I enrolled they cared about students from states like Alaska and eventually waived my out-of-state tuition. You can kiss good treatment of students (and teachers) goodbye under the new administration. It really is sad that the administration is so awful here because my experience in the classroom...

This is about as Northwest as it gets! In a faraway, secluded corner of the US, University of Idaho offers an exceptionally gorgeous campus, a tightly knit, provincial campus life, amazing outdoor sports & recreation opportunities, opportunity to live as part of a small-town community, and - if academics is your thing - then tranquil peace and great amounts of administrative/academic support for you to study! But really - This university is really about wild spirits and the great, open country around and the magnificent mountains, brooks and rivers that snake all around! Just an amazing experience being here!

It's too far away from anything of importance - Except maybe Boeing and couple of their suppliers - to be of much significance in terms of landing amazing jobs. But you can always make your own way into Silicon Valley or Amazon at Salt Lake City - If that's your thing. But the university campus life will beat it all. If you want to listen to some amazing jazz or want to engage with reservation Native Americans as they perform their traditional song and dance. Or just want to ride the white waves of the nearby Snake River and go camping in pristine, untouched mountainscapes - This place is...

I'm not sure if there is a racist thing going on or just an ignorance towards someone who can fund their own education. I tried to begin a degree at the U of I in 2017, a bachelor's or master's degree in criminal justice. I had already completed 3 years toward a 2 year degree at a community College. The U of I refused my application, stating in a letter that the admissions department is responsible for matching potential students accordingly to their educational background and could not approve my application at the time. I tried again the following semester and was again denied. I tried to apply for a degree in psychology and I was again denied. The fourth time I applied for admission at the U of I I did not get any response at all. I guess they think they're too good to have...