I am about to go and visit them both in about a week and was just curious about people's opinions on which one is better

From what I've read/heard U of A is slightly better academically but that the area (Tucson) isn't as nice as ASU and Tempe.

If anyone is going there now or used to i'd love to hear how you like it.

I got accepted to ASU and I visited the campus. If you like partying and hot chicks then ASU is your school. Their academics is fine as well, but if you get distracted easily you will have a hard time maintaining a good gpa.

UA is a LOT better academically. skank hos per capita are prolly pretty close. Phoenix just...well, sucks to be honest. imo. They're both gonna be burned down from forest fires in another week or so, so ymmv.

which school would you say has the better weather (not as hot or humid) during the school year?

phoenix probably gets a good bit warmer, since it's in a valley. september, october are hot in both. tailgate swelter hells yeah. april is usually nice in tucson, gettin hot (or is hot) in phx. May gets stinkin hot both places. Others in phoenix might chime in and differ in opinion. Also, it gets chilly at night in tucson in the winter. Halloween skank hos galore ftw.

Maybe a long time ago this was true but I don't think it is anymore.

OP what do you want to study? I did chemical engineering at ASU and my experience was very positive, the core classes were 30-50 students per class which was pretty surprising for how big the school is and the professors were good. I think the journalism school is supposed to be very good too. But the student body on a whole is pretty dumb because they accept 90%+ of applicants so I'd stay away from programs like marketing that have no way of keeping idiots out.

U of A has more of a college town feel to it, if you are 18 you might like that better than ASU.

No, UA is still AZ's flagship (as dictated by ABOR), unless that's changed in the last 2-3 years. That's not to say both don't have good programs, some better than others, but it's pretty safe to say that the common programs, up and down, are likely going to be better at UA. That said, at the undergrad level, unless one wants to get into research, it doesn't matter THAT much.

Also, UA hasn't had trouble hiring faculty because of the ASU West fiasco. Do expect annual tuition hikes though OP.

ASU being located near Phoenix has enabled them to build a lot of relationships with major companies. In the last year or two the Wall Street Journal did a survey where they asked recruiters to rate graduates in terms of hire-ability and ASU did very well. I just don't see this big advantage UA people claim to have.

I am 19 and I'll be going for business, more specifically entrepreneurship. U of A was ranked 23 and ASU ranked 28 for undergrad business so they seem somewhat close academic-wise. At this point I think that since both are relatively similar academically, getting the best college experience possible is really what I am after.

lol at that "survey." WSJ didn't even have any criterion listed. They just asked a bunch of recruiters "What's the best school to recruit at?" And it turns out, HEY, ginormous state schools that tend to be close to major cities and airports are the best to recruit from. Akin to asking in SL "Which uni has the hottest chicks?"

OP asked "which one is better," I opined from an academics perspective. ymmv depending on your output.

It's a good time of year to be visiting. Boobies on display. Be sure to visit the pool at UA. Check out 4th ave ldo.

What sort of stuff are you interested in socially? I think the Greek system is a lot better at UA (wouldn't really know), and a lot more ASU students live off campus/commute to school which may make it tougher to make friends at times. On the other hand, there is a lot more to do in the Phoenix area than in Tucson.

I didnt go to either school, but I live in Phoenix and Ive been to Tuscon a billion times. So I can only comment about the livability of those two cities.

To put it mildy, Tuscon is a ****ing ****hole. Its only 1 step above a border town and it gets worse and worse every year. Phoenix (more specifically Tempe) is just orders of magnitude better in terms of a place to live.

The weather sucks ass in both of them during the summer, but phoenix is a bit hotter. Tuscon has Mt. Lemon right next to it tho so it offers a closer escape from the hot weather than does Phoenix, which to escape from there you gotta drive north to Flagstaff. But then thats really only helpful if you like camping and stuff. The other 9 months of the year the weather is awesome in both places.

fyp. May, June, July, Aug, September, and October were hot as balls all 4 years I lived there (not as a student.) tucson at least gets a bit of a reprieve with the monsoons, and I did so enjoy watching people get swept away trying to walk through inundated washes. which is totally worth the price of admission.

If you are going business, then ASU is probably the way to go. The W.P. Carey School of Business has many opportunities available to students and the classes aren't bad either. The social experience is as good as any you are going to get at a college; there are a lot of commuters but the campus population is so big that it doesn't really matter. I'm a junior at ASU right now studying finance and economics by the way. If you have any other questions, shoot me a PM.

ASU, Tucson is miserable.

My understanding is that ASU is a stronger university than U of A; it gets a good bit more funding IIRC, but it also has more students.

Phoenix has a big population but not a whole lot to do. As such, the big city becomes kind of irrelevant and you are really comparing Tempe to Tucson. Tempe is more your standard university city, sort of ****ty, a million college students and everything that comes with that - shops, bars, malls, etc. Tucson has its own character, which you might like or dislike. I think it's a cool place, but that's cause I don't need to live in a perfectly clean, super rich city.

I have a friend who transfered to ASU and he loves it. Wanted me to transfer to but too far away for me personally

I go to ASU and love it. Never been to tucson because everyone says it's a **** hole (even my friend who lives there). But I hear the campus is nice.

To be honest I was leaning towards U of A, but it seems like everyone is in favor of ASU. From what I have heard read it seems like:

-As far as business/entrepreneurship both are very close academically. Fair assessment?

-ASU area (Tempe) is nicer (climate and area) than U of A. ?

- Student life is similar at both campuses. ?


Any other factors that should be considered that are strongly in favor of one or the other?

For what its worth ill be visiting both in the next couple of weeks. Any suggestions on stuff thats worth checking out?

Thanks for all the responses so far.

Tucson is a ****hole but the University of Arizona is a very nice campus. It's less pretentious and crowded than ASU, and I too have been to Tucson (and U of A specifically) enough times to know.

It's kind of like the difference between USC and UCLA here in LA, with ASU with being USC and UCLA being U of A, but obviously, on a different sort of level lol. ASU/USC are flashier but UCLA/U of A are more genuine, smaller, and less pretentious.

But I'll also be totally honest with you and tell you if you are getting a business degree to look for random business jobs in the market off online sites/classifieds/etc., then it probably doesn't matter at all where you go (between the two options you've given us that is).

In fact, I would just save yourself the trouble and just go to college somewhere nearby home.

I seem to be by myself when I think this, but I do seriously think this and will tell you the best way to truly and authentically learn about "business" is to take local certificate classes at community colleges specifically catered to what your interested in (entrepreneurship, advertising, investments, etc.) and also: nothing beats reading the wall street journal every day and joining business clubs and fraternities (the friends you make there will help you out down the line).

I know what your going through, believe me, I've been there. Community colleges and their certificate programs get an unfair bad reputation when from my experience the students I've seen there actually went on to start their own businesses as opposed to university students taking super-abstract classes stressing out non-stop about whether or not they have enough credits to graduate (as opposed to what their actually learning and what their going to do after they graduate) only to find out no one is hiring for the type of job their looking for. I've been in both environments for years, and I feel really sad for a lot of the students I've seen graduate.

Goodluck to you, and keep us posted.

lol what? UCLA is definitely not smaller than USC. /hijack

• Both places are even on women. (Thousands of hotties @ both.)
• Phoenix is more expensive on cost of living in general.
• Tucson has lower rent. People diss Tucson, but the area around the school is just fine. 4th Ave is the party scene in Tucson, but Mill Ave in Tempe is a lot bigger. Both areas have stupid theft/crime from tweekers. ASU may have more violent crime close to school, UA still has a small town feel w/ many dive bars, Tempe has many more clubs and less dive bars. Both have good music scenes. You can get as crazy as you want in both.
• Major difference between the two is cost of living. Phoenix/Tempe has more expensive rent, bars are more expensive, parking is more expensive.
• You can probably get away w/ not having a car in both locations, although Tempe probably has better public transit.
• Job market in Tempe is probably better than Tucson.
• Business schools are a coin flip, UA may have slight edge there. (I believe that's the program you're doing. If not, lemme know.)
• Tempe/Phoenix is hotter than Tucson by a little bit. Still, no matter where you're living, get an apt w/ a pool. You'll be very glad you did. Your odds of getting a "steal of a deal" house/apt are prob far better in Tucson.
• CasinoAZ in Scottsdale is wayyyy better than the Tucson casinos. CasinoAZ has a great poker scene, many students go there to play, too. Tucson's casino is called Desert Diamond (not as good).
• Alums from both are very prevalent. Don't buy into that "a frat will help you get a job after you graduate" bs. Instead, just network w/ alums. They will help you out.

ASU and it is not close. Go to Scottsdale Fashion Square on a Saturday and walk around and you will agree.