I am a non-believing Mormon and I've been one for over an year now. I do detest the Mormon RELIGION per say but to be honest, I absolutely literally love the people. My whole family is LDS and attend church and go to all the YSA activities. I kinda consider myself as a 'cultural Mormon' and to me going to church, FHE and what not are social rather than religious activities.
I am going to start BYU-Idaho in the fall and even though I do love the place and the campus I am not entirely sure if it is a right place for a Jack Mormon like me. BYU is not a choice for me since I've spent my whole life in the Provo-Orem area and just need to get out.
The main reason I'm choosing BYUi is because they've given me a full ride that covers my tuition and also enough financial aid to cover my housing, books, food and other expenses. It means I'll literally me attending college for absolutely FREE. Having to graduate without any debt especially in these economic times is definitely kinda inviting.
Are the academics challenging and would I have a chance to apply to prestigious grad schools from my BYUi degree? I want to go into law or politics or the public service sector
Here is how I see it. You will need to keep up appearances, you will need to go to church, possibly have some kind of calling and you wont be able to be open about your beliefs. After all you need that bishop endorsement, and that wont come unless you are doing those things. But maybe you are the type that can fake it until you make it and you can keep up the appearances long enough to get through it. For me, a life of pretending left me miserable and depressed and it wore down on me quicker than I ever thought.
What will you do if you meet someone and you want to get more involved with him/her? They are going to assume that you are a TBM and you will need to keep up appearances even longer, coming out will complicate things after the fact.
Seeing how school is about to start or has already started, I think you have pretty much already made up your mind. Starting school somewhere else at this point would require that you wait until next semester.
BYU-I is known for being far more uber-Mormon than BYU-Provo. I wouldn't consider it academically distinguished, but if you do well there you can probably get into a decent enough grad school. When you get there, consult with your department head about that. Ask him or her where graduates in that department go to grad school.
Hey, for a free degree, I'd for sure fake it! Your current bishop probably signed off on your 'worthiness' and it was probably because according to appearances, you've been faithful enough. It may be harder when you're on your own and attending a student ward gets to grating on your nerves. I don't know which bishop has first dibs on keeping you approved...
And then there will be the "mission call" pressure. If your family starts putting pressure on you, it won't matter where you are. What are your plans in that regard? Not that it really matters, because there are lots of missionaries who don't believe, but because of the pressure, they put in their papers and head on out to preach the gospel.
As with most things, attitude really determines how it'll all work out for you. You sound fairly upbeat and positive, and if that's the case you should be fine. Getting a degree without incurring debt is pretty huge!
You don't say what your other options are, so it is hard to give informed advice if your decision is "worth it" or not.
Even if you graduate debt-free, your degree will always say BYU-I. If you are going to spend the rest of your life pretending to be Mormon, this should not be a problem.
But, if you are going to drop the pretension at some point, your past will be marked by your choice of colleges.
As someone stated, it is awfully late in the day to be asking this question.
If you got a full ride to one school, it would seem to be a reasonable assumption to think maybe you would have had a partial to another school. If you used that partial, worked and borrowed, what would your estimated graduation debt be?
Could you go to a local JC for a couple of years, then head off to a U of your choosing? Maybe save some cash on room and board by living at home?
See, not knowing what your other options are makes it difficult to give a good answer to your question.
Don't do it. That campus makes BYU look like Arizona State or The University of Wisconsin (Madison).
The rules up there are fucking nuts and it's proof that men run the TSCC as opposed to God. Otherwise why have different standards for the same school "BYU" just different locations.
The faculty and students up in Idaho are Provo REJECTS and thus they do all they can to prove they not only deserved to go to BYU (the real one), but that they are BETTER than those losers who did get in. Thus stricter honor codes and more restrictive dress codes. Say goodbye to your shorts and sandals dudes.
Do yourself a favor and join the United States Marines. They are just as strict but you'll be proud to say you are a Marine the rest of your life. You can't say the same thing about being a BYU-IDAHO graduate.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2015 07:10PM by Doubting Thomas.
If you can get a free ride there you can get one elsewhere or at least substantial financial aid.
College is such an important time in one's life. Friends you make then may turn out to be life long friends; a person makes choices of career/place to live that affect the rest of one's life. Who you date then can affect you forever, and that depends on the pool of people from which you can choose.
How you see the world is colored by the people around you, especially at that age, and that will affect you forever.
Don't do it. Find a place you want to be with people who have similiar interests and who will not force you to go to church. Apply for lots of aid and grants. Enjoy your college to the fullest without fear of reprisal by religious fanatics.
Live your life the way you want to. If you don't believe, fine, enjoy the Mormon friends you have but don't put yourself in an all Mormon environment where you will be forced to live a lie.
My son, when he was grade 5 or 6 had made the decision to go to Ricks. He had a couple Mormon cousins talk him into it. By the time he was in high school, had fallen in love with his now wife and discovered beer....I had disabused him of the notion of joining the cult and heading to Rexburg.
FREE college is a very big factor in my book. Maybe treat it like a community college - get your main basic classes done there for free, like the first two years, then transfer out.
I did a little time at BUY-I (I'm sorry to say) and I agree with the posters saying "DON'T DO IT!" I managed to get a good chunk of money for college from the G.I. Bill (even though I was only in the Navy for a couple of years). The military can be a good way to pay for college and you get some of the benefits of being a veteran. If you do end up in the military, just be sure you'll end up doing something you can handle for four years (Caution: if a Navy recruiter tells you that going undesignated is great DON'T GO UNDESIGNATED! Been there, done that, still a bit crazy from the experience).
left4good Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It won't be "free."
Amen to that. It will cost you your honesty at the very least.
And it won't give much of a return (you asked about "prestigious grad schools" -- BYUi isn't high on anyone's list of "great schools." It doesn't make most peoples' list of "mediocre schools).
And the worst part? If you ever do violate the "honor code" in any way, and you're not done yet, they may not even give you credit for work done, or send anyone your transcripts. One slip in your non-mormonness, and you lose everything you put in. Doesn't seem like a good gamble to me, but it's your life.
I agree with those who say "don't do it." I went to BYU Provo as a Jack Mormon -- worst decision EVER. I felt totally out of place. I had to fake belief for years just so I could graduate. I felt like such a hypocrite the entire time I was there. I feel like I wasted what was supposed to be the "best time of my life" because I went to such a stupidly strict, religious school.
Of course I didn't like the culture or people, unlike you. If you're okay with faking belief and being a hypocrite then maybe you can make it.
I went to the Y, out of the mission field, as a purely cultural mormon and had no problems. The first year, as an unmarried, I did what one of my roommates taught me, told the home teachers that I was attending a Spanish branch, because as a Spanish minor, it was very useful. Naturally, we never darkened the door of any of the Spanish branches.
Then after I got married, we moved into a real people's ward and it was no big deal to attend and pretend. But of course, church was fun back then. I got to visit Point of the Mountain Prison and, swear to ghawd, accompany the YM & YW on a bus trip to San Francisco. We toured Treasure Island and in an old WWII submarine, despite being asked not to, hit the button that made the "Ahoogah-ahoogah" Dive! Dive! sound. One of the coolest moments of my completely intemperate life. Lots of church B-ball, etc.
But for sure, I would advice anyone from getting married in college. Or if you do, no babies til you graduate and have a job!
A couple of my nevermo Ricks pals went on sports scholarships (basketball and baseball) and toughed it out and graduated. Can't imagine what it must have been like living in that stifling environment as a nevermo.
It's a very small town and far from any large cities. There is a pervasive small town mentality and small town ultra conservative ideals. Having grown up in a really small town, I didn't mind that so much but the lack of diversity and the single acceptable mindset was stifling. One or two years can be a nice experience but I guarantee that after four years you will be sick of the place. You will also be highly pressured to serve a mission. Most in your age range are ready to spread their wings and grow. BYU-I will clip your wings and repress any ideas you might have of being unique or different from the norm. And they have REALLY snowy, cold winters.
Do it! I went for a quarter a little bit ago. I met a lot of fun people, and enjoyed myself quite a bit. Even though your living under mormon expectations you still get that sence of independence at college as nobody breaths down your neck as much as people do that you grow up around. The biggest drawback for me was getting a calling as the elders quorm teacher. Soo maybe for the first couple weeks at church just make sure not to say anything mind-blowing haha. People at BYUI gave a lot less pressure about my mission then those at home (it was brought up frequently, but didn't feel as thretening). It's really easy to get involved in activities there and the people are easy to talk to. For the required religious classes- take them online so you don't have to sit through lectures.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2015 03:03AM by blissfulcrush.
> I am going to start BYU-Idaho in the fall and even > though I do love the place and the campus I am not > entirely sure if it is a right place for a Jack > Mormon like me. BYU is not a choice for me since > I've spent my whole life in the Provo-Orem area > and just need to get out.
Does the expression " out of the frying pan into the fire" mean anything to you ??????? Have you ever been on the Ricks college campus ? If you think you need a break from Provo due to the suffocating MORmON presence, then Rexburg is NOT the place to go.
> The main reason I'm choosing BYUi is because > they've given me a full ride that covers my > tuition and also enough financial aid to cover my > housing, books, food and other expenses. It means > I'll literally me attending college for absolutely > FREE.
What a great match, because your FREE degree from a MORmON school will be just about worth the same as what you paid for it !!!! IF you are lucky.
> Having to graduate without any debt > especially in these economic times is definitely > kinda inviting.
Even so, spending 4 plus years of your life to get a degree that will probably be pretty worthless or worse STILL is NOT much of a good investment/ bargain.
> Are the academics challenging and would I have a > chance to apply to prestigious grad schools from > my BYUi degree?
There might be a chance ....to apply to real schools, if that's as far as you want to go then great.
One thing has improved, after so many decades of LDS Inc screwing over its MORmON members by having its BYU Provo not accepting many Ricks not much of a college credits to the point of really pissing people off, LDS Inc and BYU finally had to capitulate and accept all Ricks turned BYU Idaho credits.
> I want to go into law or politics > or the public service sector > > Thanks :)
If you want to buy some Ricks college credits, then I will sell you mine for really cheap.