I was at the University of Kentucky yesterday (Sat.) for Academic Honors Day so I could see the campus. UK is back to being my number one choice now, although I haven’t been to Western Kentucky University for a visit yet. I know that we have some Wildcat Dopers on the board, so what can you tell me that they don’t tell you on the tour? How do you like it there? Any major issues I should know about?
-Brianjedi
I’m starting my eighth year at UK, so I guess I’m a bit of an authority. 
Good things about UK:
–The Honors Program. The people are great, the professors are great, and it gets you out of a lot of the required wastes of time so that you can take wastes of time more to your liking. It also provides a bit of community that the campus lacks otherwise (see below).
–Lexington. I’ve often said that Lex is a good size, because it’s small enough that you see someone you know just about anywhere you go, but big enough that you don’t know everyone. Cost of living is fairly low. There is a lot to do here, and it’s close enough to Louisville and Cincinnati that you can go up there if there isn’t.
–Basketball. You like basketball, right?
Some cons:
–Lack of a real campus-wide community. I’ve often said that this is because the campus is so spread out, and the Student Center is actually at one end of it, only convenient if you live on North Campus. There are very few campus-wide events, and the ones we have are geared more toward the Greek crowd. Our new President, Lee Todd, seems to have recognized this problem, and I suspect it will improve over the next few years.
–You have to be 21 to get into the bars, so you’re shut out from a lot of good music and such until then.
–Rather stringent opposite-sex visitation in the dorms. This actually balances out–it’s a bad thing when you want to get down with your woman, but a good thing when your roomate wants to get down with his.
Overall, I’d go to UK again in a heartbeat, and I think it’s an exciting time to be starting there. I’ll offer more advice when it comes to me.
Dr. J
PS: You want to live in the Honors dorm, Boyd-Patterson (if that’s still it). It has more of a closely-knit community than any other dorm I’ve seen (read: fewer people in their rooms watching TV) and it never gets rowdy. (You can always go find a party somewhere, but you should be able to come home to peace and quiet.)
What major are you interested in?
I don’t know if I’d take the word of someone who has been there 8 years and isn’t out yet. What’s he doing? Getting a double major?
I just love this damn place so much I can’t leave!
Seriously–four years undergrad, four years med school.
Dr. J
I don’t attend, but I’ve lived next door to the place for eighteen years, and my parents are both professors.
Lots of social life, guaranteed to be plenty of parties every weekend. Also lots of opportunities for intramural sports or anything else that you’re interested in.
Most freshman classes will be really big and somewhat impersonal, unless you’re in the aforementioned honors program. Once you reach junior year, you’ll probably have smaller classes, just make sure that you’ve picked a major by then. The science labs and engineering facilites are all up-to-date, though you probably won’t use them much for the first couple years.
If the men’s basketball team reaches the Final Four, prepare for total insanity. There are large numbers of tickets set aside for students.
The best restaraunt on campus it Bangkok House, a Thai restaraunt. It’s in the basement beneath the Baskin Robbins on the corner next to Memorial Colliseum.
JSA, I’m thinking about Journalism. My yearbook experience, plus my love of computers ought to be put to some use in the real world, I guess.
DoctorJ, I was actually planning on Honors. I thought it sounded like the best plan for me, and it looks like it will really get me out of some wastes of time.
Thanks everyone for your help, and maybe I’ll see you next fall.
-Brianjedi