(This review pertains only to the undergraduate programs at Metropolitan State. I have heard mixed things about their graduate programs.)
I'll admit it: I was intensely skeptical of this school when I enrolled two years ago. It's dirt cheap. They admit just about anyone. There's... three separate campuses? Uh, okay. I was halfway convinced I was entering some kind of Phoenix Online joke school, but after seven years of being in and out of various universities (including a nightmarish one-quarter stint at Globe College) I was getting desperate to find a school where I could just hunker down in peace and finish what I'd started.
I'm almost done now, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't pick any other school. Like a mangy, slobbery, secondhand mutt from the humane society, Metro State has completely won my heart.
Metro is not your typical four-year college, though they are a fully accredited state university. There are no sports teams, no dormitories, no trashy sorority girls, and no frills. The median student age is something like 30, and though I'm sure they exist, you'd be hard pressed to find a single student who is here straight out of high school. And because of that simple fact, you know that everyone who goes to school here honestly WANTS to be here.
Instructors come from a wide range of backgrounds, some having gone here themselves, some from more traditionally prestigious universities nationwide. What most of them have in common, though, is a solid practical knowledge of their chosen field, and a real passion for teaching. You won't find any giant lecture halls here, or classes taught exclusively by TA's. Most classes seem to be capped at around 35 students; once you're in upper level classes, that number drops to around 18. It's not unheard of to sit in a class of 6 to 12.
Metro offers some very specific career-based programs (aviation management, dental hygeine), but also the regular offerings of a liberal arts school (English, psychology, history, biology). It also offers a few unique degree programs, like BA's in creative writing and screenwriting. And for the student who wants to design their degree from the ground up, there's the First College program, where you can actually get course credit for previous life and work experience.
Because it's really a commuter school for working adults, extracurricular student activities aren't necessarily joined with the vigor of other schools. However, they do exist: Metro boasts a monthly student newspaper, an award-winning literary magazine, a GLBT club, and groups for just about every ethnic, social, and religious persuasion.
Basically, if you're looking for a school where you can party and slack off, this isn't it. If you're looking for highbrow academia, this probably isn't it, either. But if you're looking for a friendly, blue-collar school where you will be accepted, listened to, and challenged, without devastating your pocketbook, Metro is pretty much unbeatable. read more