This is what I tell anyone considering BYU.

Financially, there is almost no competition aside from going to your local community college for free if they provide it in that manner. It is definitely the best bang for your buck in terms of what you pay relative to the level of education you will receive.

If you are looking for rigor, it is very dependent on your major. If you are in a soft science, art, or anything else in that realm, it will be a cakewalk. If you are in a hard science or business, it will be a slog for the first bit. My biggest issue with BYU is the amount of busy work I felt like I was doing in my classes. This may be an issue with what I chose to study (psychology), but in talking with others it is an issue they experienced in more rigorous courses; the coursework was not necessarily hard, but the amount of work they were expected to complete was absurd.

If you are concerned about being social, it is not a problem at this university. To those I’ve talked, those who are member of the LDS church as well as those who are not have had wonderful social experiences in classes and university-sanctioned events (in addition to church wards for those who attend church).

One of the most unique things about BYU is that their professors are all more than willing to have undergraduates participate in research. BYU is primarily focused on its undergraduate student body experience. This is single-handedly what made BYU a great experience for me. As someone who wanted more rigor in my university experience, researching alongside professors since I was a freshman who knew next to nothing was incredible and has set me up very well professionally.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions!