Framingham State University Rankings by Salary Score™

In terms of students, FSU is an mix of highly motivated and intelligent international students (representing India, Russia, Iran, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Uzbekistan) pursuing STEM degrees; people who were misfits in high school going to a dry campus to stay away from the party scene; mentally ill people going to college for the sake of doing something while they sort themselves out; nontraditionally-aged students (typically people in their 20s); and people from low-income families looking to non-expensive... Read More college or who struggle with learning and studying due to a poorly funded school system.

FSU excels in some majors and fails in others. FSU has excellent nutrition, pre-engineering, biology, biochemistry, and nursing majors. The nutrition major is among the best in Massachusetts and well-respected. There is a pre-engineering major, in which students study engineering for two years and then have guaranteed admission to WPI, UMass Dartmouth, Mass Maritime, and UMass Lowell for their junior and senior years. They have a pre-engineering club and have a small, tight-knit community, and their main professor is Dr. Adhibhatta (she's super nice). There is a strong community for pre-health students and a Pre-Health Advising Club that meets on Mondays serving students in pre-PA, PT, DMD, and MD tracks, led by Dr. Shelli Waetzig. The club exposes students to people who work in medical fields that give presentations and allow students to ask them questions. Bio, Biochem, and Nutrition students generally have a strong community and become good friends with each other. The nursing major is a two-year program for people who have an associate's degree in nursing and want to have a bachelor's degree, and the nursing program is highly effective and respected. According to LinkedIn, its graduates work at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Boston Children's Hospital.

The computer science, economics, and accounting departments are not good. I was initially a computer science major, and my advisor was not in the computer science department and was not a professor. My first year, I only took one programming class, and it was in my spring semester. The salary for graduates of the BS in computer science at Framingham State is pretty low at ~$50k. Many of the professors in the computer science department aren't good. While I have never taken economics and accounting classes at FSU, I haven't heard good reviews about them.

Socially, the college experience at Framingham State is unique. Slightly over half of the students are commuters because they live close by with their parents in their childhood home. The residential students are typically people from parts of Massachusetts outside of the Metrowest area such as Boston, Cape Cod, and Central and Western Mass; wealthier students from the Metrowest Area who want the residential experience; and students from other US states and international students. The commuter students are typically White and Asian while the residential students are more diverse and include the aforementioned populations and also more Black and Latino students. The University has a strict prohibition of alcohol, where even students who are 21 and older are not allowed to possess or drink alcohol on campus or in dorms. As a result, there are no parties except five per year (end of the fall semester, St. Patrick's day, Marathon Monday, formal, and grad parties) at a sports house or someone's parents' house. These parties are very hard to get invited to unless you are very pretty, an athlete, or friends with/dating an athlete, which makes it very similar to high school. Also as a result of the no-alcohol policy, there is a stoner culture on campus where many students vape or smoke weed. While there is no pressure to engage in it, it's annoying because the dorms smell disgusting. Lastly, because of the no-alcohol policy, there is nothing to do on the weekends and no social scene, and students who live in Massachusetts, even farther away, typically live with their parents. The proximity of parents, where many commuter students (most of the campus) live with them and many residents spend weekends with them, creates a unique college experience where students haven't fully grown up and are still partially childlike. This creates an innocent and sweet college experience, but I feel like I've missed the iconic parts of college such as going out.

The social groups at FSU are clear-cut and pronounced. They are the athletes (both men and women, are exclusive with who they talk to and invite to parties, and think that they're popular and that others are not); pre-health and nutrition students (mostly women, and they're super nice and supportive of each other); nursing students; non-traditional students (typically people in their 20s and mostly women), math, cs, and engineering students (as well as guys who do biology); Gatepost people (staff writers of the student newspaper: super tight-knit); and more. It's super easy to find your people.

FSU is also very committed to diversity for POC and LGBTQ. There are staff dedicated to promoting diversity, and it works. Among residential students, there is a strong community of Black women and Black students in general; strong friendships between Black, Asian, and Latina women, and a vibrant and supportive Lesbian community at Framingham State. The Center of Inclusive Excellence is an office with full-time staff that runs cultural activities such as a presentation about the Black Deaf experience, a movie night to see barbie for Women's History month, and K-Pop Just-Dance. One of the strong suits of the university is its commitment to uplifting marginalized communities in the US.

A weakness of this attempt at equity is an overemphasis of the students who come from poor and working-class families. To help these students, who are about 45% of the student population, the University permits only four classes a semester for freshmen and sophomores with no exceptions, prohibits alcohol, and has classes taught at a slow pace without rigorous finals (many exams are open-note, even finals). These rules are understandable for these students, since many students from the lower classes need to work, may come from families that struggle with alcoholism, and come from under-funded education systems and lack study skills. However, the majority of the students (55%) who come from middle class and upper-middle class families do not need and are hindered by these rules. Many of us want to take five classes a semester, be able to drink and celebrate youth together, and take rigorous exams so that our diplomas would be taken seriously. However, when I asked the administration to take five classes and demonstrated my high academic record in high school, they wouldn't let me. The administration's lack of flexibility and emphasis on mindless equality instead of equity hinders students with higher educational potential. I strongly suggest that the university rethink the rules about quantity of classes, alcohol, and exams and reform them so that people can discuss the appropriate amount of classes for them personally with their advisor, be allowed to drink when they are of age, and be able to take classes of different levels (like in high school) to accommodate the different socio-economic backgrounds.

Overall, the University's terrible public image amongst locals comes from a valid point, wherein the University has failing departments and useless administrative policies, but some aspects of FSU are worthy of consideration and could be looked at with more respect such as the pre-health majors and the university's commitment to diversity for ability, age, and race.

I want people to judge this school less but honestly look at the positives and negatives so that we can improve it together.

I could not be more pleased with the education I received while attending Framingham State University. The faculty in the English department is really top-notch and not at all a step down from the big private schools in the Boston area. In fact, if you read their bios, most faculty earned their degrees from those big prestigious schools. The value for money at FSU is really unparalleled in my opinion, and despite coming into the school with little knowledge of how to be an English scholar, I left with not... Read More only the ability to do that but the confidence that I can do that. The school is small enough that you get to be on a first name basis with your instructors, but large enough that you lose nothing of the college experience. Framingham is a quick train ride to Boston, which is full of fun things to do and see, not to mention being a virtual treasure trove for English majors. Honestly, I can't recommend FSU highly enough. I have really enjoyed my time there and the growth as a person and as a scholar I have experienced has been truly remarkable. It is not at all hyperbolic to say that this school has changed my life dramatically for the better.