A word of advice to LDS kids choosing a college: You should strongly consider attending a non-Church-sanctioned university.

I went to BYU and transferred to the U after my mission (the U had a more highly regarded program in my field of study). BYU was fine - it's nice to be surrounded by other LDS students - but transferring to the U was perfect for me.

I had more missionary opportunities at the U.

Being around non-LDS people was a blessing. The fact that everyone didn't always agree with me really strengthened my testimony and gave me an appreciation for others' beliefs.

The institute program is a godsend. Since it's not about grades, classes are much more laid back than BYU religion classes, and you're able to focus more on the things that matter instead of just trying to learn rote facts in order to get a good grade.

Good luck with your decision......

my experience was quite different then word to the wise, i found unity and harmony at byu idaho and dreded every day at idaho state. now i am back up in rexburg where my class has prayer daily and they show how each class fits in to gods eternal plan. isu tried to break us into leaving religion behind and to help us "think for ourselves" often criticing religion as a whole and the mormon church specifically because it is in a large lds population. just be wise. i am happy to be back in a church school.

I agree with word to the wise. I don't want to sound mean but if your faith is based on being surrounded by like-minded people, you probably don't have a very strong testimony. If you can't handle criticism from a bunch of idealistic college liberals, you won't do well as a missionary.

And by the way, the church wants us to "think for ourselves." Thinking for yourself means you're searching for truth and we both know where ultimate truth is found.

I am not sure how some people who have studied at BYU can believe that everyone there "always agrees," unless they are not really listening to their classmates and fully participating in the learning process. Having experienced both a large public university and BYU, I must say that, at least in its graduate programs, BYU, at the time that I attended, had a greater diversity of thought and a more competitive atmosphere than the public institution. Though the majority of students at BYU are LDS, I associated with students from Brazil, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, China (PRC), Denmark, Fiji, Thailand, the Netherlands and probably some other countries that I have since forgotten. Additionally, I knew fellow students that had served missions just about everywhere imaginable, and brought that experience back to BYU. To say that since most of the students at BYU are LDS, they automatically think the same way, could not be farther from the truth--at least in my experience.

I agree with you. I attended BYU while all my friends went to the U of U. I was surprised to learn that many of my classmates at BYU were not Mormon. And many of the Mormon students had extremely liberal viewpoints (pro choice, anti-republican, pro gun harsh gun restrictions, legalize marijuana, etc). The thing about college is that wherever you go, there's a good chance that many students will have that "liberal college student", "think for ourselves", "anti-establishment" type attitude. That's how young people are these days. It's no big deal.

The important thing for new college/university students is to realize early in life that the LDS belief is not very popular in this world and often criticized. The earlier you can realize this, understand the criticisms, and gain a testimony of gospel truths the better because college will be a challenge in that regard. Out of state Mormons probably come to realize this sooner than those in Utah/Idaho/California areas.

To Agree & Disagree
I don't think anybody is trying to say that church colleges aren't ethnically diverse, but rather that diversity of thought is the primary challenge faced by LDS students at non-LDS schools.

That being said, I agree that for a lot of people being around LDS students is great. My wife was a convert to the church while attending college in California. She always wishes she had been a member earlier so she could have gone to a church school. She is not weak in testimony or faith, she just wished she could have been around more LDS folks.
I enjoyed going to a non-LDS college because of the missionary opportunities (that's how my wife found the church)and because I enjoy diversity in thought. I agree that this strengthened my testimony when college was finished, but challenged it during. Even folks like me who enjoy the non-LDS environment need to be spiritually bolstered sometimes, so institute is a perfect place to connect. Institute is extremely important for LDS students. I'm for more mormons attending non-LDS schools. We'd have a tremendous influence for good and share the gospel with a lot of people.

Sorry for the long post.

gus, I like your statement, but I'm not sure what part of california you're talking about when you include it with Utah and Idaho. There's 39 million people in california, and about half a million LDS. The numbers don't add up to California being an extension of the Mormon corridor. Most LDS members in california learn really quickly that they aren't among the mainstream of popular thought. I don't think students at Berkeley are waking up during their senior year and suddenly realizing that they aren't quite the norm.

Gus is right, most california mormons don't have strong testimonies.