Y?

I've been thinking about the reasons why I wouldn't necessarily want to go back to BYU for grad school. BYU is cheaper than any other school to which I've applied (as the tools who wish they could go to USC know very well,) and I already have a healthy number of friends there who would be there for the whole three semesters of my grad program. However, there are some solid reasons why I wouldn't necessarily want to go back.

1. There's a reason I didn't get married in 3 years as an undergrad. This negates one of the biggest reasons I would return to BYU: WifeQuest v. 2.0.
2. The Civil Engineering grad program is not in the top half of US News & World Report's rankings. #73 out of 124.
3. Employers hate Mormons. While technically illegal, employers can discriminate against whoever they want, because there's no effective method of quality control.
4. They will have 1, count them, 1 geotech professor. Dr. Gerber is getting canned, so they will only have Dr. Rollins. Dr. Rollins is a quality teacher and researcher, but it's just him.
5. I couldn't augment my list of contacts. Going to a different school offers me the opportunity to get to know more people who know people.
6. I'd like to learn finite element analysis... but not from Dr. Balling. CE En 506 at BYU is a beast because it's taught by Dr. Balling and it's a combined class with continuum mechanics.
7. The Jimmer is a senior this year. If he had one more year, I would be much more likely to go back to BYU just to see the Jimmer Show.
8. There's no spring break. This week is spring break for many universities. Not having some time off is ridiculous. Call it conference prep week if you must.
9. The Beard Code.
10. The CE department doesn't have a coursework only option. Many schools have a master's degree that's just 30 hours of coursework. At BYU, one must complete either a thesis or a project.
11. The Utah legislature passed HB116, though Utah Valley's representative, Jason Chaffetz says that it has no chance of being implemented.
    

There are probably a few more that I may or may not add to this list at some point in the near future. I think this should do if for now.

(Image courtesy of the BYU Alumni Association.)

Edit: [New grad school odds as of 04/01/2011: Oregon State - 2:1, CU Boulder - 3:1, BYU - 10:1, Virginia Tech - 30:1, Washington - 60:1, UCLA - 60:1.]