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Sam Penrod ReportingToday was the first day of classes at BYU and a new survey may dispel some myths about why students choose to attend BYU.
The idea that people come to BYU to get married apparently isn't the case, at least according to recent graduates of BYU. A majority of BYU alums say its the quality of education at BYU that attracted them to the university.
The fall colors beginning to emerge on Y mountain means the return of thousand of BYU students to campus. Thirty thousand students are enrolled in fall semester; today was the first day of class.
BYU Student: "There seems to be a lot of people confused, I'm assuming those are the freshmen. Everybody has a smile on their face and are all friendly."
BYU has five thousand new freshmen in classes, for many of them it's a huge adjustment from high school.
Jonathan Sanchez, BYU Student: “It’s a lot more people and the classes are at a quicker pace.”
Flint Gatrell, BYU Student: “The university is huge compared to high school.It’s a lot of riding around to get to places.”
Brooke Ploghow, BYU Student: “I’m a freshman at BYU and the first day was great; it was a lot of fun.”
A new survey of recent BYU graduates reveals why students choose BYU for college. A majority of students surveyed say they attended BYU to improve their intellectual skills; other top answers included getting an education at religious based university and preparing for a career. Only a few students surveyed reported attending BYU to get married.
University officials say they are not surprised by the survey's findings and also believe BYU offers a quality education at a reasonable cost.
More than 90- percent of students who attend BYU are members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the private university.
Jesse Spisak, BYU Student: “It’s a great campus. I’ve been to a lot of schools and wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”
This school year also marks a change in BYU's administration. Cecil O. Samuelsen took over as BYU president in May. He will be officially installed as president next week.
