Agnes Scott College Top Questions

There are benefits to a small school. Teachers know you is a big one. They know you and they want to help you succeed. They also want to help you to get a job. They constantly tell you about internship opportunities and job opportunities, even when you re just a sophomore. My favorite classes so far have been my French classes. Professor Terry is absolutely fantastic. He knows French and he helps you to truly understand it. On the flip side, you can have bad professors at Agnes. One of the Most notorious is a certain Professor of Philosophy. She is super nice, but extremely boring. She makes the most interesting topics boring. Be warned. Students study about as much as the party. Students on campus are fun loving and want to have a good time, but they are also extremely dedicated to their work., I mean, this college isn't cheap. I don't know why you would goof off when you are paying out the wazoo to go there. Class Participation is extremely common. People want to interact in class and debate ideas. However, be warned if your ideas are racist, sexist, or homophobic, because you will be cut off faster than you can say "I'm Sorry". Agnes faculty and students do not tolerate discriminatory things. Students have a lot of intellectual conversations outside of class. It isn't lunch if someone hasn't talked about the oppression of the Patriarchy or how the most recent political scandal in Georgia is not surprising but here are all the flaws. Students can be competitive, but not always. Grades are not a competitive system on campus, but that doesn't mean that some people don't want to get ahead of everyone else. The sports teams are super competitive in their division, if that's what you mean. The most unique class I have taken so far is my history of the South class, Old South, New South, No South. In this, we talked about what the south is, when did it start, what is not the south, should the south continue, is the south already dead. Also, food. I am a history major and I must say that the history department is Flawless. It is run by Dr. Mary Cain. Her and her colleagues do a great job of trying to cover every aspect of history within a limited number of schedules. And each and everyone of them loves to teach at Agnes. there really are no bad teachers in the History department.

Academics at Agnes are rigorous, yet attainable. Professors definitely treat you like young women who are maturing and learning in this environment. Though they have very high expectations of an "Agnes Scott Woman" they make themselves available to be there every step of the way to help students strive pass the stars. With the class sizes being so small, students definitely get that one on one connection with their professors. I can recall a specific time in a statistics class where I did not understand the lesson and the professor letting me know that they saw I wasn't understanding that particular piece of material and offering to help me outside of class as well recommending tutors. Which is another great aspect of Agnes Scott, there are designated tutors for it feel like every class at the college. This is great because when you reach out for help, the student assisting you has gone through EXACTLY what you are in the midst of; making them better suited to help you. With such, the education and the one on one attention that you receive while studying at Agnes Scott definitely help prepare you for the rigor of the real world!

The academics at Agnes Scott are challenging. Our professors expect a lot from us and push us to take it to the next level. That being said, Agnes also offers a lot of academic support. Our professors all hold office hours at least twice a week, each discipline has learning assistants available to help with homework, concepts, study guides etc. Often times students for their own study groups as well. I spend a lot of my time outside of class studying wether it's with a group or on my own. Personally I spend a lot of time studying for my classes but it really varies from person to person and class to class. On average I would say most students study from 2-8 hours on any given day depending on their schedule and classes. I try my best to get in at least an hour of studying for each class I had that day, sometimes more or less. At Agnes, class participation is very common, it is rare that you only hear the professors voice for an entire class. Some classes even have a portion of your grade dedicated to class participation. My favorite class and most unique class thus far was called the science of drug action and we looked at how a variety of drugs alter the brain and we each wrote a research paper and presented a 15 minute presentation on a drug of our choice. My project was based on the date rape drug if you're wondering. I am also looking forward to taking a class called diseases of the nervous system this fall!

Do professors know your name? YES! And they'll ask where you were if they didn't see you in class! Tell us about your favorite class. Least favorite? My favorite classes are my biology classes :) It's my major. I love the professors, they are fun, approachable and very knowledgable. Lab is also really great, our labs are capped off at 20 people. My least favorite class was calculus. I picked a professor who taught the lessons in a way that didn't work well with the way I learned. I struggled, but she was great and worked with me outside of class to help me get a better understanding and to explain the material in different ways. Office hours and the Agnes Learning Assistants are great tools... and free! How often do students study? It really depends on the class. Some classes require more studying than others. On average I would say most students study from 2-8 hours on any given day depending on their schedule and classes. I try my best to get in at least an hour of studying for each class I had that day, sometimes more or less. Is class participation common? Class participation is very common, it is rare that you only hear the professors voice for an entire class. Some classes even have a portion of your grade dedicated to class participation. Do the students have intellectual conversations outside of class? YES! On and off campus too! Some conversations are hosted on campus with a special topic and moderator but many just happen naturally. Are students competitive? Sure there is a small amount of academic competition but overall I think Agnes is more about the learning community. Study groups are popular, peer tutoring is encouraged. It's a totally different academic environment compared to what I experienced in high school. What's the most unique class you've taken? The most unique class thus far was called the science of drug action and we looked at how a variety of drugs alter the brain and we each wrote a research paper and presented a 15 minute presentation on a drug of our choice. It was really interesting to learn about what happens to the brain chemically when we take things like advil. My project was based on the date rape drug if you're wondering. But I am also looking forward to taking a class called diseases of the nervous system this fall! Tell us about your major / department. I am a biology major and a dance minor. The biology department takes over the second floor of our science building. I love my major! I have a great advisor who is a biology professor and it's been great. We have a lot of great technology for biology labs (as well as other sciences) and our professors are very knowledgable. The dance department is so much fun! We have two nice studios. Our director is so dedicated to us and she also directs the dance company on campus. The company is mostly modern dance and we hold two shows a year on campus as well as make a variety of appearances around Atlanta. Do you spend time with professors outside of class? I do! I spend a lot of time in their office hours asking questions about the material, help with homework or asking about summer internships. I've also been to lunch with a few and attended conferences with them as well. How do you feel about this school's academic requirements? They are challenging! But do-able! Agnes expects a lot from their students. Sometimes it is stressful but they provide so many fantastic resources to help you out. Is the education at this school geared toward getting a job, or learning for its own sake? I think it depends on the student. No matter what it is you're looking at doing with your education you'll find advisors at Agnes who can help you get to your goals!

The academic work load at Agnes Scott is very demanding. I spend at least six hours a day studying Sunday through Thursday. I’m probably a bit of a perfectionist, but I can testify that if you’re willing to put the time into your work you will absolutely see the benefits of that dedication. Additionally, if you ever need help with anything, the school goes above and beyond to accommodate your needs. There’s a help center for all the math, science, and English classes, and tutors for languages and sciences that are free for students to use and immeasurably helpful! And the professors are unbeatable, plain and simple. I don’t have a single friend from high school that can relate to my experience when it comes the relationship I have with my professors. Every single one of them knew my name and cared about whether or not I was in class and participating. They don’t just want you to show up, they genuinely want you to succeed and want to make it easy for you to do so. They give a lot of work—I mean a lot!—but they are very understanding and always respond to emails and questions quickly. Distributional requirements (essentially the gen ed. classes you have to complete before you can graduate) were a major a draw for me. In my first year I completed my art, history, and math requirements because I wanted to get them out of the way. Now, as a result of this attempt to be done with classes I wasn’t particularly fond of, I’m interning in Washington DC at the Smithsonian in an art gallery in the history department. Basically, what the distributionals showed me was how important it is to explore outside of what you assume is your comfort zone. Taking classes like that is what makes education fun, it’s what sets Agnes Scott and a liberal arts education apart from typical universities.