Boston University Top Questions

In the big lectures, teachers will get to know your names if you go to office hours. Academics go as far as you take it yourself. If you want to know your professor, they will want to know you. In the smaller classes, the professors like to get close to all the students, and usually professors teach more than one class level, so you may have the professor again. I am in the School of Education, and in your freshman year you experience 60 hours in an elementary school classroom for one full semester. It is great to be able to observe the very first year. ED100/101 is a "weeding out" course to see who really wants to be a teacher and who should reconsider. Coming out of BU, you will receive one of the best educations in the country and will be seen as a top contender for any job position.

My experience is limited to the College of Fine Arts, where I was an acting major and had a wonderful and unique experience. I would recommend BU highly to anyone looking for an intensive conservatory style training while also having the "college experience" of growing and finding one's self within a university setting. My teachers were not only passionate and strong in the classroom, but always had their doors open for conversation and questions. My biggest "regret" is not taking advantage of the university's liberal arts classes as much as I could have. While I took a few wonderful classes in art history and photography, there were classes with such acclaimed professors as Eli Weisel that I wish I had taken greater advantage of.

Do professors know your name? yes Tell us about your favorite class. the professor is hilarious and the work wasn't too difficult Least favorite? I hate math. How often do students study? depends, anywhere from 3-20 hours a week Is class participation common? very Do BU students have intellectual conversations outside of class? yes Are students competitive? very What's the most unique class you've taken? Africa Today Tell us about your major / department. The OM department is amazing - thanks to the course offerings and faculty Do you spend time with professors outside of class? occassionally How do you feel about BU 's academic requirements? they're fair Is the education at BU geared toward getting a job, or learning for its own sake? a little of both, but more just about the learning

It depends which class. My favorite classes are the Core Curriculum classes in the College of Arts and Sciences. Least favorite: Intro to International Relations. Students study a lot. Class participation is mandatory in most discussions. Intellectual conversations outside of class depend on the student I think. I don't spend time with my professors outside of class, but the Dean of Students just participated in a student musical, and then invited us all over for dinner, and it was fabulous. Education is geared toward learning for its own sake.

I know my professors names, but I never get to know the professors of the big lectures. The TA's deal with most of the students anyway. In the Metropolitan College I feel most connected with the teachers, considering the small class size. A lot of BU students have great intellectual conversations outside of class. There are heated debates on politics, religion, and philosophy constantly around my floor and friends. It sounds stupid to say that, but when you break down your conversations, it's amazing to think that you're truly discussing those topics.

Professors in small classes know your name. Best and most unique class is ASL (offered at night). Mostly lecture style classes (plus labs for sciences). Very strong physcis and earth sciences department. No architecture. I came in as a freshman and fufilled all basic requirements through AP test credits. Not many students enthusiastic about learning.

I love my major, but I hate the business of it, so I won't be doing advertising after college. The professors are really great at bringing real-world senarios in to the classroom, and are wonderful at helping students find jobs, internships, etc. They are really dedicated to their students. It is a little cut-throat, but the business of advertising is, so that's to be expected. They definitely have the resources available -- in terms of clubs, professors, workshops, career centers and the like --- to help you become successful. SMG professors and students are all very stuck up about their program. The professors tell the students that SMG stands for "Sex Money and Greed" (it really means School of Management). They consider themselves better than the rest of the University, even though they're NOT the best program at BU. The College of Communication, School of Hospitality Administration, the College of Fine Arts, many programs in the Sargent College, BioMed in Engineering, and various other programs are all considered some of the best programs of their kind, while SMG is just breaking in to the top 30 management programs. They really need to get over themselves. Also grade deflation is way over-exaggerated. It may happen once in a while, but it's definitely not a rampant problem like some students complain it is. Everyone comes in to BU as an A student and not everyone can leave that way. BU puts tons of resources at your finger tips, you just have to take the initiative to use them. College isn't suppose to be easy!

The student-professor relationship is entirely up to the student. All professors have office hours that students can attend (which is HIGHLY recommended!). The professors here are incredibly open to talking and getting to know their students. It is smart to come up with some questions from class (even if you actually understand the material) to justify using the office hours.

I came to BU not expecting any of my professors, especially those in large lectures, to know my name. However, I found that quite a few learn it even if you just email them a few times with a question about the class. Of course, the more often you speak to the professor, the most likely he or she to recognize you, and in smaller upper-level classes professors almost always know their students. My favorite class, by far, was CL322, Roman history. Even though it had nothing to do with my major or my minor, the professor (professor Varhelyi) was really good and the class was so engaging. It may just be my affinity for Roman history, but I suggest everyone looks into taking CL322 with professor Varhelyi. On the other hand, everyone should try to avoid taking classes in subjects they do not enjoy or do well in, and if you still have to take it for a requirement, make sure the professor is a good one - a lot depends on the quality of the professor I feel that BU students study a lot. There is the infamous 'grade deflation' that is never as bad as you fear, but always much worse than you hope, which probably contributes to the extent of studying that goes on. One can be certain that doing well without doing a lot of studying is not an option here. Class participation is common in smaller, upper-level classes, and is not altogether great in introductory level, large lectures. In part this may be due to the large size of an intro level class, or the prevalent indifference of the people taking it to the subject itself (unless they plan to major in it). There are separate discussion sections for larger lectures that are aimed to remedy this, but I never felt like they were doing much to liven up the discussion or increase participation. Highly intellectual, passionate discussions at BU easily coexist with some of the stupidest statements and conversations you will ever hear. I guess its just a paradox of BU existence, yet one that sometimes makes the dinning hall a very interesting place. I think many of BU students are competetive by default, since admissions to BU are pretty competetive to begin with. The infamous "grade deflation," whether real or not, must also contribute to the students' desire to outdo their classmates. Although many college graduates are proud of the close mentoring relationships they have formed with their professors, this has not in general been my experience. Having looked into some other schools' general education requirements, I think BU's are actually pretty good. One is required to complete courses in math, science, foreign language and a humanities and social sciences, as well as writing, but many of these requirements are automatically fullfilled by one's major, and the rest can probably be completed in one year. A BU degree is definitely a good one, and it may or may not get you a great job upon graduation. There are some schools and departments at Boston University that produce graduates extremely competetive in the job market (the School of Management). There are others that are more theoretical, like the English Department or the School of Theology. While BU degree can do a lot for you, a choice of academic major is definately the more important aspect of getting a good job upon graduation.

There's a huge gap in achievment at BU. There's the really studious kids, who tend to be there on scholarship, and there's the rich kids that drink instead of study. I'm a studier. I've liked almost every one of the classes I've taken. There's some unusual ones, too: for example, to fulfill my lab science requirement I took Physics 103: Cinema Physica. It was awesome! Professor Cohen was always available to answer questions (and as an English major, I had a lot of them) but he didn't make me feel stupid for not understanding everything right away. Instead, he was quite encouraging and combined physics with movies to study concepts, like when we studied magnetics, we watched "X-Men" and found out Magneto definitely shouldn't be able to control metal like he does. I also enrolled in the Core Curriculum my freshman/sophomore year (only the humanities section). I learned SO MUCH in Core! Especially compared to my friends that did divisional studies. Divisional is easier, but Core is so worth it, you get a total grounding in general education, but at a higher level. The professors are also some of the best you can find at BU.