Florida State University Top Questions

Many of the programs here at FSU are nationally and regionally ranked, and while many people see FSU as the least academically mature between the "big 3" Florida schools (UF and UM) we are more than capable of holding our own against them. I am a sophomore Creative Writing major (one of the highest ranked departments in the school) and over the past four semesters that I have been here, I have rarely dealt with teachers who did not make some kind of an impact on me. In my major classes, the teachers have always gone above and beyond the call of duty to help me and my fellow classmates. Whether it is extra study sessions or prolonged office hours, I have always felt welcome and prepared for whatever my professors ask of me.

I began FSU as a Business major and switched to an English major my sophomore year. In the large lecture classes, Professor's won't know your name unless you reach out to them and come to their office hours or create a relationship with your professor. In many of my major classes, the class size is much smaller so all of the teachers know students by name. My favorite classes have been my English major classes, the classes have been interesting and the teachers have created a fun learning atmosphere. My least favorite class was Geology, it's harder than the stereotypical "rocks for jocks" saying. The English department has different major subdivisions, such as Creative Writing, Editing, Writing and Media, and Literature. The advisors help you pick classes and different websites can give you tips on the teachers. Many students form study groups within their classes to study, and Strozier Library has group study rooms to make studying easier. There are students that study tons, students that budget their time daily with studying, and students that blow it off. The grades usually reflect study time accurately. A student must have 120 credit hours to graduate, and the FSU Career Center provides a plethora of help for students reaching that graduation point. I went to the Career Center last week to work on my resume and get pamphlets on jobs for my major. FSU has so many helpful options for first year students to begin their college career the right way and help for graduating seniors who are looking to start the real world with that perfect job.

Classes here at Florida State are great. My advisor has sat with me for hours trying to chose a major, talking about everything that I like and could see myself doing. Both of my advisors know my name and always seem excited to see me. When you are in a bigger lecture class, it is up to you to get to know your teacher. They love it when you come to their office hours and talk to them. They live for teaching a subject they are so passionate about. However, in smaller classes, like English, your teacher will know your name after the first day. They make it their personal effort to get to know you and make you feel comfortable in the class. Every teacher here at FSU wants to see you do good in their class and will do anything to help you. I am an Environmental Studies and Editing, Writing, and Media double major. I absolutely love it. I want to write for National Geographic and my advisors have been more than helpful to help me reach that goal.

Being an English and Women's Study major at FSU meant that I didn't have many huge, lecture-style classes to attend, but this isn't true for all majors. It isn't uncommon that your Intro to Bio, and other lower-level lecture classes can consist of up to 300 people, where you're just a number with a clicker. My favorite classes were always my English Lit classes that had some of the most driven students, and most passionate professors I have ever met. Not only do these professors want you to succeed, but they want you to enjoy your time doing it as well. These English professors care about your education. Some of my favorite classes included Philosophy of Feminism, History of Race and Ethnicity, Human Rights film, Intro to Short Story, Global Women's Issues, and many more

Florida State has a mix of large and small classes, so it can cater to any student's preference. Individual attention is given easily if a student wants it, especially if they go to office hours. I have personally found office hours very helpful and teachers always seem to want to help their students. If you like to study, you can find yourself a nice spot in one of the campus libraries, where you will always find plenty of studying taking place.

My majors are Actuarial Science and Finance. Classes I've taken are definitely geared toward getting a job. One call, Business Communication, teaches communication skills anyone in the business world will use on a daily basis.

Starting I am a sophomore at FSU currently double majoring in English: Editing, Writing, and Media and Sports Management with a minor in Recreation and Leisure Management. It is an interesting course of study, but I absolutely love it and could not be happier! I did change my major a few times until I settled with something that fit me right. I was accepted into FSU as a pre-med student, but after the first semester I realized it was not for me. With the help of excellent student advisors, the transition was easy and actually fun to be honest. Classes are as hard as you make them to be and have a lot to do with your major choice. When I was pre-med I was definitely a lot more stressed, but now that I have found something that suits me better, classes are fun and interesting for me. I feel like upon graduation I will be ready for the real world. Both of my majors require some sort of internship before graduating, which really helps get that job field experience. I am happy with the academic opportunities and help offered at Florida State University.

With the exception of some of the Freshman classes like Composition, College Algebra, Bio I, Chemistry I, the classes at FSU are relatively small and actively encourage class participation. Even the smaller auditorium classes like History of Text Technology encourage participation - involvement in your education is important at FSU. The bigger Freshman classes aren't the best for one-on-one time with teachers because they're massive, however the higher the level of the class, the smaller they get. Many classes are taught by TA's, which may seem like a downside, however the TA's are just as good as the professors, and are often more likely to cultivate a relationship with their students. Education at FSU is both geared towards getting a job and towards learning for the sake of gaining knowledge. Even for those courses that don't have valuable job knowledge included, there's the Career Center that's very useful. Most students study pretty hard, especially for higher level classes. There are several libraries on campus, as well as outside tutoring options from ACE.

I'll begin with what I know: the English department. I'm an English Literature Major here at FSU, and yes, I know all my professors names! At FSU, once you get a lot of your required and very basic courses out of the way, the classes get a lot smaller. In one of my required courses called "Computer Fluency," there were around 400 kids in the lecture hall. The professor, named Dr. Gaitros, would stay after class every morning so that any student that had a question could walk up to him and ask. Obviously not all 400 students would approach him, but the option to was there to take advantage of, and that's what really matters. Every teacher I've had thus far as made it extremely easy to approach after class whether in a lecture hall with 200-400 students, or in a classroom with 20. At that, most professors open up for office hours for an hour or two every other day for some extra help outside of class. As far as the air of intellect among students is concerned, that depends strictly on what students you wish to identify with and meet. I've personally had some very interesting conversations with other students about different ways to approach literature interpretation, others about theoretical physics in my astronomy course, and some others with a student I met that had studied abroad in India to learn about Hinduism. The school is filled with students, it's just all about opening yourself up to meet them and discuss!

I can only really speak for my own department as an English major. My experience with this part of the university's academia is pretty good. my degree concentration (Editing, Writing and Media) is a very new and unique program offered nowhere else. A large portion of the classes are taught by T,A,'s instead of Professors which is strange and I've sometimes felt as if I were being cheated by not having actual professor in certain classes. The Creative Writing program in the English department is very competitive and hard to get into as well as stay in if you can't keep up. My experience with teachers here is that most of the curriculum is taught through discussion, So while the overall goal is to get a degree to get a job, I think the teachers mainly want to here original ideas and interpretations and get the students thinking like writers or filmmakers, doctors, researchers, ect...