Gettysburg College Top Questions

Profs here definitely know your name and are unbelievably helpful and accessible if you come to them for help. The biggest class you'll encounter at Gettysburg will be between 40 and 50 students as an intro science course, but you'll likely run into some smaller classes and seminars with as few as 5 students. In both extremes, students certainly have a voice and are expected to participate. Students strive to do well, but are not cut-throat or competitive towards one another by any means. One of my classes as a freshman, my prof invited all 20 of us to her house for breakfast during our usual 8:30am class timeslot. It was awesome! Requirements-- As a liberal arts institution, Gettysburg gives you a lot of fexlibility in choosing your curriculum in using a goal-based curriculum. It's great because you have a lot of choice with-in the requirements, but at the same time, there are certain requirements that leave you with few choices, such as the Non-Western requirement.

Because the college is rather small, professors and students get to know each other very well. Professors always knew my name and exactly who I was. Class participation is also very common and encouraged because of small class sizes. I was a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies and took many interesting courses in both subjects. I loved the lab trips to the Duke Marine Lab in North Carolina and to the Bahamas.

Most of the professors at Gettysburg are great. All my professors know me by name and I can often just stop by their offices to talk; whether it be asking a question about an assignment or just chatting about life. This is especially true in the chemistry and biology departments. Many of the professors keep long hours and it is not usual to see faculty around at 8 or 9 at night. While Gettysburg College students are competitive, they are not out to get each other. Everyone wants to do well, and while students often share their grades it is not to show off or say "haha I did better than you." I find it great that students in my classes often get together to study and that students at the top of the class are willing to tutor other students not doing so well. The school also has a great Peer Tutoring program, which gives students free tutoring in the subjects they need.

One of the reasons I chose Gettysburg was because on my first visit to the school my mom and I went out to get ice cream and the table next to us was full of college students with sundaes and shakes discussing the Crusades. Sadly, now that I'm on campus, I don't see much of that. The students, for the most part, seem to be there to just get a degree because they were told they needed one, not because they want one. However, once you get past the students, you have a great academic institution. The professors all get to know your name, most even give out home phone numbers. One professor, who happened to be ill, went home sick for the day, but remembered that one of his students had an appointment and came in just for her. Things like that aren't abnormal. I ended up in a history class that I didn't have the necessary background for, so I went to talk to the professor and he offered me quick guides to the subject and we set up weekly appointments for me to ask any questions that arose. All of the professors have long office hours and are always there to help you, especially in the science department. The GC core requirements are rough, particularly the science requirements for the non-science majors, but they're do-able. Look at them early and make a plan to fulfill them, otherwise senior year you will run into some rough spots getting the core requirements you need. I'm a Globalization Studies and Sociology double major with a minor in Peace and Justice. I love it because it lets me take all the classes I wanted to take to begin with and have them count towards something. My Globalization focus is on minority issues, so I've taken two classes on racism and they were both very unique. One had 7 students, the other had 30; one dealt with the law, the other with theories. Next semester I'll continue to look at these things while I study abroad in Copenhagen. Over 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Gettysburg College students study abroad, including people from all majors. There is very little cost to go abroad since your tuition directly carries over, even covering most of your airfare.

In general, the professors are pretty close to the students. I see my professors walking on campus, and most of them know my name and remember which of their classes I took. In the classroom, the professors consider class participation to be an integral part of your experience in the classroom. This excludes many of the science courses, such as chemistry, biology, and physics. In these classes, your class participation is counted in your laboratory grade. However, these professors will still know your name. They know who comes to class and who doesn't. There was even one instance where I got a call from a professor when I was ill; she wanted to tell me what I had missed in class. I am a chemistry major. The chemistry department is one of the best in the college. The professors are more than qualified to teach, and most can be reached at any time of the day through e-mail or walk-in visits. I have seen many of my chemistry professors in their offices or in their research labs late at night. They are even more accessible during final exam times; they hold review sessions and are in their offices on weekends as well. Most of the laboratory instructors are not as accessible, but they can always be reached through e-mail and are more than qualified to help in a lab setting. In large universities, many chemistry students won't have access to expensive equipement such as NMR, mass spectroscopy, and IR instruments. However, as a sophomore I was permitted to use these instruments. There are also opportunities to become a teaching assistant or to engage in independent or professor-supervised research. In fact, some kind of research is required for a bachelor of science in chemistry, so all chemistry majors will get a research opportunity for one summer or a semester.

Most professors make a strong effort to know who you are. Classes are small and you will see professors walking around campus all the time. Most departments are difficult although management is notoriously easy and the sciences are notoriously difficult. If you do all your work and show the effort, it is not hard to pass a class. The academic requirements are worthwhile and everything you should expect from a Liberal Arts college. If you would like to get credit for a required class, don't bother...it's impossible.

classes are great - small and the professors get to know each and every student - there is alot of individual attention which makes classes much more enjoyable

The academics at Gettysburg are fantastic, however the multitude of requirements are a little bit ridiculous, and at times hard to fulfill.

Classes are small which means you learn a lot more. Your professors actually know your name, and you can create real relationships with them, which is a big help when applying for internships and grad school. Your workload here is much larger than at a normal university, even though a full course load is 4 courses. The way graduation requirements work is a bit absurd if you want to transfer in, and registrar is a very messy office. Getting your graduation requirements out of the way is more of a pain than anything else.

Academics are strong. Professors are reputable, and it's easy to get to know them.