Michigan State University Top Questions

My least favorite class was my first level ISS class. THE WORST EVER. The professor (who smelled badly and wore the same clothes every day) wrote three of the four required books for this class. Something about american political history. This 8am class made me want to jump off a cliff. Most of the intro classes I took as a freshman were HUGE, with up to 600 people jammed into a lecture hall. As I moved on in years at MSU, and my area of study became more specific, classes were smaller, professors knew my name, and it was generally way more enjoyable. Getting through those annoying university requirement classes was torturous. About my major...secondary education. Hmm...while MSU is nationally recognized as the best in education, the "big wigs" in the college of ed are so disconnected from the real world of teaching that some of the nonsense they teach borders hilarious. Some of the instructors, who were supposed to teach me how to teach, were terrible teachers themselves. The great thing about MSU's college of ed though, is the internship. It's a year long, and a pain in the butt to work for that long without getting paid, but it really is a tremendous learning experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

people underestimate the academics here. Granted I have known many people who have graduated and all gotten jobs right away, in fact all of them have. But in terms of Michigan it is often seen as the MSU crowd is more social and the U of M crowd has the brains. So not true, plus where does anyone go with no social skills and brains, we have the perfect combination of both, way smarter than western Michigan and central and the impeccable social skills of a big 10 school. Some professors suck, and we actually have alot that just suck at speaking English but they can be avoided if you are frustrated by the whole not understanding what your professor is saying thing. I have avoided it and now I live off of professor reviews and have been more than happy. No I don't spend time with professors out of class. That is weird, and should not be done at any school.

The classes are really big, at least most of them, and it is hard to get to know professors and even students in your class. There have been a few classes that i have taken, in my major, where the professor knows my name and i feel like i could use them for a recommendation for something, but i have not noticed that it is a very common situation. The students either seem to not care or care too much, and depending on who you are surrounded by it is easy to be influenced by that. My experience at MSU has made me feel like i am there to learn, not just preparing me to get a job.

Most professors are pretty cool. The school is very liberal so most classes will have a liberal perspective, but I've enjoyed that perspective and learned a lot. MSU takes education seriously, and the courses definitely challenge the students.

As with anything, you get what you put into it. MSU is not an easy school. It takes hard work and motivation. But when you leave MSU businesses are going to want you.

Being pre-med it was highly competitive. I was also in the Lyman Briggs school which is a science college within MSU, which offered smaller class sizes and a more intense curriculum. I spent a lot of time studying. I loved my Lyman Briggs biology classes, I met a lot of my friends through these courses because we were always in the lab studying. Professors are available after class, by email, by appointment and by office hours, don't be afraid to approach them. Also use your academic counselors,

Professors - They only know your name if it's a small class and you really make an effort. Favorite class - Honors International Relations - cool professor, interesting material. Least favorite class - Intro. to Archaeology. Boring professor, otherwise interesting material. Students study - if they feel like it. Usually late at night. Intellectual conversations outside of class - sometimes. If you live on an Honors floor. Competitive students - I haven't experienced it yet. My classmates help each other out. Most unique class - Honors Microbiology lab. Microbial sterile techniques, DNA sequencing. Major/department - Chemistry is my official major, but I'm Pre-Med first and foremost. Spend time with professors - Once my work supervisor invited all her lab assistants over. Academic requirements - Honors classes are satisfying, but regular classes are too easy. MSU education - geared towards grad school, not a job or just for learning's sake.

The problem with going to a school with over 40,000 students is the professors are not going to know who you are unless you are in a small class. It sucks sometimes but I kind of liked going to a huge lecture hall that has 600+ students in it. It's definitely an experience. I really liked my IAH class which is an arts and humanities class. Its a university requirement, so I was expecting it to totally suck because most of them do. But this was a really cool class with interesting topics. Students are always in the library or going other places to study. I don't feel most students are competitive when it comes to academics. I just don't get that feeling that I get at other schools about academics. The academics at MSU are pretty good. It's a great school to go to and get an education from!

Academics at Michigan state vary from class to class. It is competitive and i feel that with all of my classes i have learned something. Some people are worried about class size. Lecture style classes are wonderful. you meet a lot of people, if your scared or shy about participating in class then you dont have an obligation. You have a professor teaching and atleast 3 T/A's that can help you when ever you need it. Michigan state also has a free tutoring program on campus so you get your moneys worth. Out of all of my classes thus far i have had more small style classes than lectures so its proof that there are small student classes.

Professors at MSU don't necessarily know your name. However, if you make the effort, I'm sure most of them would be willing to get to know you/help you. Students study pretty often. I'd say on average the MSU student studies/does reading at least 10 hours a week. We're not too competitive, I don't think. My major is Urban and Regional Planning. There were only 23 of us to graduate from this program in May, so we're very close. Everyone is very helpful. The Urban Planning program is definitely hands-on and very practical when it comes to doing well in the "real world" after college. Our final class is called practicum, and we do a full on project for a municipality in the area. For example, my group did a 100 page report for the City of Lansing.

Academics at MSU are okay from my perspective. They're slowly getting worse as more and more uncooperative research professors are being hired, but for the moment they're not too bad. I personally am amicable towards most professors, even ones that make the class a smidge harder so that students will gain a better understanding of the topic, as long as they're passionate about teaching. A good 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my profs have been this way, so I really have no complaints about them. I'm not unreasonably bright in any way, but with hard work I've been able to 4.0 every class I've had so far. Getting good grades isn't a matter of how crazy smart you are in most cases, but how hard you're willing to work to comprehend the subject. There is the occasional prof who does require insane latent talent above the level of the class (hot shot research profs), but if you avoid them, you should be fine. If you want to go to grad school, there is an increasing number of these asshole research profs being hired. It's relatively simple to kiss enough ass with them to get a lab position for your CV(college style resume), and if you're really good at brown nosing, the young ones might even hang out with you. Don't expect this to be pleasant, it's almost more trouble than it's worth. The only really competitive students are the dickwad pre-meds who accumulate in the life sciences, and everybody will usually be helpful outside of the core pre-med classes. The best departments to get a degree in here are: veterinary sciences, agricultural sciences, fisheries and wildlife, packaging (best in the nation), and I think astrophysics has been getting some awards. Okay departments include: psychology, business, law, and the other hard sciences. For most social sciences and creative stuff you're really better off going to a specialty school. If you can get into a more prestigious college for the okay departments, it's worth it to go there if you're really passionate about the subject. I think the best time to take classes is in the summer, where a majority of the teachers are grad students. Most of the grad students who teach are passionate about the subject, willing to go farther out of their way to help and explain things, and better at relating the subject matter at the undergraduate level of understanding. Expect to learn boatloads more (and have a slightly higher load of learning) from any class taught by a grad student. If you're smart and visit review sites for the profs, you will almost never get stuck with a bad one. For university requirements, they do offer quite a large variety of your bullshit social science and arts and letters requirements, and quite a few are interesting and enjoyable at the 200 level. If you're coming here as some rabid pre-med pre-grad student with a narrow field of interest, you probably won't like it. If you come to MSU wanting to become a smarter person who can engage people in intelligent conversation on all topics, and develop a inquisitive bright mind in your area of interest, the academic program here is right for you.

Depending on class size and how well you try to get to know your prof, he/she usually knows your name. Favorite class would probably be Journalism 300 because it challenged me as a Journalist and for that Im better. My least favorite class hands down is Economics 202 or Macroeconomics it is basically the devils class unless your into business then youll probably really enjoy it. I study on average about a couple hours a day but if i have a big project or paper due usually way more.

I really like the large classes that MSU offers. The average lecture class size is probably around 300 people. I have had classes as small as 30 people to as large as 600+. Although these large class sizes may sound daunting, once you get used to it they are nothing to worry about. Although professors may not always know you by name they are always more than happy to talk to you and help you out with whatever you need help on. A lot of classes also have multiple TA's that can also be very helpful with everything from making up an exam to helping to explain a concept to you. Students study a lot actually and although there is the misconception that all MSU students do is party, even the big partiers usually study a lot. My advice would be to make sure and get all of your homework done at least the day before class because once you get behind it is very hard to get caught up especially because hanging out with friends or going to a movie at Wells hall sounds much more appealing than studying for your IAH. My favorite class I have taken so far was Ancient Roman History and on the last day of class before our final we went across the street to the Peanut Barrel for burgers with my professor. I've learned that although in high school you are taught that there is a distinct line between teacher and student, in college however you are able to get to know a lot of your professors as people rather than just a teacher. The education at MSU is geared towards whatever you want it to be. Academic advisers are always available to help you realistically plan your future however always encourage you to take classes you want to take, not just the requirements.

Classes are as easy as you make them..if you go to class and pay attention rather than doing the crossword, take good notes, and look over them on a regular basis, there is no reason you should have a hard time getting good grades. I guess that I only know that about the classes I've taken. I'm sure other majors are harder than others. I think that is a true statement though about most classes. Professors want you to do well, and if you put forth the effort, they give you the opportunity to get good grades.

Some classes are gigantic, some are tiny, the good news is they're all rich with information. Some are challenging while there are a lot of easy classes to help boost your grade.

Classes are huge, but professors generally do a great job in attending to you if you make the effort to communicate. As far as academics go though, the curriculum is hard, but with some work it's easy to keep afloat.

Getting past the classes that all students have to take can be gruesome but once you are in you major classes, it is fun, interactive and the professors learn your name and can personally help you more.

Classes at MSU vary widely. Last semester I had one class with 10 students and another with 300. So while some classes are large, others are very personal. I like the mix though. In the smaller classes, everyone participates and the prof knows everyone's name. This could be a good or bad thing depending on who you are though. In the large classes, there is still opportunity to ask questions and the profs always make the effort to help you understand. Professors always have office hours too, so you can meet with them individually. I don't think that students here are very competitive at all. I see more people helping each other and working together rather than against each other. I always study with friends from my classes, it makes learning more fun. Also, the Honors College here is awesome. At most schools, the Honors program is a lot of work and really only gets you a special cord at graduation. Here, the Honors College works for you. The only requirements are to maintain your gpa and to document what classes you're taking, which are things you would probably do anyway. But the benefits are almost endless. We get first registration, so I got every single class I wanted for next year. We also don't have to take the university requirements, or prerequisites. This gives you the freedom to take Biology instead of ISB (the university science gen ed requirement) or really anything you want. If you want to do it, it can usually happen. The Honors College also gave me a Professorial Assistantship, a job in which I work directly with a prof on his research. I don't wash dishes, but am learning real things. I work in a pharmacology lab and I've done thing like culture stem cells and run western blots, things I would have never been able to do otherwise.

Most of the professors hear are very good and caring. This is no easy school but if you just go to class and put effort in success is easily attainable. MSU has a ton of programs to help you out from tutoring for class to finding a great job.

I love being a medical technology major; the classes are smaller and the faculty really get to know all of the students and are very helpfull. Introduction math and science classes are huge... in lecture rooms holding over 300 students some people fell behind by not attending class, but I didn't mind sitting in the back and not having to worry about being called on to answer a question in class. Classes can be tough, the first two years I managed 16 credits, but as the classes get harder, I can only manage about 12-14 credits per semester. I have had no problem with the academic requirements, and MSU is geard both towards getting a great career and lifelong learning.