Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

Academics at Penn State are more difficult to narrow down. There are many different colleges, majors and minors that students can fill their time with, and each option varies greatly. Despite their differences, all of Penn State's colleges and faculties are devoted to teaching students the best possible methods. As a student in the College of Communications, I know that my teachers are constantly in touch with me not only with assignments but in regards to real world experiences. The colleges offer many students the chance to branch out into different fields and get hands-on work experience. Classes are a bit large when you begin college because most are general education courses. However, once you begin a major, you realize that class size becomes much smaller and is a much more effective learning environment. Most professors are extremely helpful to students outside the class and offer many opportunities to meet and expand their research. I personally think Penn State's academics are some of the best that the nation has to offer. Most professors are well established in their own fields, and there is also opportunity to work with professors on their own research. I know that Penn State's academics are wonderful because I am currently a part of the Schreyer Honors College, which is a great learning arena. The courses challenge students to work hard and do enormous research so that each person gets a good sense of where their life's work can lead. Overall, Penn State's academics are a combination of teaching students valuable tools and helping students gain the necessary skills to become employed in a creative job following college.

Even though Penn State is a large, state school, it does not lack any of the academic challenges that students may find at smaller, private universities. Instead, Penn Sate is highly ranked in several different areas of study that continue to produce highly qualified and motivated graduates. For those that desire more academic challenge than their regular coursework provides for them, Penn State has instated an honors program that is competitive with many Ivy League college graduates.

I don't think more than 2-3 professors could have told you anyone's name in their classes, even the small ones. I was there for Computer Science so other majors may have had different experiences.

Intro classes are usually huge at PSU; about 400 students in some cases. But once you get more into upper level classes, the class size shrinks considerably and usually professors of those classes know everyone's name. It the larger classes, it may seem like you're just a face in the crowd, but by visiting the professor during office hours, it can make the class feel much smaller and allow the professor to get to know you. Because I am in one of the more difficult majors, I study pretty often, but some of my friends who are in easier majors, don't. And although I put in a lot of time studying and doing work, I make sure to balance it with relaxing or going out.

Most professors are very respectable, and yet create a fun and intelligent class room setting, not many boring lecture after lecture types. Not to disrespect, but the only bad classes I've ever had are Math classes with very Asian professors. There learning style is very different from many "not-asian" students, creating a very difficult atmosphere to learn. Class participation is pretty solid, except on beautiful Fridays in the early fall or late spring, when I've experienced about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} attendance.

I'm going to be a senior in the fall and I have always had a fairly large class size. Until this year I had no classes in my major itself. I'm not the type to get to know my professors outside of class but I know plenty of people who do, especially for advice or mentoring. I feel like I have learned more about "real life experiences" and whats its like in the business world that actually classroom academic information. I love the focus on applied learning. The business college is amazing, the building alone is shockingly beautiful. The business school is also nationally ranked.

You will learn the best methods for cheating, getting by while doing the least amount of work and figuring out which classes to take by the easiest professors. You will learn to cram for tests and still get good grades. This means only about 10 days of solid work in a semester which I'm not complaining about. You do have to go to class though for the most part.

Most of your earlier classes will be large lectures, which is fine. You can generally miss them if you need to or do the sudoku in the Collegian. Most people don't study much. I've only gotten to know a couple of professors personally, but that's alright. You should get to know some though for references at least.

Most prohessors the first few year know you as a number, but as you move on they will remember the person, more than the number.

People have the misconception that all classes at University Park are huge lectures. This just isn't the case. When you are signing up for classes its easy to see what you are getting into and how many people will be in your classes. Most of my classes have had about 25 people at the most. As far as class participation goes (I'm going on my experiences with English classes at PSU) there are usually 5 or 10 students that are always on the ball. In my studio art classes however, everyone is excited and constantly buzzing with new ideas. I would not recommend taking a large lecture class in the Forum or Thomas. In these classes you get lost and its so easy to just simply stop going and hope to God that Nittany Notes can help you out. As for English, I would highly recommend taking courses with a grad student if at all possible. They are much more likely to see outside of class and continue the learning experience all over campus. I did have a very seasoned prof. in my COMM 150 class who set aside every Wednesday to meet with students at a bagel shop down town to simpy talk about movies!