Union College-Schenectady Top Questions

The work isn't overwhelming if you keep up with it, but the trimesters do move quickly. Its easy to fall behind. The professors are generally very helpful and understanding.

Professors at Union are great! Studying at Union is a very common activity where students are provided with office hours from professors, mentors through Minervas, writing centers, etc. Class participation is very common as many professors put a percentage of your grade on the act of participating in class. I think that Union's requirements are great. BEing that it is a liberal arts college I am getting a well rounded education in all areas of study while I can still focus on my major. I believe that the education is geared toward learning one hundered percent. Going to Union means that you will get a higher standard of education meaning that your chances of getting a job are that much better.

Academics are great. The teachers are fun and willing to party with you outside the classroom. Some students are total nerds, but most are really chill, while being hard working.

Union offers small classes in a small school environment. With just 2100 students, getting to know professors is easy. The course selection is extremely diverse, which is one of the reasons I chose Union. The courses are the best thing about Union in my opinion. Though many people might not be familiar with the name of Union, the academics are certainly well respected, which is what I found in applying to law school. Students are not overly competitive. Those that care about getting the best grades possible compete with themselves and others put social activities over academics, so they aren't competitive either. I absolutely love the class selection at Union. I've taken such class as Women Across Cultures (anthropology), Changing Ireland (English), Mental Health and Society (sociology), and Public Opinion (political science). I spent spring term of my junior year in Washington, D.C. through the political science department interning at non-profit organization and taking classes.

Academics are very strong. Professors know your name. Most of the students are highly intellectual. I have found myself speaking about scholarly things outside of class. Students are competitive.

I'm a mechanical engineer. Class sizes are small, typically around 20 students. Class schedules aren't too bad. I had one bad teacher in the first term and one bad one in the second, but the rest have been good. There are a lot of job and internship opportunities here. I don't spend time with professors outside of class, but I've heard of people who have. Students are competitive with each other.

I love how most of my classes are intimate. At a big University, kids can get lost in the shuffle, but here professors care about you and are very accommodating. Last trimester, I took a class with only six kids and we were able to change the time to later in the day since none of us wanted to wake up early. Here, many kids are naturally smart. There are some that study rarely, and others that are locked in the library all the time. With only three classes at a time though, the workload is not that hard to handle.

Most of my classes are very small, which is good for discussion, my class sizes have ranged from 6 people to 50 people. Students study a fair deal but the work load is nothing terrible. Union classes don't just teach you what is right and wrong, they teach you how to think and develop your own ideas. No professor here teaches simply solid facts, most classes involve stating your opinion in response to teachings, even my history professor teaches us to be skeptical of the way history has been interpreted. The academic requirements are fair.

Students, in general, at Union have to study all the time, especially those in the sciences. With its trimester schedule, both bad and good depending on the student you ask about it, poses many challenges for students. Classes are generally small, and professors are extremely friendly, and there are always opportunities to get involved in their research/projects. Intellectual conversations are always going on around campus - while in the halls, at meals, or relaxing in the sun. My favorite classes here at Union have been Endocrinology and Race & the Constitution. The GenEd requirements have been changing here over my years here at Union, but in general, I feel the requirements are much lighter versus other colleges I know of (and there are many options to accommodate interests). A great tradition at Union, is the annual Steinmetz Symposium where students present research/thesis/projects.

Classes are small and largely discussion based, and while some people work really hard, others tend to be pretty lax until it comes time to buckle down. A lot of underachievers. Class quality and professors are dedicated and generally excellent.