Union College-Schenectady Top Questions

The teachers at Union are great! They are always available to give extra help, meet outside of class or even offer advice on things outside of class. They are organized and have very easy to follow teaching styles. My favorite class is the Illustrated Organism, it combines biology with art and scientific writing. We write scientific papers based on illustrations we have done on a particular subject, for example Evolution of the Flower with illustrations of various flowers that support the writing. Students usually study a couple hours a day and leave weekend homework til Sunday.

Classes are small and professors are available outside of class to discuss almost anything. If you put in the effort, the professors will do the same.

In every class I have been in the professor has known my name. Since our classes are so small they are condusive to class discussions. People here do study a lot but not all the time, people here have a lot of fun too! I would say that students for the most part are very competitive since most are going fot similar internships or are applying to similar graduate schools and medical schools, so they always want to do better than their peers so that they will stand out.

Academics at Union are challenging, interactive and rewarding. We are on trimesters so the terms are only 10 weeks long, which is nice but also moves very quickly. We also have a 6 week break for Christmas, which is also nice since it gives time for students to get a job, internship or travel. The professor definitely know the students names. The average class size is 25 students (possibly less) so most classes are discussion orientated and interactive. On the downside Union is a liberal arts school therefore we gain a lot of experience in writing and have a broad curriculum, but does not offer specific majors such as communications, marketing, business, ect.

I have had good relationships with a few of the professors and always felt comfortable making comments in class and was constantly stimulated intellectually. You definitely need to make sure on your own that you fill all the requirements but I would not say the school is especially geared towards finding jobs. You have to do most of the work on your own but there are a lot of resources that the school provides to help you do that.

Academics at Union are incredible. Our facilities are fantastic. For example, we have a scanning electron microscope that is only reserved for undergraduate use. At larger schools, this is unheard of. Professors take a personal interest in their students. I have never not had a professor know me by name. I see them casually outside of class frequently, as friends. Also, at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Union had one of the larger contingents, which was remarkable because it was one of the smallest schools represented. The level of work presented by the typical Union student was not achieved by most other presenters. Union students also have many opportunities to go abroad. This is even true for engineers! In fact, Union engineers are the only students who can go on any term abroad, because the exchange with the Czech Technical University is only open to engineering students.

Union is an amazing blend of a small liberal arts school with an engineering school. The class sizes are incredibly small. the average class size i have had has been around fifteen students. There actually are intellectual conversations whenever you want to find one, you can walk down the hall of a dorm at three in the morning and run into a political debate.

I love the size of the student body and campus because all teachers know my name because the class sizes are very small. I have only had one professor that I didn't like too much, otherwise the teaching staff here is great! Class participation is essential in all classes, students are competitive but not too much. Our liberal arts education is a great stepping stone for graduate schools. My major is political science, the professors are great and its one of the most popular majors. The only requirement that stinks now is that you need to take a foreign language.

I love Union's size. The campus is large enough to avoid feeling closed in but the student bosy is small enough that I feel like a person and not a number. Within my first week of classes, all the professors in my department knew my name and I felt comfortable talking to any of them. Several of my professors have taken classes out to dinner and one even invited the class to dinner at his house. This, of course, wouldn't be possible at larger school but with classes as small as twelve students, I've found college to be a very personal experience so far.

Class sizes are small so you get a lot more attention from the teachers. The trimester system means that you only take 3 classes, which is really nice, but they're accelerated to fit into 10 weeks. This means that you have a lot of work to do, but you also have lots of free time. You just have to make sure you manage your time well and don't screw yourself over. For engineering Union is unique because it is one of the few schools where going abroad is really possible. There are tons of different options for engineers to go abroad, and it won't get in the way of your degree.