University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

Of course there are the massive intro lectures that most are going to have to take at some point in their career here, but I've noticed that it is possible to still get to know your professor. It seems like there is a good balance because there are still classes that won't go above 20 or so people, give or take 2. As for the requirements, it depends on what department you are going into. Some are definitely more strenuous then others, but it's all relative. As for the professors, I feel that the majority, if not all, are more then qualified to teach in their fields, but there have been a few that are just shitty instructors.

Students here seem to contribute more to class discussion than my previous college on the east coast. Of course, this gets old pretty fast when people monopolize the prof during class time to talk about something irrelevant to class material. The academic requirements are pretty standard, but a lot of it seems geared towards punching out graduates as quickly as possible.

I would say that the education at Boulder is more geared toward learning for its own sake but it depends which major you choose. Most of my friends in the arts and sciences majors feel that they haven't been prepared for a specific job. The school of journalism, engineers, architects, business, and those type of majors tend to prepare more for getting an actual job after graduation. Career Services is a really good resource for help with finding jobs, internships, or learning more about the process. The academics at Boulder are highly regarded by others. When I say I go to school at Boulder usually there is a favorable response. My experience with the psychology department has been positive for the most part. There were some classes I was disappointed with, that were too easy, but the majority have been challenging, engaging, and overall I have been satisfied with the education I've received at CU. Professors are usually very helpful, but it is the students responsibility to approach them. The first days of class they'll invite you to come to their office hours, and give occassional reminders throughout the semester, but it is up to you to take advantage of it. I would- it makes it much easier to get letters of recommendation later on. Also, because classes are so big this is one of the more likely ways a professor will learn your name, especially if the class is a large lecture. One of my favorite classes at CU was "Social Constructions of Sexuality" I highly suggest taking this class, and you'll hear by word of mouth the same thing, it's extremely popular, and one of the more intellectually/academically challenging courses I've taken. My least favorite class in the psychology major was "Statistics and Research Methods" but it's required so you just have to deal with it. A psychology course that was one of my best was " Psychology of Personality" with Doctor Jennifer Schwartz. She is an excellent professor that encourages class discussion, challenges us to think, and teaches in an interesting expressive way. There are other professors like this in the department, but she was one of the ones I had that was excellent. The time students spend studying depends on the major they are in and the difficulty of their courses. I have some friends in the engineering and physics departments who spend almost all of their time during the weekdays and some weekend days studying. Most of my friends in the arts and sciences majors though don't spend an overwhelming amount of time studying. There is always so much to do in Boulder that most students spend more time out enjoying Boulder. Usually it depends what kind of student you are, the academics are decently challenging but not overwhelming. In my experience it has been very easy to balance free time with academics. As a general rule, I'd say students are less competitive and more laid back in Boulder. Once again this answer could depend though on who you ask and what majors they are taking.

During the first two years at the University the classes are huge. Entry level classes at CU are bigger than my entire High School. When you get higher into the University the classes get smaller and the teacher get to know your name. Labs, Studio classes, and smaller regular classes open up the education process for teacher student interaction which helps learing the material more interactive and interesting. Finding a major was extremely difficult at CU because you feel like just a number, no one tries to help you figure out what you need to do, what classes to take, and what infomation you need to know to be successful here. One of the most frustrating parts of CU is that each major has very very specific requirements so when changing your major or trasferring colleges you loose lots of credits and waste a lot of time. I also feel that many of the classes and majors are geared towards learning for the sake of learning, not necessarily for job placement.

Outside of the science and engineering majors, the majority of the student population are amazingly unintelligent. But they are pretty. And rich. And that's what makes it CU.

Professors are sometimes amazing and sometimes aweful... depends on the Professor and the class.. how much you are into the class as well. Also, it may be harder to have a one-on-one relationship with your professor because of such big class sizes but it is definitely possible. Even in my class of about 500+ students.. the professor knows who I am, but its only because I put the effort in so that she knows me.

-Boulder is a very challenging school, especially all sciences, because it is a major research university. -I think many people are very involved with their studies, and there is always a lot of competition within each class

Boulder is filled with pre-med, pre-health students. Everywhere you go there will be at least several pre-med students and some are very competitive. Our bio is spit into three departments, physiology (the most popular major), molecular cell biology, and environmental biology, and on top of that, there are crazy loads of people who are history, english, as well as engeneers who are also pre med. As for the classes, not all classes are huge lecutures. The ones with several hundred kids in them would be the Freshman intro classes, and the rest could be somewhere from 12 to 50 in some classes. It's about half and half on teachers who remember your name and who don't. People tend to think our school's grades are inflated and most teachers would have T.A.s to teach for them, because it's a huge school but it's not the case. The only classes I've taken so far with TAs are science lab courses. Some of the core requirements are very unnecessary and many feel like it's there so our school can make money off of us, but sometimes it's a nice way to discover an unexpected field of studies that you never had interested in. I took a world music class for a core requirement and I ended up liking it so much I took a similar one just for fun. My major, Molecular Cell DB, usually loses tons of Freshmans after the first year, discovering that they just want to go to physiology department to go to med school. We have absolutely wonderful professors, and if you spend time with them, especially at their office hours, they will be helpful.

Class is not bad here. Likely to have several lectures your first year, but lecture halls are not bad at all. I've grown to like those more than a small classroom. People here care about what they study and often carry intellectual conversations outside of class.

TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS! Don't just be a number, the more they get to know you the better they can help you, so don't be afraid to send them a lot of emails and go to their office hours!