University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

1. No. Unless it is an upperlevel class, which usually has smaller classes 2. Honors seminar, more discussion based and organic learning. Least favorite are the large lectures that lack intimacy and discussion- purely memorizing and regurgitating whatever the professor said 3. I study about 10-20 hours a week, some do much more, some do much less, depends on your major too. 4. Common, but not stressed. Primarily used as an alternative measure of attendance. 5. Some do, UMD is very diverse. 6. When it comes to grades, I think students are competitive 7. Understanding the World Through Reading (Honors Seminar) which allowed students to read the classics and apply literary concepts into the culture and society we create, teacher was a great part in how much I liked the class 8. Accounting/Business 9. No, I don't even think any of the accounting professors know who I am. 10. Standard, I don't expect any other college to really differ that much. 11. Getting a job, definitely. Especially in the Business school.

The only professors that know my name are the ones where participation is a must and the class size is small. I feel that you usually see the same students studying all the time than there are some that you sometimes see them study and others that you always see partying. I feel that students at UMD are really smart and that they have all types of conversation, I hear conversations about spongebob and then I hear conversations about scientific terms that I dont even know how to say. UMD is a very known school and I feel that the students here are all competitive.

This all goes back to the whole major vs. university thing. Within the journalism school, I had a very close relationship with many of my professors. A lot of them ended up writing me recommendation letters and even giving me tips on jobs. My favorite classes in college (though it pains me to say) were my hardest. The journalism classes that tempted me to drop out of the major altogether, by far, taught me the most. For example, Journalism 320 and Feature Writing were a challenge throughout my entire semester. But, looking back, those were the most rewarding and were also taught by my favorite professors. Class participation is completely necessary and usually very common, especially in smaller classes. The most unique class I took was a winter course about women in hip-hop. Whenever I told friends and family about it, they couldn't believe that such a class existed. That is a true testament the the diversity and unique spirit alive on the Maryland campus. The academic requirements at Maryland do tend to fall heavy. I had to take winter and summer courses to graduate on time. While I understand that math, economics, science, computer science and a second language are all important, it was a little cumbersome to fit those, plus everything else, in four years. The education at Maryland is definitely geared towards getting a job. They offer a lot of courses related to job skills and host numerous career fairs throughout the year.

Most professors do not know my name. Class participation is important for your grade, especially in discussion groups. Students often have intellectual conversations outside of class. Some fields, usually the professional ones, at UMD seem to be geared towards getting a job.

You need to be a self-motivated individual. No one will lead you by the hand, especially in the big 500 plus people classes. Talk to the professors make them know your name. Participate in class. Try hard. Take notes and study them. Read the textbook and take notes on that and study those (and the textbook itself). Prepare diligently. And you'll probably be alright.

Academics really depend on the department you're in. I'm a journalism major, where the class sizes are tiny. In one class I'm taking this semester, there are eight students. That environment barely feels like class. Everyone just sits around the table and chats like we're old friends. The professors within the journalism department have either been in the business for years or are still working. I'm friends with the broadcast teachers. In my experience, they're all very helpful. I'd have no problem going into their office to shoot the shit for a while. It takes a while to get to this stage though. Students in other departments have large class sizes and have to work hard to get to know their professors. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Whether professors know my name depends on (a) the size of the class and (b) whether you speak up in class. For me, it's about 50/50. My favorite class was a seminar on Globalization. We spent the whole time discussing various issues, and the professor was really smart. Least favorite was a management class. Really pointless, taught me pretty much nothing, tho I suppose the prof tried to make the best of it. Depends on the student. Anywhere from all the time to never. I study probably 3-4 hours a day. Class participation is pretty common, especially in discussion based classes. And when the professor stops lecture to ask for questions. Again, depends on the student. I've stayed up late talking about deep stuff with my roommates quite a few times. I don't really think that most students are really competitive, at least not academically.