University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Top Questions

Academics seem to be a big deal at the University of Minnesota; a few students even started to have intellectual conversations at my College of Science and Engineering orientation. Professors strongly encourage students to meet with them regularly, providing office hours where students can stop in and a lunch with a professor program where both the professor and a few students get a free meal. As for starting your job search, you will be starting early, as there are job fairs every semester, and you are highly encouraged, if not required, to go to them. I will be required to go to one the fall semester of my Freshman year to start exploring the job market.

It would be hard for professors to remember everyone's name, especially in the big lecture halls, but I was surprised when a couple of my professors attempted to. They did a pretty good job, too. Students study as much as they want to. Class participation increases over the course of each semester.

I am a second year student in the School of Nursing. Because I am only taking courses related to my major, my classes are much more personal that classes taken in the first or second year of college. The majority of my professors know my name and are easy to approach whether after class or during office hours. I spend about 6-7 hours every weekday studying and/or in class. But as a junior, my schedule is more demanding. My freshman/sophomore year was closer to 3-4 hours every weekday. The requirements for my nursing major are very realistic. Because this field of study is related to health care, the standards need to be high, as we will be dealing with patients and essentially will be responsible for their health. As far as I know, other majors also have acceptable standards. If you are able to meet the academic requirements to graduate from the U of M, you will be ready to enter the work force in the real world. My least favorite class that I have taken is and introductory music class which was taken my freshman year. I was completely unprepared for the amount of work it would require and severely underestimated the difficulty of the class. It was also a class taken the first semester of my freshman year and I was expecting an “easy A”. This class was also the most unique class I’ve taken. We played foreign instruments, had performers of many ethnicities come to class and listened to a handful of new music I would have never experienced were it not for this class. Class participation is more common as students progress further into their college years. Some classes have over 100 students and this can be intimidating. But these classes often have small group time to talk about the topic being taught. I believe the farther you get into your major, the more competitive student will get. Often the class sizes are smaller and more personable, so competition may arise. Many majors gear the education toward getting a job but also research. The U of M is known for putting out a lot of research and many classes emphasize the importance of research but do an excellent job of preparing you for the “real world”.

The administration has claimed that we're going to be one of the "Top 3 Public Research Universities" by 20something. I really hope it happens, but I sort of doubt it. The engineering department is very good, though I'd avoid Biomed for a few years until they come up with a solid curriculum. I'm really enjoying Chem E even though (or maybe because) the department is constantly trying to break the students, and most of the professors are excellent. The CEMS department is focused on grad school, and there are plenty of opportunities to do research. It's almost hard not to get a UROP grant.

By far the best classes I took were language classes. The class size is small in comparison to most others. The classes are interactive. I love them. The Chinese teachers in particular are hilarious. For almost other courses the class size is going to be huge and questions should be saved to ask your teacher one-on-one. You have to make an effort to stay in touch with your professor because they are usually here for research and have there own things. A lot of work has to be done on your own. The IT students are almost guranteed a job straight out of college. Many are recruited while still in school. Carlson school of Management also produces amazing business students who usually don't have a problem finding well paying jobs all over the world. The Nursing school is extremely hard to get into but with the growing health industry there is a 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} chance of them finding a good job. CLA is a bit different. Students here will most likely double if not triple in majors. They will get a taste of all other fields through their liberal education requirements. The jobs they get will probably not be related to there major. For me this is a college for learnings sake. Here you take classes that you want to not because you have to. All University of Minnesota graduates have a little prestige attached to their degree and will have an easier time finding a job then someone who is not from a big ten school

Although there were quite a few instructors in the lower-division "BIG" classes that knew me by name, once you get to the upper division classes in the institute of technology, the class sizes drop significantly and you can really get to know instructors. They have frequent office hours, and even when they aren't holding office hours they will help you if you run into them in the building or if they are in their office and the door just happens to be open. I have emailed professors at ungodly hours of night and received responses right away. I have received guidance from professors in extracurriculars, job searches, etc. that is beyond their job description. This may not be true for all majors in the institute of technology, but the civil engineering faculty was amazing.

People are often concerned about the size and having classes be too overwhelming. No matter which college you attend, classes are going to be more difficult and challenge you. I know I definitely had a rude awakening first semester of my freshman year. I tried to get by doing what I did in high school. That's impossible with UMN's science and math classes. They are very difficult and you must be ready to deal with the difficult curriculum and competitive students.

There are so many classes to take that I can always find something that I would love to learn about. I am a Spanish Major and we have so many different classes to chose from because our department is quite large. We have professors from all over the world and also native English speakers. There are so many faculty members on campus that if you find one you don't like, you don't have to ever talk to them again. The academic requirements allow for a student to get a broad spectrum of classes. There are several themes such as "Environment", "Publich Ethics", and "Social Science" that are required for a student but there are many options under each and you can alwasy find something that interests you.

My college, the college of design, is one of the smaller colleges on campus. Most of my professors know my name and they are always available outside of class during their office hours to talk about class or just about what we've been up to. I've been told that the engineering department, especially chemical engineering is the best in the country. We have other departments that are highly ranked but I just don't care about those.

Professors don't know your name if you don't introduce yourself. It is different than a private small college becuase you have to do a little extra work to make your professor know your name. It is nice when you raise your hand in a 250 student lecture and your professor calls on you by name - but to make that happen, you have to add 2 minutes to your first day of that class and introduce yourself. Students at the U are very intelligent, in and outside of classes. We talk about religion, politics, people, families and since their are so many different races we have very different conversations. The academics are definatly geared toward getting a job which is very nice. The internships and companies in the area always come to the U to find students and it is a great location to do that. The classes are tough and it is hard to get an A, but it is possible to do well.