Kevin
Most students go to most of their classes, but it is not uncommon to skip once and a while. Class sizes are often large, and profs wont get to know your name unless you visit them in office hours once and a while or happen to get into a small class. Many classes are competitive, but students dont seem to mind. It you try hard enough, you can get the grade you want. I'm a chemical engineering major, and I try to get involved in the department as much as I can. I have been doing undergraduate research since last september, and plan on continuing with it until I graduate. From my experience, I think the upper level classes tend to put some focus on practical problems students might face in the workforce, which I think is more practical.
Anna
About half of my professors I've had knew my name. It is something different if they can still remember it in a year. Education at the U is definitely geared at getting a job. I learn the stuff to take the test, most of which I will never use again. My favorite class is my academic success strategies class. I like it because I have a group of friends in there and then we all go to lunch together afterwards. The professor is pretty cool and knows us by name, but doesn't seem very scholarly. My least favorite class was Global Politics. The course description didn't really match the class content and it was boring and impersonal. The first bad history class I have ever taken. In most of my classes the students don't participate, but it seems like the professors have gotten used to it. I don't think that the students are very competitive because of the size. You have to compete against yourself more so than anyone else. The most unique class I took was a Biology class entitled, "What Sex Should I Be?" It was taught by Jane Phillips and covered unique sexual determination characteristics and variants that could alter sexual preferences. I am double majoring in Neuroscience and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. Both of the departments are smaller and extremely specified. I've met with a few of my professors outside of class. I've talked to all of them at least once because of some medical conditions that I have. Two professors from last semester I have met for coffee and chat at least once a month. A few other ones I have bumped into outside of class randomly. I think that some of the U's academic requirements are a bit much. Because I am double majoring in two different colleges I have to meet double the requirements. I find this to be unfair because it is literally impossible for me to graduate in 4 years.
Rachel
Professors are like students, they're all different. I had a bio lecture of about 600 and I don't think the professor even looked at me in that class. I also had a 30 person American Sign Language class where the teacher took the time to learn everyones names before the end of class the first day and still remembers me when I pass her in the hallways more than a year later.
My favorite classes have been my communications classes. The professors are usually goofy but willing to give students the bottom line when it comes to informational knowledge about life. One of the most useful classes I've taken at the U was an interviewing class, it not only taught the mechanics of being a good interviewer/interviewee but it taught me how to read people and interpret messages that I often let slip through the cracks previously. I also took a great class called organization communication. In that class we had to work with a client to pick a mayoral candidate and the basis for the entire project was the Simpson television show. Our client played Mr. Burns and we had to help him choose and promote a candidate that would win over the citizens of Springfield. Any class that involves watching cartoons for homework has to be a blast.
It has been my experience that the U is primarily based on the welfare of the students. Most classes are focused on knowledge and giving the students a handle on the criteria. There are also classes that are primarily focused on career goals like the interviewing class I previously mention or even an individual careers class that covers everything from how to write a cover letter to how to pick a major. This class also provides you with campus resources on where to go to find major information and what you can do with it as well as put you into contact with local employers.
Harper
Professors know you if you take the time to know them. It's important to get to know several of your professors each semester. When you being, you're placed in larger class but as the semesters pass, you're classes get smaller and smaller.
Owen
Many of the large prerequisite classes, there is no chance of the professor remembering your name unless you introduce yourself the first day and go into office hours at least twice a week. However, in the smaller classes, professors make an effort to remember. In-class participation is kinda low and the discussions never get really heated, I believe because the "Minnesota Nice" factor. The classes are just there for getting your degree, but if you make a connection with the professor, you can learn for its own sake and there's tons of interesting liberal education requirement classes and even mini-classes of only 5-8 weeks.
Bethany
I am a Pre-med Psychology and Kinesiology double major. I would reccomend taking at least 1 psychology class in your 4 years here at the U. There are some great profesors in the psyc department, that are excited about psyc. Speaking of professors, many of them absolutly love what they do and make classes very fun and interesting. Because of the large lecture classes, many of them don't know every student by name, but be sure make an effort to introduce yourself to them. They love getting to know their students. Also keeping in touch with them will give you great resources for future letters of reccomendation. Students that keep in touch tend to do much better also, because they are comfortable asking questions. Because of the size of this institution the top students are incredlby competitive, but having a challege is never a bad thing.