University of Virginia-Main Campus Top Questions

The academics at my school are fantastic. McIntire has one of the best undergraduate programs in the world and the classes are small. There is always a lot of discussion that involves the entire class so everyone knows each other and the teachers know everyone. Students study frequently enough, but much of the work involves projects with groups. The students are very competitive, but are not nasty to each other because of it. The professors are frequently available to talk to, though I don't usually visit. It was difficult to get into the business program, but the academic requirements are reasonable considering what I am getting out of it. The education is about learning but also towards getting a job. My school gets almost everyone a job or into grad school.

We have an honor system whereby you will be expelled if you are caught either lying, cheating or stealing. Yet this system puts a lot of trust in students. We can take many exams and evaluations alone and we are trusted to the point that it is our responsibility to not cheat. Academics are challenging but nor to the point where you will be extremely stressed all the time. The classes you take and the amount of credits you take will decide how your academics will be; it is in your hands basically.

The classes are tough, but the teachers are nice. It's easy to fall behind, but if you are organized and do not procrastinate, you will be just fine.

The architecture school is a very challenging education. As a student you are expected to work for long periods of time and your class schedules often entail for longer hours. It is a smaller group of students and we all knew each others name. The teachers also have smaller groups, between 13-14 students per studio and they get to know you quite well. My favorite class was Lessons in Making, one of the core classes where you learn the principles of making things and discover your strengths in drawing or model making. At the end of the semester your critic will invite you to dinner at his or her house, and you get to see what they have done :)

Academics at UVa are fantastic, For the most part, the professors here really care about their students. I wans in a 500 person class one semester and the professor took the time to memorize everyone's name. I saw him memorizing at the beginning of classes. When people asked questions, he called on them by name! Of course, as with any University, there are some teachers who only care about their research, but from what I've heard, UVa has some of the most caring teachers. All professor's are required to have office hours and most of the time, students actually go to them. My economics professor provided free food to people who came to his office hours! I don't spend a lot of time with professors outside of class, but I know the University encourages that sort of thing and that a lot of professors welcome it. They have a program here called take your professor to lunch, but I've never used it. Of course, sometimes your professor takes the meal to you. For my Iranian Lit class tomorrow, my professor is treating us to dinner while we have class (a really nice dinner too). And one of my seminar professors catered Afghan food for us while we all sat around and discussed our research papers. These classes are/ were very small. Though the Middle Eastern Politics professor gets everyone in his (150 person) class baklava on the last day of class. Class participation is common in some classes and not in others. In upper level seminars, participation is required and most students participate to the best of their ability. In other classes (esp. the big ones), participation is less common though people still ask questions during class quite often. Outside of class, I would say that intellectual conversations are semi-common in everyday interaction. Of course, there are clubs where intellectual conversation is all you're going to get. If you want stimulating conversation, you can find it. Students here are competitive to a degree. Everyone wants to do well, but other students are willing to help their peers. I'm in the humanities, so we aren't really curved and therefore don't have to fight it out like I've heard kids in the sciences have to do, so I don't know about their experiences. But everyone in my classes are generally willing to share notes and collaborate on study guides to the test. It's common to have someone e-mail out to the list serve before a big test and ask if other students want to put together a study guide of all the readings. Learning here is learning for its own sake. At least for me (I'm a Foreign Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies major). I think that people in the Comm school probably think a little more about life after college than we poly sci people do. But in every major, the requirements are quite rigorous and the general requirements are nothing to sneeze at either. Whether you're an engineer or an English major, you will work while you're here if you want to get good grades. But classes here are fun too. Students can even make their own classes! One of the kids in my Arabic class set up a course on demography for next semester. Most of the classes here are fun in my opinion. I've had a few boring classes, but I've been entertained for the most part and I always learn a lot.

The classes at UVA range from 300 people to less than 20. I have generally have had very good experience with all the classes I have taken at UVA although a couple have been annoying with poor professors. I have been very fortunate in that I have had a couple good relationships with Psychology faculty (which is normally really hard to do because most of the Psychology classes are 300 people classes), and they are extremely intelligent, nice, and caring guys who are happy to talk to me about interesting studies or to help me with my Honors Thesis. My favorite classes have all been Psychology classes and they are really funny, interesting, and entertaining. I feel that everyone that goes to UVA should take at least 1 course in Psychology, and it should be Social Psychology which blew my mind. The courses here are pretty challenging because most of the students here are very intelligent and very competitive. Class participation is common for smaller classes. The academic requirements are pretty straightforward. It is probably better to have some credits before entering college from AP or IB classes. The education at this school is evenly distributed between learning for its own sake and geared for professional careers in business, law, etc.

UVa is not an easy school to get into, and it is academically rigorous. Students do spend a considerable time in the library (of which there are 16 to choose from around grounds), but the academic environment is not cutthroat and the professors are wonderful, always available to students outside of class. It is a very intellectual environment, but as I said, it is not about out-smarting each other by any means; students are generally interested in their classes and we are encouraged to take classes we know we will enjoy as well as those which will broaden our knowledge and viewpoints.

My classes are amazing. Most of my professors know my name and are always available for help. I always walk by one of my professors everyday and she says hi to me. In one of my lecture classes of 300, child psychology, my professor even made the effort to learn my and other peoples' names. This child psychology teacher is probably the best teacher I have and I plan on taking another course with him next semester. The professors truly get into what they teach and it's really cool because so many of them are published and have done their own research which they can expand upon in class. I'm in the nursing school so the nursing school in particular isn't competitive and I don't believe that the other schools are either. It is very easy to get a study group together and study with friends. Nursing is absolutely amazing. Our assistant dean is the best ever. She's super fun and knows close to all students because there are only 67 of us the first year. She knew who I was during orientation. In regards to academic requirements, I feel that the academic requirements are as much as it takes to get in. I believe that college is a new chapter in your life, so it will be hard no matter where you go, but it all depends on the rigor of the schedule you choose.

I won't sugar coat academics at UVA. Yes, they are hard there. You have to remember that people who apply here graduated near the top of their class in high school, and were highly involved in sports, music and clubs, so there is that drive common to all students here for excellence. But because of the high standards and expectations set by the school and professors, the type of discussions and material taught are at a higher level in order to stimulate your mind, even cause controversy. The notion of perpetual learning is a fundamental to Thomas Jefferson. The reason he founded UVA was because he believed that there was always room for improvement intellectually. There is a diverse selection of classes offered here at the University ranging from material science engineering to intellectual property to history of jazz music (all classes I have taken/plan to take here before graduation). And if you cannot find a class you want to take, make your own. The University allows students to create their own courses, with a faculty advisor's support.

I love my professors. Most get to know you, not just your name but also your personal interests and goals, as long as you make the effort to reach out and meet them. My favorite class was an English seminar my first semester. The teacher was enthusiastic, encouraging, and so personally invested in the material AND the students reading it, that I unquestionably declared my major, and her as my mentor. As I do with many of my professors we still keep in touch and get together for lunch/coffee periodically. Studying varies between students. A few are geniuses who don't need to study and still ace all their classes. However, for the majority the work is hard, but everyone is talented, so you get out what you put in. I would say it's split: half the students study very hard and do very well, and the other half don't study as much, and do okay. Either way, every student cares a lot about his/her work, and it is always a very studious atmosphere.