University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

Quality of teaching is decent. compared to schools like MIT its shit though. The price and selectivity of such schools really reflects the quality of teaching at those universities as a majority. Difficulty comes second to that. UW is pretty difficult if you are science/health/eng. major the curves are extremely competitive and everyone cares what they get. With a high prevalence of international students and a large asian population the curve its pretty demanding. I've really only had one great professor since i've been here and ironically he was the hardest but it was worth a lower grade just for his lectures despite the ridiculously hard tests. Get Phil Reid for chemistry if you can. he mainly teaches upper level but he taught a 152 class this year amazingly well.

Some professors I really felt judged me on my looks. Some I KNOW judged me on my looks. Some I will remember forever for their efforts in my individual success and some I have learned a lot from about life in general. Professors that show that they care and that put their passions on the table to show they want to be there with you and help you in your studies. Those are the professors I admired.

I like Management classes. Unique classes - Metadata and XML database.

I major in Poli Sci, and classes are huge. You have to work hard to distinguish yourself, even at the 300 level. One big caveat that no one told me until I got here: the TAs (grad students who assist the professors) decide your grades for the class! It is often more important to pay attention to the reputation of the TA you've enrolled with rather than the professor. Some TAs are great, reasonable, etc...some have very fixed ideas, and penalize those who disagree. Professors can seem intimidating when at the lectern, but once you meet them in their office hours, they are generally affable and approachable. Downright friendly, sometimes. In Political Science, I recommend taking classes on controversial subjects. Also, pay attention to the syllabus at the beginning of the quarter, will you have an 8-page paper due on the same day that you are taking an exam (this actually happened to me, but it was two 8-page papers on the same day as the exam)? If so, you might want to consider dropping one of the classes, for the sake of your sanity. The key to Poli Sci is to DO THE READINGS: that is how I managed to make it on the Dean's List each quarter while still having a non-academic life. Also, pick an elective that will throw your cum GPA up: for me, that was the Latin series. Above all, make sure you are taking something interesting that will make you want to go to class everyday (profs and TAs will punish absent students if they notice poor attendance by giving extra credit to students who are present, offering some hint for studying for an upcoming exam, etc.).

The larger lectures will feel less personal, but once you are in your major, you really get to know your professors and peers a lot better in the smaller classes. I have found UW students are very intelligent and really have a passion for the subjects they study. I have a few professor friends from the German department that I still keep in touch with even after the class was over-- I've even visited a few in Germany! I find that education is much more geared towards learning for its own sake, and you have to make a concious decision to choose the specific classes that will benefit your career later. The smaller departments/majors at UW are great because you get to know your peers extremely well and have regular study groups and gatherings rather than some of the larger majors that have too many people to really get to know.

Students are competitive. Most classes are graded on a curve, so you are competing against your class mates for the top grade, you are not competing against the professor. Most professors here will know your name, unless you are taking one of the large lecture classes (180+ students).

If you are in your first two years, taking your required classes, you will most likely end up sitting in auditorium with about 500 other students. Classes are a little hard to get into but you end up taking them...eventually. It's not just huge classes, there are also the very small, 15-20 student classes. You really get to know your professors in those types of classes. But, even with the big ones, you end up having to take quiz sections with like 20 other students, and those are a little more one on one. The most interesting class I have taken so far was a genocide class. I loved it! It was a little graphic, but I learned so much. It was a small class, and I got to know my professor. UW also offers Early Fall Start for incoming Freshmen, and thats just the month before regular classes start, all the freshmen involved get to take a class on campus, while living in the dorms. Its a good way to get to know campus, and figure out how to get around with out getting lost. I think depending on the department, UW really offers a way to think in a way that will work for future jobs. I am a double major (Latin American Studies and Spanish) and a double minor (Portuguese and Diversity), and what I have learned so far is something that I think about outside of the classroom setting. I think about racial issues, and the way in which these issues affect individuals. I really think UW prepares you, and teaches you to think critically, in and out of the classroom.

The classes tend to be big, and it's easy to go unnoticed. Although it's fun to get involved in the quiz sections, and get to know your TA. There are lots of interesting classes if thats what you're into. I took a focus group about music and dancing, and the end of the quarter project was a benefit show to support Guatemalan Textile workers. I also took a course on Religion and Existentialism. It was pretty neat, but you have to be wiling to devote your time to really doing the reading, and seriously thinking about them. Both of these classes fit perfectly towards one of my majors (Comparative History of Ideas). The other is Sociology, and it's something I'm really excited about. I think the University of Washington is for many different types of people. It's geared towards getting jobs for some, and for others it's focus is getting a really incredible education.

The academics at Washington are known to be superb, which is correct for the most part. Still, it is very difficult to learn with the large lecture classes for the introductory courses. I feel like it's hard to grasp my preferences when the classes are so impersonal and I do not have close access to the professor. If one takes the time to seek out professors or other help, then I have no doubt that one will be successful at UW. Otherwise, I think it is easy for people to feel lost and have no direction as a result of the large school population.

Professors in my studies, Architecture and Construction Management know my name, because they are smaller majors. Students become very close and study together outside of class and we are all really good friends. We have happy hours every friday with the entire department of Architecture and Urban Design & Planning. Professors and the public come and we have like 5 kegs, with a quarterly glass design competition! My two majors bring in companies every month or week and have interview sign ups for us, which is great and helpful, many other majors do not do that my friends tell me. Other majors though are huge and impersonal. Business and Comm. and others. they are such broad majors, unless you really know what you want to do with your degree.