West Virginia University Top Questions

the academics are pretty good we are no harvard. the freshmen classes are huge usually 100+ but as you get into your major the classes get smaller and professors begin to learn who you are

Nearly all of my professors know my name now. I am on a first name basis with most of them. It wasn't always like that though. My first 2 years, I was only a number to my professors. Hmmmm...I love all of my classes except Theater 101. Stupid electives. It's kinda hard for me to say how often "students" study. I study every night..but that's because my classes are very difficult and I have to work hard to get good grades. Class participation is common if the professor encourages it. Some of my teachers say they want you to participate, but if you say the wrong answer, it can be embarrassing because they aren't very considerate of personal feelings. Many intellectual conversations take place outside of class...even at the bars!! haha. Students are competitive, but it's also one of those "i'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" situations... I have a cross cultural nutrition class right now that is probably the most unique. There are no exams, but I probably learn the most. I LOVE my major and all of my professors in it. Everyone is helpful. All of my classes are interesting and I love going to class. I visit my teachers offices if I ever need anything. They are very helpful and have an open-door policy. I feel that WVU's academic requirements are fair. Education at WVU is geared toward both getting a job and learning for its own sake. We visit various facilities to see how they operate, and we also spend time in the classroom just learning...

Some of my professors know my name, it all depends on class size. The bigger classes don't know my name, but they don't treat me like they don't know my name. I think the education at WVU is geared toward both getting a job and learning for its own sake and I think they do a good job at combining both.

It depends of the class size whether professors will know your name or not. Probably your first year you will have many lecture style classes, and unless you go to their office hours they are not likely to know who you are. However, as you move up and take more of your major classes, you will get to know your professors much better. I like my advertising classes the best because it is what I am most interested in. My least favorite classes were some of the general education classes you are required to take such as science and math. How often I study varies weekly. Some weeks I will be in the library almost every day, and some weeks when I don't have any exams or papers, I might not be there at all. I am an advertising major which is in the Perry Isaac Reed School of Journalism. Everyone is really helpful and many of them have a lot of experience in the advertising industry. The only thing I don't like about the academic program is the general education requirements that you have to take, but this is pretty much standard in any state school.

The first year you are taking basic classes and you sometimes have classes with 200 or so other people. In this instance you don't really know your teachers and they don't know you, unless you make an effort to get to know them, which is some of the best advice I've gotten while I"m here, "Make sure you know your professors." As you progress into the 200-300-400 level classes the sizes continue to get smaller. I am now in classes with sizes of about 20-30 students and I find that to be perfect. My favorite class was Comm 404, persuasion, my teacher, Dr. Avtgis, taught using current events and that was a great way to learn. My least favorite class was statistics, for obvious reasons. Even though the Princeton Review ranked badly on how much students study it's not true for all. I am trying to graduate early and I study a lot. Not having a first-person perspective on other schools I can't say that we study more or less than other schools. Class participation is smaller classes is usually a part of your grade, but in the bigger classes, if they grade participation, it is done with in class handouts. It all depends on the classes you take in your major. If you are concerned with this, you can check out the syllabus before you sign up for a class. My major is Communications with a minor in Advertising. The professors seem to love their job and really do a good job of teaching. Most are very accessible outside of class with their office hours. Occasionally, you'll see some of your teachers (usually masters/phd students) out at the restaurants and bars, they are just like you, just a few years ahead of you. The academic requirements to get accepted aren't too strict, but they are getting stricter as time goes on and more people apply. Most classes are taught in order to learn for your own sake. The lower level classes (100/200) will throw in tidbits about how this subject will help you get a job. We have an amazing career center that will help you with getting a job and to find out what careers fit your personality. There are also "orientation" classes that focus around getting a job, finding out what you want to do, and learning how to survive in the real world. Having taken two of these orientation classes I can wholeheartedly suggest that all students at least look into taking one.