Daniel
Small class sizes and very close relationships with professors are two things that come to mind when I think of academics. Academic buildings are even laid out with these principals in mind- there are study areas outside of every professors office and every professor has 6 scheduled "office hours" a week, making them very accessible.
Intro chem (chem 110/ 112) are probably the largest classes on campus. My 110 class had at most 35- 40 students in it and was taught in a classroom, NOT a lecture hall.
Allegheny is very unique because we have a seminar series that develops and culminates with a senior project or "comp."
As a freshmen you take an FS 101 then 102 class. 101 and 102 are geared towards getting settled in school, making new friends and improving your writing and discussion skills. These are things that you will draw from for the next 3.5 years at Allegheny. You also get a peer leader- an upperclassmen associated with the class that helps guide you through your first semester. (I was never very close with mine because I made friends quickly, and being on a sports team I had a slew of peer leaders, but my non athlete friends really enjoyed theirs.)
Soph year you take a FS201 that is within your major... lots of writing, research, speaking, presentation, etc, but it is within your major.
Junior year is a junior sem which prepares you for your comp
Senior year you work on your project. It is designed to mimic a masters or PhD thesis. In other words, you carry out your project and present it to a panel of professors (and sometimes pres Mullen!)
point is, Allegheny prepares students very well for excellence inside and outside of the classroom. We have extremely high acceptance rates to grad programs, and the seminar series is one of the reasons why.
Amy
"How was the game!?" was a questioned asked to me by our President, Jim Mullen. He knows my name. He remembered that I had just finished cheering for my first football game of the season. I'm not just another student to him. If this can be said about the president of the school, a man with 2,000 students and many more faculty and staff, I'm sure you can imagine how well our professors know us! Classes sizes are typically 13:1, although in my experience that number is high. This has allowed for more discussion and a deeper understanding of what I'm learning. It makes me feel like they are teaching me so that I can be successful outside of these four years, not just for the sake of sharing their hard earned expertise with us for their own benefit. I have been challenged and pushed past what I was sure was my limit. I'm capable of more than I thought I was. School is hard, there is no denying that. Allegheny gives us every tool to be successful. You will do as well as you choose to.