University of Florida Top Questions

The degree programs are pretty flexible. For english, you just have to take 10 upper division classes. For psychology, you have to take a few out of different categories, but it's still open to exploring within the subject matter. In that sense, it's great for people who can deal with a lack of structure. However, you have to be a self-starter. There's no one to hold your hand or make sure you're on track. And academic advising is a joke. The CLAS advising department can't give substantive advice because they can't get to know students on an individual level. You'll get better advice out of a department professor you have a decent relationship with, or websites that give candid advice about the usefulness of different classes. But that's all geared toward upperclassmen. When you first come in, overwhelmed with information and unfamiliar with the catalog, there's really no guidance or suggestions. (And I was in the honors program, that purports to have more tailored advising.) For example, they push students that did well on the math section of the SAT into CHM 2045, rather than 2040 or 2041, without regard to chemistry ability. They need better guidelines (like a placement exam for science, not math) before they push students into classes they aren't prepared for.

lower division classes are huge and the professors never know anyone's name. When i took statistics 2, the TA wouldn't answer questions and told us to email her after class. however, in my upper division classes, things are a lot more personal. class size shrunk from 200 to 30 and participation was encouraged. i have had countless conversations outside of class that were intellectually associated to things we discussed in class. i love that! as a sociology major, i feel i am groomed to engage in intellectual conversations about a range of topics but usually centering around capitalism or consumerism. my professors make it easy to see parallels between my major and what is happening in the world today. though i love my major, the most unique class i took was tai chi. it was the best two credits i've ever earned! getting into UF seems harder than actually graduating. something like 17{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of applicants actually get in...that is crazy.

Many professors will learn their students names. MY favorite classes have either been with professors Stafford, Moraski or Conley (in that ranking). Stafford will push his students to new heights, while Moraski will be very understanding toward his students. Conley is just a really great professor in a way that cannot be explained without experiencing his teaching style. As for intellectual conversations beyond the classroom, that is a topic that is subjective depending on who you talk to. Speaking with students who are in more political organizations (Students for a Democratic Society, College Dems/ Reps) will yield a greater amount of "intellectual" conversations.

Professors usually do not know anyone's name in a large lecture, but they have the possibility to in smaller classes. Students usually study everyday. My major is political science and the college of liberal arts offers many interesting classes in this field.

I am a pre-vet student taking science classes - so most of my professors donot know my name as it is mostly large auditorium classes. students are very competitive GPA wise and most students study a lot. most professors have 'clickers' where they can get feedback from students or ask students questions etc. my favorite classes are my science classes as that is what im most interested in, i do not like having to have mandatory writing classes as i do not like writing very much.

Being an English major, my professors get to know my name a lot more than other classes. My classes are generally 30ish people, so the intimacy factor is there. I have been in class with an upwards of 600 people in them before. If you have a good TA in those classes, you can have a good bond with your instructors, however that is purely up to chance. The English department offers so many cool classes. My favorite courses have definitely been the children's literature classes. They are so interesting and definitely off of the expected path of English literature. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of my English classes though and the freedom that the professors have in choosing their topics gives the students an awesome selection to choose from as well. I spend a lot of time doing my reading for English classes, averages around a book a week. I have homework in my other courses and, most of the time, you can get away with not reading. More often than not, at least in my experience, professors are willing to help you with study guides or exam reviews if you ask for them. You can get out of doing a lot of the reading for classes by participating in classes. For my classes, class discussion is so important. If you don't know what you are talking about, however, you will sound like an idiot and professors will take note of it. You'd be surprised how many professors are willing to and wanting to hear from their students. Office hours are great if you use them wisely. Students here are definitely pretty competitive, especially within the various colleges and departments here. Grades are still very important to us. We do have intellectual conversations outside of the class - sometimes carrying on the conversations we had in class. I have sat in professor's office hours before and had hour long talks about the topics we cover in class on a much more personal level. If you put the time into your studies, you will definitely get a lot out of your coursework. Depending on your major and college, you get a different experience here at UF. For me, English is all about learning about the subjct and taking out of it what YOU want. In other courses, I know the courses are designed to get you hired. It depends on what your major is and how much you are willing to put into a course. If you take the time to do the work and talk to people about the subject matter, you will create an environment where you learn for learning's sake. I think most of UF can by summed up by saying: you get out of it what you put into it.

Although research is the main advocation by administration for the faculty, in the college of HHP, the faculty cares about the students. They are what make the school work and I have not come upon a professor I have not liked. Classes are usually large, but the professors are very accommodating and try to help as much as possible. The academic requirements are a little slack. I would say my favorite class is prevention and care of injuries, which I have actually got to use in real life!!!

Academics are average at UF. Right now I'm in a lot of general class, i.e. the "weed out" classes. The sciences are held in large lecture halls for general science classes. Once you get to a higher level of science you get smaller classes. Profressors don't tend to know your name, but if you make and effort they will. Most professors are also really good about writing you back e-mails and sending you updates through the academic website of e-learning or even your gator e-mail account.

At UF the classes are so large that professors and students do not really get to know each other unless students take advantage of the professors' office hours. So far at UF I have loved my Intro to Nutrition class that I took. I am a nutrition major and found the class to be really interesting and it helped me make healthier choices in my daily life.

Education is geared toward the professor getting out of class as soon as possible and back to their latest research project. As long as the student is paying tuition, UF doesn't care about them.