University of Kansas Top Questions

General education classes are large in nature, and there is not much you can do to get around that. However, in my personal experiences I have found that professors really enjoy getting to know their students. They hold office hours and for large classes there are also TA's that hold hours if students are struggling. I think the quality of teachers and the vibe from the students varies from department to department. I am just starting to get into my major classes, and the few teachers I have had in my major seem to really engage the class. I've heard it said that once you get in your major, your classes get small and you have a lot of classes the same with other students so you get to know them well. I am a sports management major and it is evident in this program that they are focused on your career after school. In fact to graduate, your last semester is a 40 HR/week internship. I believe KU is concerned with your life after college, and through career fairs and such, they provide opportunities to prepare yourself for the "real world."

I am a Finance and Accounting student and also a member of the University Honors Program. In the Honors Program, students are very competitive and the classes are small. The professors take the effort to get to know us and are willing to meet with us outside of class to help us if there is any part of the material that we do not understand. Class participation plays a big role and it is what makes the class interesting. My favorite class was ENGL105, Freshman Honors English. In that class, we learnt through classics, movies and discussions among peers. It was fun and enlightening at the same time. I looked forward to class every everyday and the intellectual conversations we have outside of class was equally interesting. In my opinion, the education at KU gears me towards getting a job. We learn about current business issues and interact with employees from big companies. In addition, the Career Services office organizes many events to help us with our resume preparation, mock interview sessions and other events that promote interaction and network with the people from those companies.

Since KU is a big school, many of the general education classes and freshmen/sophomore level classes that are taught in large lecture halls. The large lectures are supplemented with smaller discussion periods that are taught by teaching assistants (the TA's can be hit or miss). Not all classes are large though. I have had many small classes of 25 or less students since I have been here. There are a lot of wonderful professors that have dynamic teaching styles, and a substantial amount of knowledge in their field. I have learned so much here. Some of the best lessons have been outside the classroom. Classes range from being challenging to fairly basic. Students here have to study hard, and understand that to do well it takes a lot of effort. Many classes have weekly or bi-weekly papers, and some have only exams and finals as the only grades. Classes for some majors are geared towards getting a job, but the majority are about learning for the sake of learning. Be prepared to read a lot for your courses. There are a vast amount of intelligent and hard working students at KU. Many students have intellectual conversations outside of class. There are also some who seem apathetic about school though.

Since KU is a big school, many of the general education classes and freshmen/sophomore level classes that are taught in large lecture halls. The large lectures are supplemented with smaller discussion periods that are taught by teaching assistants (the TA's can be hit or miss). Not all classes are large though. Ive had many small classes of 25 or less students since I've been here. There are a lot of wonderful professors that have dynamic teaching styles, and a substantial amount of knowledge in their field. I've learned so much since I've been here. Classes range from being challenging to fairly basic. Students here have to study hard, and understand that to do well it takes a lot of effort. Many classes have weekly or bi-weekly papers, and some have only exams and finals as the only grades. Classes for some majors are geared towards getting a job, but the majority are about learning for the sake of learning. Be prepared to read a lot for your courses. There are a vast amount of intelligents and hard working students at KU. But there are some who seem apathetic about school.

For the most part no, professors do not know my name, the classes are so large that it's hard to stand out without feeling like you're bugging the professor with meaningless questions all the time. I feel like students study a lot, depending on their classes that is. But between all the reading that we have to do for classes and online quizzes it all adds up quickly. I think students are competitive or else they wouldn't be in college, however there are those students that act out in smaller classes and appear that they don't care about what's going on but ultimately we are all paying to be here and for me it just comes natural to be competitive I suppose.

I feel that KU offers one of the best college educations you can get at one of the most reasonable prices. I know that our Journalism and Nursing programs are some of the top ranked programs in the nation. The university has some of the brightest and most intellectual professors and faculty, in my opinion, in the entire mid-west. As far as professors go they are still human so they definitely can be sticklers and pains in the ass but eventually you will meet some who truly make a class feel like less of a requirement and more of a course that is truly helping you to develop and grow as a person. I have noticed that once i entered my upper level classes that classroom discussions and participation gets a lot more interesting because after four years in school students get more opinionated and are more willing to talk about how they feel in class. From my experience most freshman classrooms tend to be more quiet but I think its just because being at college is still such a new experience kids are just trying to get comfortable. Personally I have always been a loud and outspoken person so talking in class usually came pretty easy for me. Some of the most unique courses I have taken have been my Journalism courses but outside of my degree I enjoyed my "community" class. This was a sociology course where we discussed social issues within communities. I grew up in Mexican gang neighborhood in Kansas City where crime was always present and this has given me a much different background than most of the people I'm in class with. It also has allowed me to be more involved in my sociology courses where I can actually relate to and tells stories about the things we studied. The Journalism School at KU is very competitive and has a HUGE presence on campus. We are responsible for the school news paper that is produced fresh daily and is known as " The University Daily Kansan" or " The UDK." We also have tech labs with crazy amounts of technology and gadgets that do everything from designing prints ads to editing movies and commercials. The faculty is comprised with some of the nation's brightest minds in all forms of Journalism. I take a lot of pride being a student of this program because our school has a lot of weight in the professional world.

KU has a variety of interesting professors and classes available, overall very positive atmosphere.

I know all of my professors' names but a lot of them do not know me because I am in very general classes right now that are held in big lecture halls. My favorite class is Chemistry because I love the things that we cover and the labs that we do. It depends how often students study; if they are committed and want to do well in college students will spend a good amount of time studying. KU students need to be intellectual in order to keep up with the rigorous curricululm that we have to go through. Some students are very competitive about the work and their classes, especially those who want to enter graduate schools such as nursing and pharmacy. I really dont' see my professors outside of class because right now my classes do not pose many problems; next year my courses are going to be very challenging and I plan on spending more time with my professors, seeking help.

Professors at KU are awesome. For the most part, if you talk to them, make an effort outside of class to do well in their class, they'll love you. They make themselves available for help as often as they can. The best class at KU is probably Math 105 with Jeff Lang. He's a bamf. KU currently offers courses in Haitian language and culture, but, unfortunately for me, may not offer those anymore. This is the area that I'm planning on studying unless they decide to cut funding for the program, in which case, I'm screwed.

I would say that 5 out of my 6 professors know my name. The one that doesn't know my name has a class of 300 or 400. I could make it possible for him to know my name by standing out more, but I just go to class, get the job done and leave. Class participation is not always common, but that is something that won't change unless you have a special kind of professor. The most unique class I have taken is Acting 1. I have intellectual conversations outside of class, but it depends on who you talk to. I have invited a professor I really liked to a "invite a professor for dinner" at my scholarship hall. I feel like the requirements are challenging but definitely attainable.