University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

The academics are tough but classes are doable, but some advice take match classes of campus.

The teachers are fantastic! A lot of times students will say their professors don't teach the information correctly, but those are probably the students that skip class a lot. All of the professors I have had thus far have been very helpful to me. You get good quality education, but you do have to work for it.

Mizzou offers excellent academic opportunities. Everything here is very competitive in a way that keeps students motivated to do their best.

The academics at Mizzou are more like you are what you make it. Freshman and Sophomore year since Mizzou is a larger public institution you can get lost in the crowd inless you make yourself known and present. It makes you become very self sufficient. Mizzou is not at all like, "I'm your professor and I will hold your hand through these next 4 years". They are nice people, but you have to make yourself known and use your own voice to be heard. Then they will gladly write you that recommendation letter you need for graduate school.

Everyone's academic experience is different. Your experience will depend on your personality. The more people you interact with the larger pool you'll have when i comes time for recommendations, study groups, and whatever else you'll need help with. The teachers are very friendly and are willing to help you, if you ask. The love for you to visit during their office hours...they need some company! My favorite classes are the ones heavily centered around discussion. They are usually much more relaxed and students tend to perform better in them if they attend class, do homework, and participate. Class participation importance varies from professor to professor. You may have classes that take daily attendance, and some that do not. There is a wide variety of courses that you can take during your time here, and you don't have to be a student of that particular department/ school to be successful in it.

We pride ourselves in our academics!

The University of Missouri has an average ACT score of 25.7, with that score rising every year. Academics are important and students work hard for their grades. The library is open until 2AM and students utilize that. As a freshman and sophomore you will be mostly enrolled in classes that are large lectures. But those large lectures break down into small discussions once a week to go over material in a smaller group (10-20 people). All professors are required to have office hours and are more than able to meet with students even outside of those. I visit each one of my professors outside of class to just let them know who I am and that I have an interest in their subject. The academic requirements and competitiveness of Mizzou keep students engaged and interested in their studies. The University of Missouri is very focused on future careers of their Tigers, with future employment opportunities popping up everywhere.

At first, class sizes can be out of this world scary. Your typical freshman level lecture style class can have an upwards of 500 students! Never fear, for the further you get along in your major, the smaller your classes get. Professors love when students come to talk to them during office hours, so take advantage of that free time! They always remember a student who comes to their office. At Mizzou you can get anything you want out of your education. There's so many different departments to choose from and there's even a major dedicated to creating your own major! The academic requirements center around getting a well rounded education, so at the end of your stay at MU you will have interacted with all the different fields of study in some way. It's great because you get a chance to take classes like Magic and Religion (which is all Harry Potter all the time) or 16 and Pregnant; yes, those courses count towards graduation! Mizzou is very focused on making sure that the students that graduate are prepared for the real world as well as passionate about their chosen field. There are classes that focus solely on career exploration, be it a specific one (like Exploring Careers in Journalism) or more general. Professors and administration alike want students to get active, be a part of their campus, and be well rounded people. Even though we're big, you won't get lost in the shuffle.

Academics at Mizzou are on par with many top-tier institutions across the country. The school has so many different "Colleges" that there is literally a major for anything that you might want to study. Mizzou is very focused on preparing students for jobs following graduation. This is evident in the internship/externship and Professional Development Program requirements for many majors. The faculty is a fairly good mix of researchers and career teachers, and students tend to be fanatical in their devotion/hatred towards teachers in their College. There are many large lecture classes that must be taken early in your career and in those it is difficult for the professors to know your name. Later courses, such as my Capstone, have as few as 10 students. Because of the competitive nature of many of the programs, students are always studying. While it can be a "party school", you will also find the student center and library full of students studying on any given friday night.

At the University of Missouri, academics vary depending on what department you are in and whether or not you are taking pre-requisites or are started in your sequence. Starting off, during freshman and sophomore year, most classes will probably be large lecture halls, sometimes with as many as 600 students. In classes like this, teachers usually run their classes with lectures and powerpoints. Although 600 students may be overwhelming, teachers offer office hours for additional help, which really helps if you put in the effort to attend them. Also, with some of these bigger lectures, one day a week there will be a discussion portion with one of the Teaching Assistants. These discussions are extremely helpful as you are in a small group of about 20 and are able to discuss the information learned in lecture that week. Regardless of class size though, teachers expect participation from the class and engages with the classroom on a regular basis. After your first two years, usually you are placed in your sequence in the school you apply for. As a journalism student, while some of my classes still are large lectures (200 students now), others are very small. The journalism school is difficult, but classes are very interesting and prepare you for your future jobs. Additionally within the school, there are many resources available to help you with your studies, such as professors and the library. Overall, no matter what the class size, the teachers here at Mizzou definitely are here to teach students and help them learn, and therefore go to great efforts to make sure we get the most we can from their classes.