Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Most of my professors know my name this semester, because I'm in relatively small classes. In the one large lecture class I have, my professor doesn't quite know my name, but he recognizes me. Class participation is strongly encouraged, even in lectures. None of my professors are annoyed if you have a question, and one actually gave me an answer in the next class because she didn't know the answer. The students here aren't really competitive with one another, at least not that I've noticed. If someone has a problem, you help them. My friends and I sometimes continue discussions we've had in class after the class is over.

One thing I really appreciate about Tech is that they push you to consider your future. They want you to be professional and there are so many opportunities for you to work towards this. There are seminars, mock-interviews and people to help you with your resume. There is even a Professional Seminar (1 hr credit) course that I took that was quite helpful as well. Organizations encourage you to participate. This has given me so many wonderful lines to add to my resume! There are also plenty of opportunities for service, which is wonderful and should absolutely be taken advantage of! I feel oftentimes that I am surrounding by very intelligent people with whom I can have meaningful conversations. I learn from those around me every day. Tech does not just accept anybody. Neither do they let just anyone teach. My professors are wise and I learn so much from them. Many of them will give out their numbers, and respond to e-mails very quickly and efficiently. They are more than willing to meet with you in their offices as well. Take advantage of these wonderful instructors. Not only can they teach you a lot; they can be great references as well. Respect your teachers and form relationships with them. It is absolutely worth it. These professors are very passionate and knowledgeable about what they teach and they really care about you as a student.

most professors do not know my name or care to know. my fav class was world regions, least favorite was history of east asia. Students study as litte as the must and there is a lack of intellect in the air, especially during football. Education is technical, for a job, not for the purpose of learning.

Being a freshman, there is probably few professors that actually know my name. At tech many of the intro classes are at least 300, more around 500 or more and then sometimes you luck out with a class size around 100. With large classes like that, its hard for professors to get one on one time with students to learn name and so far the only way for this to happen is to use office hours. Office hours are a laugh to a lot of students because its walking all the way across campus to ask questions or to say hi when you can run to someone in your hall or during those times you are either in class or busy trying to do something else.

You have to try to sign up for floral design! It is such a popular course that you pretty much can't get into it unless you are a senior, but you have to try! I took this course during my fall semester of my senior year, and it was awesome! Every week you get to take home a fresh flower arrangement that you created yourself-- I got more flowers from this class than I have gotten ever from my husband!

-Yes -Favorite: Media Institutions, World Regions, Visual Media, Comm Skills, Creative Dance. Least favorite: I can't really think of a class that I disliked that much... -A lot -Depends on the class, but usually, yes -Certain students do -Not really, from my experience -World Regions -Comm is an excellent major. It is broad, and I find it very interesting. Anyone interested in learning about and somehow working in the media and should consider this major. -Not usually, but I am close with a few of my professors and enjoy talking to them outside of class -I think they are very fair, and if you stay on top of things, you can definitely graduate on time. I am actually in the process of graduating a semester early. -Both

Because I'm an English major, my classes are small enough for my professors to know me by name. I could never pick a favorite class, because all of them are interesting and useful for future jobs. Students spend a lot of their time studying-academics has first priority for most students. The education offered by VT is a perfect blend of allowing students to take classes they are interested in, while preparing them for a job or for grad school.

My professors know my name--English is a small major. Language and Society is really interesting because you talk about dialects and language differences, but I really like my British Author class about Jane Austen. Least favorite--no idea. I study, read, and write papers everyday. However, English majors have a lot of work to do, despite what everyone thinks. The farther along you are the more you study, but the better you are at it. I've always studied a lot to keep up my grades, but I definitely study more now than I did as a freshman. In my bigger classes, I never said anything (more than 100 people). Now, I talk everyday in all of my classes--for most of them, it's part of my grade. I have intellectual conversations outside of class, but only with certain people and not all the time. It happens. I'm competitive with myself more than anyone else. Some people might compete with others, but I don't have a clue what grades other people get. It's nothing like high school where you might be trying to be the best in the class. I'm ranked really high in my major, but I have no idea who is up there with me. Unique class would be Writing Center Theory--I get to tutor in the Writing Center for the class. As an English major, I read everyday and write lots of papers. I don't think there's such a thing as an "easy major" at Tech--people may have majors with easier subject matter (of course English is easier than engineering), but I still have to work hard to make good grades. Some majors only need to study about 4 times a semester for their 4 exams, but I have work everyday. That's hard when you have other things to do. The English department is amazing--very supportive and familiar. I spend time with professors outside of class--meet with them in their offices, etc. Tech definitely requires a lot of students in order to complete majors--more than UVA. Why do you think there are so many double majors at UVA? I wonder if people have ever looked at that, or just assumed UVA has better liberal arts programs just because Tech isn't based on liberal arts? I think my education is geared toward getting a job. Sometimes I wonder why I learn some things, but Professional Writing is very career-oriented--I do things any technical writer would do. Also, in my literature classes, I learn things I'll need when teaching.

In my personal experience I have found that you get what you take out of professors at VT. Personally, I like to attend class, do my work and keep to myself without interfering with my professors much. And, this tactic worked, I made the deans list every semester...Some students have found going to professor office hours helpful though. As a history major however, my classes were frequently 40+ students so I never knew my professors on an individual basis. But beware, this comes to bite you in the butt when you need professor recommendations for grad school etc. Try and have one or two friendly professors you can rely on and always come back to if you need help. How much you are going to need to study for classes can be generally determined before you even sign up for a course. By reviewing ratevtteachers.com before you sign up for certain professors you can pick and choose your course load with relative accuracy. Education here isn't really geared towards getting you a job or getting you to know the course information. Professors aren't going to go out of their way to help you unless you go out of your way to get them to help you!

Classes are unfair, the actually classes dont prepare you for the tests. The tests don't test your understanding of the material, just your ability to retain useless information. I have also had some really rude professors.