Western Michigan University Top Questions

Some of my professors do know my name, and aside from one class, the smallest room I'm in is packed with 30some people. My favorite classes are my psych classes, it really interests me. I found Abnormal Psych particularly interesting, but not applicable to my hopeful line of work. My least favorite class I took last semester - Methods of Data Collection for Sociology. Possibly it was worse because I had just come from Research Methods for Psychology, which wasn't particularly fun either. I'm not sure how often most students study, but I study nearly every day, weekends being the exception. During the week, I spend a lot of time studying, possibly more so because by the weekend I want a break. Class participation is uncommon in some of my classes. It seems that after the first couple weeks, it is established who will speak up, and after that it's more difficult to start. I feel like I take part in intellectual conversations outside of class. It might be wishful thinking, but I feel like I do. My boyfriend is an International Politics major, as well as Social Psych, and he knows his stuff, and is not afraid to have an opinion. We tend to talk about a lot of the stuff we've been going over in each of our classes, or discuss our feelings on issues covered on The Daily Show and Colbert Report. The psych class I'm in right now (PSY 3600 Malott)is definitely geared toward getting a job if you take the Croyden Practicum. I guess that would make the program geared toward career, rather than the class specifically. A lot of my classes feel like learning for its own sake, but I hope to put that to use in my career. I have never gone to a prof's office hours, as of yet. This is my 4th semester at WMU, and haven't had to meet outside of class, other than to get an email address.

Depends on the class size. My favorite class was World Ecological Problems with Will Reding. It really opened my eyes to whats going on in our environmental world.

Some of my professors know my name, but I don't usually speak out in class so those teachers don't really know me. My favorite classes are ones in my majors; accounting or finance. My least favorite classes are the gen ed classes. I don't see the point. Many classes have students that study in groups outside of class.

A few of my professors know my name. Mainly in the smaller classes. I have never had a bad experience with a professor. They have always been there to help in any way they could. I tend to have a problem studying but it is my own fault. Sometimes I tend to get caught up in having fun when I should be studying. A lot of my friends do study quite often though. I was just saying how I really loved it here because I can actually have intellectual conversations with other students. I love it. Someone always has something of substance to talk about. So far my classes seem to be more towards learning for learnings sake. But, I still have only taken a few classes toward my major, a lot my my classes have been gen eds. My Major is Education. I have been very happy with my consolers. They are always friendly and ready to help.

yes. my favorite class is photography. my least favorite class is geography. some students study constantly; others never. class participation is relative to your major, usually. all of my friends have intellectual conversations outside of class frequently. competition is relative to area of study. the most unique class i've taken is literary classics. i'm an art major, going into graphic design, and wmu is the only fine arts school in michigan. i've just recently had a professor help me with a photo shoot outside of class. wmu's academic requirements are just right; not too overwhelming, but challenging. wmu's education is geared towards both of those: learning to learn, but learning more specifically as your program progresses.

Depends on the classes with professors. Some of my professors are awesome, but others don't try to get to know you, but that is partially because they are bigger lectures. My favorite class is probably y chem labs. My least favorite class is my Physics 2 class because the professor doesn't answer many questions. Students in my classes study often I would say, but that is because I'm an engineering major. I think in other majors such as business it isn't s high rate of students studying. I find that I am one of few people in class who answer questions the professor asks. This I believe is because of different personalities. I find that I do have conversations with other students about industry. The students in my classes are highly competitive, but we also work together to get homework and studying done. The only time i see my professors is sometimes at the hockey games, but some professors are going to Germany with students this summer. It think that academic requirements in some departments are just right but I feel the overall requirements are low.The education at WMU is geared toward getting a job.

Some professors know their students names. It just depends on the size of the class. My favorite class is Child Psychology. The teacher is really cool. It's hard to say whether or not students talk about stuff outside of class. I'm sure some of them do, but probably not a majority. At least, not anything more than homework. I think WMU is geared toward helping students find employment after their degrees are earned.

My professors know my name but honestly it's about how well you get to know them too. It is not soley they're responsibility to know you. My favorite classes are my psych classes. LOVE the psych department. I study about 10 hours a week depending on what i have to do, though i think that may be more than a lot of the students. Class participation is sometimes manditory which i think is good in some classes and irritating in others. some classes you really do have to show up to understand the material and some you don't. The students here are sometimes competitive-but i think it depends on what your field is and how far along you are in it.

I feel Western has nicely sized classes. Most classes seem to have an average of 30 students. There are several lecture classes, but they don't seem so overwhelmingly large. My biggest lecture class, Finite Math my first semester as a freshman, had about 230 students. Obviously, for the lecture classes you have to make it a point to get to know your professor otherwise, to them, you’re just another “WIN ID”. However, for the most part, my professors know me by name. They’re all very personable, and they encourage students to stop by for office hours. WMU does require students to take general education courses. These classes are anything from foreign languages to introductory science course and Intermediate Swimming to Music Appreciation: Rock and Roll. Generally, I like taking the general education credits; I suppose I like being "well rounded". But, there is one distribution area that I dread-- Natural Science and Technology. Philosophy of Science? Introduction to Manufacturing? Oh dear. I cannot offer too much insight about classes for my major. I only declared my major about two or three months ago; so, I haven’t taken too many of the required classes. But, I can say, my favorite classes each semester are my English classes. Of course, the subject matter interests me—my major is English. But, I feel the teachers also play a big factor. I kind of get the feeling that the English teachers at Western are a little crazy. But, crazy in a good way. Crazy in a way that keeps students wanting to come back to class. Crazy in a way that keeps students wanting to learn more. As for academics outside of class, I'd say I spend about 3 to 5 hours a day doing homework, completing reading assignments, or just general studying. It usually depends on how lazy I am that day or how much I've procrastinated earlier in the week. Sometimes, my friends tell me I neglect them because I spend so much time studying rather than hanging out with them. Personally, I'm baffled they have so much free time. Maybe we have different work ethics, or maybe I've chosen incredibly work-intensive classes.

All of my professors know me by name, mostly because I am done with gen. ed. classes and now have small, tight-knit classes. I don't have a favorite teacher per se but I have had many favorable teachers. The ones that have pushed me to do my best and really take the time to get to know me and my work are my favorite. My least favorite teacher would be one of the graduate student teachers I had for a critical reasoning class who didn't show up to class often, and completely skipped out of coming to class the last 3 class periods before the final exam. Most of my friends study a lot (so do I) but I think it depends on the person's work schedule and class load (or subject matter). For my classes, class participation is key. Most of my classes are lecture and discussion based classes, as well as writing classes in which we must interact with peers to perfect our pieces. The people that I interact with all have intellectual conversations outside of class; however, I have heard some pretty ridiculous conversations in passing. I think that there is a general laziness by many students on campus who don't really care where they end up in life, but on the other side of things, many do care and are competitive in a sense that they want to achieve as much as possible and get the most out of their education. The most unique class that I have taken was a Dark Comedy and Satire english class last semester. I love the subject matter, even before I took the class, and was surprised to see it as a offered course. The professor was incredible as well. My major is English with emphasis on Practical Writing. My goal, as of right now, is to get into publishing. The english department has a very eclectic group of professors who are very successful and intellectual. I have yet to have a bad professor. The best professors are the ones that really push you to think outside the box and promote a conducive environment for learning. Very laid back and liberal as well. I generally don't spend physical time outside of class with my professors but I do keep in constant contact with them via email. The academic requirement is adequate for my department and is very focused on the area you are studying. The getting a job/learning for its own sake depends on the area of study I suppose. The english department is very focused on developing your skills to be successful in your career but also focuses on the actual learning of the subject as a whole.