Whitman College Top Questions

Perhaps the best part of Whitman. Classes are for the most part interesting, challenging, involving, and stimulate curiosity. Whitman students strive to achieve, and spend time outside of class studying, going over notes, and preparing for examinations and projects. I am an Environmental Studies major, which is a complex major, and a popular one as it allows students to specialize in their field of interest.

In a word, Whitman academics are rigorous. You will work very hard and, most likely, you will enjoy it. The teachers are for the most part incredible and are always very willing to meet with students outside of class. That is the great benefit of a small school and I think one of Whitman's greatest academic merits.

I am impressed by professors both in the classroom and outside. I feel lucky to get to learn from them on an academic level, and to get to know them on a more personal level. I babysit for my adviser and have been over to several other professor's houses. Whitman is not the type of place where you can blend into the crowd in your classes. Other students take academics seriously and its not "uncool" to be smart and work hard. But, that being said, Whitman students strive for balance and are more focused on cooperation than competition. Students are more intellectual than academic, meaning that learning is more important than just getting the grade. There are great study abroad and research opportunities for undergraduates

Professors are very invested in their students, and small class sizes mean students get to know their professors really well. I've even had profs. over for dinner. Since Whitman has no graduate programs, undergrads have lots of research opportunities.

All of my professors, including those I had for one semester my freshmen year, know my name and say hello to me when they see me. I've loved all of my classes. Students study a lot. Even on Saturday nights the library is not completely deserted. Class participation is very common. One of the best things about Whitman, in my opinion, is the after class atmosphere- the conversations that continue outside of the classroom are really a great source of intillectual growth. The weirdest class I've taken was "English Grammar via Latin and Greek" which was amazing for a grammar dork like me. I think the academic requirements at Whitman are reasonable and unrestricing. I think it's good I was required to take a math class even if it wasn't my favorite. The education one recieves at Whitman lets students enter the world of acadamia... not necessarily the job force.

All of my professors know both my first and last name, I've been to two of my professors houses and I email back and forth with most of them on a regular basis -- and I'm only a freshman! My favorite class was our freshman seminar, called Core. My teacher was great, and the discussions we had in class were eye-opening. But the best thing about Core is that everyone has teachers that are experts in different subjects, which makes it all the more interesting when you go back to the dorms and talk to your friends about their different experiences in Core. Class participation is high and people study quite a bit, since you really need to in order to be successful here! It's very academically strenuous! The academic requirements are very generous, and very easy to fill, but it's important to the Whitman administration that we get a well-rounded education (rather than cater to whatever pre-professional track you're headed towards).

I love Whitman's academic life. All of my professors know me by name, and this has been true so far in all the classes I've taken at Whitman. It's super easy to go to a professor for extra help, and fun when you can wave to your professors from across Ankeny Field. I would say that Whitman students are driven and motivated academically, but not too competitive. Everyone supports each other in their academic pursuits. I absolutely LOVE the psychology major--I am so excited to take more upper level classes in the field! While it is one of the departments that seems to currently be lacking in professors and courses, I can still find amazing classes to take with really top-notch professors. The way Whitman is structured, you're going to learn a lot no matter what, and you can use this learning in whichever way you prefer--to get you straight into the job market, or simply to learn for the sake or learning.

Professors are incredibly accessible. Just this past semester, three of my professors invited students to their homes for a culminating class period with snacks and talks. I hang out with my professors in their offices as well as out on the town in coffee shops and restraunts, and they have been so receptive to giving one on one attention and advice. Another hugely positive aspect of our academic life here at Whitman is that students really collaborate with each other. I've heard horror stories about other schools where, say, law students will rip pages out of library books so that only they can access certain materials. Here, it's the opposite-- my friends and I swap library books and printed resources all the time, and people collaborate to make sure that each person's work is the best work possible. I think we learn a lot more that way, and it makes for better, more well-rounded, and kinder human beings, to boot.

Every professor I’ve had at Whitman has known my name (and my major, hometown, and extracurricular interests, most probably). Many of them will meet with students for a meal instead of just going to office hours, or have a class over for dinner around midterms or finals. I babysit and dog-sit for a number of my professors, and they come to the shows at the theater, choir concerts, sporting events, and concerts on campus. You get used to seeing professors as whole people, not just professors, and they see students as whole people with lives outside the classroom. Going to class is key, and class participation is usually of paramount importance and counts towards final grades in many classes. Students tend to be far more collaborative than competitive, and share ideas with one another, offer help in areas where they are strong, and ask one another for help in areas where they are weak. Learning for learning's sake is encouraged, as is both depth (in your major department) and breadth (drawing from other areas) of knowledge.

Class size at Whitman is always small, ranging from as few as six students to as many as forty (in an intro level science class for example), but most are around fifteen. This means your professors really get to know all of the students, and they notice if you're missing from class. This could be bad if you intend to skip a lot, sometimes attendance can affect grades, but it also means that they can give each student a ton of attention. Some professors bribe students (with extra credit, candy, etc.) to come to their office hours to discuss papers before you even write them, others schedule special one on one editing sessions to go over your paper before you even turn it in. The classes themselves are hard, but manageable and definitely worth the hard work. A lot of classes are also discussion based, which means you get the chance to speak up a lot, ask all sorts of questions and participate a bunch (which is handy for staying awake in early morning classes). Also, because of the liberal arts aspect of the curriculum, which requires you to take classes in multiple areas instead of specific classes, you get to really explore and find out what you like. I knew I wanted to be an English major from the start, but because of distribution requirements, I found out that I love our Astronomy department and have decided to minor in it!