Gina

Stereotypes at USD include: over-privilaged football jocks, cute frat boys, preppy sororitiy chicks, dorky biology students, a mostly foreign chemisty department, and a very quirky theatre department. Also, USD is considered a "suitcase college," which means everyone leaves on the weekend. The other stereotypes listed are largely accuate, but at the same time, it is important to remember that there is a spectrum of diversity in any group.

I think USD is the perfect size. It is large enough for a student to get all the benefits of a large institution, but small enough so that a student feels their presence is noticed. For example, USD offers a large varity of majors and minors (a few of them including "International Studies," "Anthropology," and "Religious Studies" are only offered at USD versus the other universities in SD). It is small enough that I feel that my professors know me personally as long as I make the effort to get to know them.

USD has tons of extracurricular clubs and activities. I am the secretary of the "International Students" club. We organize social events for the international students including, "Festival of Nations," which is a celebration of ethnic food and dance. As an officer of this club, I see myself as an advocate for international students who need help adjusting to a new environment.

When I tell people that I attend USD, they usually smirk and say "University of Sex and Drugs?" (USD) I don't think this is accurate of my university. From what I have seen and heard about other public institutions, and indeed private ones, the level of sex and drugs found here at USD is the same as anywhere else. This less than clever acronym doesn't reveal anything original about us.

I am a total nerd. This means that I spend alot of time at the library. It is definitely my favorite place on campus. We have a wonderful library that includes helpful staff that are willing to help you use computers, scanners, search engines, and research guides. There are tons of quiet nooks and collaborative study spaces. Students can rent individual study rooms or group study rooms. Our computers are also super fast. Wifi reaches across the entire campus, so connection is never a problem.

The complaint heard most often by students is that USD is more concerned about being a successful business than a successful learning center. Unfortunately, this is true for most other universities as well. USD spends a ridiculous amout of money on advertising that could be better spent within USD itself. They estimate that they spend $10,000 dollars per student that eventually chooses to attend.

School pride is definitely found at USD! The student section at the football games are always packed. From what I have heard, most students are excited to say good things about USD. Some of our school pride stems from the fact that USD and SDSU are huge rivals. (SDSU is the other largest public SD university.) If nothing else, USD wants to make sure they have more pride than SDSU.

If there was one thing I could change about USD, it would be the resources given to the athletic department. Athletes have alot more monetary support and learning privileges. I feel that some of the athletes are only at USD for the status. Their scholarships are huge compared to students who are here to actually get an education. Since USD's upgrade to division 1, alot of funds for other programs have been cut to accomodate sports. Because the main goal of any university should be education first and sports second I believe USD has not made good decisions regarding the sports issue.

I have been blown away by the originality of some of my professors. The experience I will never forget is when I received "insect candy" for getting the highest number of points for my insect collection. I received bacon flavored crickets and a sucker filled with ants. My entomology professor also offered me a job in his lab growing an endangered species of dragonfly.

Overall, professors here at USD encourage personal interaction. They are happy when students choose to visit during office hours. Several of them have also written very nice reccomendation letters for me that has opened up new opportunites. They are easy to talk to and always ready to help.

I am a double major in English and International Studes with a minor in Spanish. The English departmenet here at USD is excellent. The experience I had with my engish professors is what convinced me to join the program. All of my english professors know my name and recognized my potential as a english major from an early standpoint. They wanted to use some of my essays as examples for future classes. One professor in particular convinced me to participate in a "poetry slam" which is awesome fun! The International Studies department is also excellent. Recently one of my political science professors, who is head of the department, agreed to help me with an "independent studies" class, since I will be gone for two months next semester for an internship. He was very flexible and excited about creating a class to fit my individual needs. The Spanish department, I am sad to admit, is not very good. Regardless of previous knowledge of a language, they expect you to excell in a "full language immersion class" right off the bat. In Spanish 101, I was not allowed to ask questions in english which made things difficult. The professors were also somewhat rude and uncompassionate towards students who felt overwhelmed in their class. I am traveling to Costa Rica this summer to get spanish credits to fufull my spanish minor. This seems to be the better option than getting them at USD.

Class participation is common. Freshman students are often hesitant, but by the time they are sophomores, particication is normal for them. Some of my professors have organized small groups in class so we can discuss questions posed to us. There are usually multiple responses when the professor asks questions, depending on the class.

I personally study at least 5 hours per day. The library is always a busy place, so I'm assuming that study is a common activity for most of the students. Alot of students prefer to study in their dorm rooms or apartments as well.

My least favorite class was "pre-calculus" becuase math is not one of my shining natural abilites. My favorite class would probably be "British Literature" becuase growing up my favorite novels were by british authors.

USD makes an effort to help students get ready for a real job once they graduate. Internships are highly reccomended and career fairs are common. They also have mock job interviews and staff willing to help students write good resumes.