Franklin and Marshall College Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Daniel

Academics here are difficult, theres no way to sugar coat it here. If you coasted through high school, got good grades (but not straight A), still in the top 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of your class, or even in the top 100 (my high school had 2,300 kids; 900 in my class) this place will be hard and you will work hard. sometimes working 8-12 of hw. But by senior year, when you are applying to Grad school and your teacher says "If you can pass this class, Law School will be easy" than you have made the right decision.

Eliana

The academics at F&M are completely driven my the amazing professors, who go out of their way to make their classes interesting and personalized to the specific needs of the students in the class. Unfortunately, this can be rough if you are more or less advanced than the other students in the class. Majors are pretty spread out, and just about everyone takes classes in a department other than their major beyond what is required just because it is interesting! You'll find that there are a few very serious students on campus, but mostly, people are laid back about academics.

Eliana

The academics at F&M are completely driven my the amazing professors, who go out of their way to make their classes interesting and personalized to the specific needs of the students in the class. Unfortunately, this can be rough if you are more or less advanced than the other students in the class. Majors are pretty spread out, and just about everyone takes classes in a department other than their major beyond what is required just because it is interesting! You'll find that there are a few very serious students on campus, but mostly, people are laid back about academics and don't spend too much time studying outside of the school day.

Eliana

The academics at F&M are completely driven my the amazing professors, who go out of their way to make their classes interesting and personalized to the specific needs of the students in the class. Unfortunately, this can be rough if you are more or less advanced than the other students in the class. Majors are pretty spread out, and just about everyone takes classes in a department other than their major beyond what is required just because it is interesting! You'll find that there are a few very serious students on campus, but mostly, people are laid back about academics and don't spend too much time studying outside of the school day.

Weston

Academic Life = Amazing. Professors know you. They will remember you're name after the first day of class, invite you to meet during office hours, and academically challenge you. You will work during the week and on the weekends, but after most classes, you'll feel that you've truly learned something especially if you participate. Classes are small and that is a treasure --- You don't sit and mindlessly listen to professors babel -- you are part of the conversation of learning.

Alanna

Class participation is common. Teachers are sometimes accessible, even though sometimes it takes FOREVER to answer emails.

katie

The science classes here are known for being really tough (but definitely not impossible--just expect to put in a ton of hours studying and working on labs). A LOT of students come here thinking that they're going to be pre-med, but the majority of them throw away that notion after a semester or two. Good music program. Overall, an excellent choice academically. Most professors challenge students to really THINK instead of just memorize material for the test. At freshmen orientation, we were told that a good rule-of-thumb for time management is to plan to spend 8 hours a day sleeping, 8 hours studying/in class and 8 doing whatever (hanging our with friends, eating, etc.). I think that most of us get fewer than 8 hours of sleep each night (I know I do), and probably around 8 hours are spent working (waaaay more than 8 during reading days and finals week, though!), although I've had days that I've spent 4 hours working and days that I've spend 16+ hours working.

Ryan

All of my professors know my name. Students study all the time. Its finals week now, you can not find anyone anywhere outside the library or locked in their rooms studying. I frequently spend time with my professors outside of class or sometimes am invited to their homes for dinner.