As with any school I'm sure, some classes are harder than others and some professors are a little tougher than others. Overall though, I have been pleased with the academic aspect of ISU. I have never had an issue with a professor, and find that they are all willing to help you when you seek help, and they want you to succeed. Some classes hold my interest more than others, but like I said, that happens anywhere. Freshman year I remember thinking that a lot of my classes Junior year of high school were actually more difficult than the classes I was taking at ISU, so in that case I think it was good that my high school well-prepared me for college academics. Another difference from high school is that homework doesn't necessarily get you as far as it did in high school. You must put priority on doing well on tests and big projects/papers. Also, it is KEY to not slack at ANY POINT. Even if you think all your classes are easy freshman year, first semester,you should not get too comfortable because the moment you slack, it becomes harder to catch up with points and with learning so that you can earn the A that we all want.
I think professors are typically pretty good with learning their students names, and they make that a priority in the first weeks of school. I think that they typically learn my name really quickly because I am a Black (bi-racial) student, so I am frequently the only one who looks like me in my classes.
Class time is usually very valuable; professors don't like to waste your time or theirs, nor your money. Some of my favorite classes have been my educational psychology classes because I am really interested in learning about adolescents and their development, because I will be teaching adolescents upon graduation. Freshman year can be a little tougher for some students because they have to take general education classes before taking certain classes for their major. However, even some general education classes I found to be quite interesting- such as the criminal justice class I took and math (even though I tend to really dislike math). I'm an English major, so I was not happy about taking a math class, but MAT 113 was actually pretty enjoyable and helpful because we go through some basic math and skills that will help us with important things such as figuring out our own GPA or figuring out what we need to get on a final to get an A in a class, etc. Then there were some general education classes I didn't enjoy so much, such as physics. I just found it to be really challenging for me but I ended up earning a C. I'm not a student used to getting C's in classes, but I actually was ok with the C and wasn't surprised that that's what I ended up getting. I think it's interesting when students get a C or lower in a class and seem totally surprised, but we have to be honest with ourselves. We know when we are understanding material and when we're not, when we're doing our absolute best and when we're not, and we also need to be keeping track of grades we get throughout the semester on different tests, quizzes, and assignments. There is no way you should be surprised at getting a low grade in a class because you need to be responsible for what you're doing and be aware of what you've been doing in the class, even from the beginning of the semester.