Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

My favorite class has honestly been Art 50 even though art is not my major but it was a very relaxing painting class, that would make three hours go by fast, it allowed my mind to just walk out and unstress myself. The professor was amazing unlike others who judge your art work, she was very calm and nice. Class participation varys anyone can participate as long as you want to in smaller classes everyone has to participate or it will be awkward. I'm a biobehavioral Health major and minor in spanish so far I've noticed the department is very organized has many offers such as research and alot of opportunities. I have spent time with prrofessors outside of class they are very helpful. Most do make time for you even after office hours or days they don't have them they also have the teacher asistance.

challenging yet exhilarating.

Currently I'm taking Intro to Psych, a Human Behavioral Sciences class and a Family Development course. I absolutely love the curriculum. It's as if the teachers planned their curriculum together so that they are teaching complementary information.

The academics are taken very seriously at my school, which is the main reason why I chose Penn State. Graduating with a degree from Penn State will land you a great job in the future. Also, our career networking facility is one of the largest in the country.

Academics at Penn State are what you make of it. If you want to pay tuition for four years and not attend a single class, then that is up to you. If you dedicate yourself to learning and improving as an individual, you will receive a great education. Class size, relationships with professors, study hours, etc. vary by individuals and majors. I knew some people that would attend professor's office hours weekly, and other students who never once attended an office hour. It is really a matter of preference and how you do best. Some classes require attendance and participation to the point where it is factored into your grade, others don't. As you progress through your major, attendance becomes more prominent; however, you really should be there anyways if you are majoring in it! I was a double major in Marketing and Advertising. Marketing is in the Smeal College of Business with a strong focus on the strategic side of marketing as well as learning the entire business industry (accounting, finance, econ, etc.). Advertising is in the College of Communications with more of a focus on media and creativity. I learned a lot from both of my majors and had the opportunity to get a lot of great experience. Besides learning in the classroom, there are many opportunities through clubs and certain courses where guest lecturers are brought in to give industry advice and insight. These talks are huge. They provide great networking and learning opportunities, that have often even led to jobs.

Because we're such a big school, the class sizes tend to be bigger especially freshman classes like BIOL 110 which has over 700 students! The higher your seniority, the smaller the classes get usually. By then, the professors will start calling you by name. My favorite class was ENGL 213 -Introduction to Poetry. As a math major, I miss writing papers and doing more creative things. This was the perfect outlet for that. My professor was great and really cared about us and her job. I wish all professors here were like that. Passionate professors really make learning easier and more entertaining. In regard to class participation, usually there are only a few people who volunteer while the rest just keep to themselves. That's what I've noticed but I could be wrong. From what I've noticed, students don't really engage in intellectual conversations outside of class from what I've seen and heard. Of course there is a small population that does. I try to at least. The lack of hearing intellectual conversations going on kind of killed my impression of college in high school. I like my major and my department (math). The advisers are helpful and the department building looks pretty nice and is conveniently situated next to the HUB. I feel that the academic requirements should include an accounting class as a general education course. I think managing one's finances is one of most useful things to know and it's simply not a required course here. I would like that changed. No matter what major you are undertaking, accounting and personal finance will be apart of your world; that's inescapable. I think our classes should be more rigorous. I feel that some are challenging but others are just a complete joke. I want to learn and not just get that easy A if I'm paying all of this money to go here. I think learning here is geared towards getting a job and not for learning for its own sake. The career services supports this because it seems that the emphasis in mostly all of my classes is learn x, remember x for the exam, repeat for a good grade. I think that it's mainly for the grades.

The academics at Penn State are incredible. Having a degree from Penn State is a very prestigious honor, one that must be earned through 8AM classes, term papers, midterms, labs, and hard work. Some classes are huge, like general chemistry which has about 400 people in it, but others are really small and personalized. Professors will know your name even if you have a big class, as long as you introduce yourself. Getting to know your professors is important, especially at the end of the semester because they can provide specialized feedback tailored to your educational needs. If you don't introduce yourself, you are just another face in the crowd.. which sometimes is preferred for classes that you might not necessarily want to be overly involved with. Students tend to form study groups, because studying with other people open up new ideas and points of view to understand some material better. I am a Forensic Science major.. and I'll list the courses I was required to take: general chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, physics, english, ethics, law/criminology classes, countless biology and biochemistry classes, and of course crime scene investigation, analysis of biological and nonbiological trace, and DNA analysis (plus some other stuff). Penn State makes sure that you know everything you possibly can know when you graduate and they make you a "well-rounded" student by making you take general education credits outside of your major. Those classes are always fun because you get to pick whatever. I took a music class and a film class, just because it looked interesting. The coursework might seem overwhelming at first, but once you figure out a good schedule to balance classes, homework, friends, and sleep.. then it becomes second nature. By the end of four years, you will be able to write a 10 page lab report in a day like a piece of cake. They make you work hard, but it's so worth it in the end.

I was very impressed with the academic aspect to Penn State. All of my classes here were manageable but also challenging. When I began my career here, many of my classes were large (up to an 800 person class), but now most of my classes are between 20-30 people. Each class that I have had that was 30 people or less, the teacher always made it a point to get to know the students. Most of the professors that I have had experience with really want to engage students and assist them in learning. I have only had one or two professors that I did not like because they were either boring or confusing. Class participation is not common in the larger class rooms, and dependent on the teacher in the smaller classrooms. I have one class that is centered completely around class participation, and other classes that I can simply sit and listen the entire period. I am an accounting major in the Masters of Accounting (MAcc) program in the Smeal College of Business. In this program, I will be graduating with my Masters and Bachelors degree in Accounting in 5 years with enough hours to sit for the CPA. This program was created for students who intend to be CPAs. The classes are very challenging, but rewarding if you give them the time. I will be interning this summer with PwC (formerly Pricewaterhouse Coopers), and at my acceptance dinner the partners told us that they made it a point to hire the most students from Penn State because they found that we have been very successful in the workplace. We were also recently ranked number two in colleges that recruiters hire from according to the Wall Street Journal. One thing I do fully appreciate about Smeal is that they take a large focus on integrity, which seems to be lacking in the business world today. Every exam we take, we sign a statement saying basically that we will not cheat and we did not have unauthorized access to previous forms of this exam. My favorite class right now is my auditing class because my professor takes time to ask us questions that really make us think on our own. I have seen a great change in my outlook outside of the classroom because of many of the questions he has asked in class. I also feel like I need to study less than for other classes because I stay focused the whole class period. My least favorite class was an online class I took on the history of pop music. The class was easy, but I did not feel like I learned very much. It also ended up being very time consuming and was on a subject I ultimately did not care very much about. The best advice I can give anyone is to take classes that actually interest you. I have found that even the easiest classes do not feel easy unless you are interested in the subject. My hardest classes are sometimes the most enjoyable ones because I actually appreciate the knowledge that I am gaining. The main difference between college and high school is that you can now choose your classes freely and you do not have school every day from 8am-3pm so it is now your responsibility to make it to class on time and do your homework. I find that this helps teach students the value of knowledge.

The best think about Penn State is all the opportunities. Getting involved at Penn State is easy, no matter what your passion is. I love community service, and my first weekend at Penn State i was involved in FreshSTART day of service (a day of service especially for freshman). There are also a lot of opportunities for leadership at Penn State, because there are so many clubs there are also lots of leadership positions. As a sophomore I am a Recruitment Captain for Relay for Life and get to help plan the event. Having a leadership position makes me feel like I am making an impact on my campus. Penn State is a large school, but I would never say that it is too large. I strongly believe that you can make a big school small, but you can't make a small school big. When I walk around campus, I run into my friends and people that I know from class. My professors know my name, because I put effort into my classes and getting to know them. At Penn State a student could be just a number, but students don't have to be. If students put themselves out there, it is easy to make Penn State seem like a smaller place. I will never forget my freshman Economics class that easily had close to 200 students in the lecture. The professor however didn't treat the class like a large room of students who were just there to be lectured. He had us do activities. One day we had to trade zoo animals, in order to demonstrate supply and demand. The class was so full of energy. People were yelling, "I need a monkey!" or, "Who wants an elephant?" That activity brought us together as a class, and proves that a large class doesn't stop the professor from engaging their students. People are usually pretty impressed when I tell them that i go to Penn State University Park. The name Penn State carries a prestige, a prestige that employers want. State College is the definition of a college town, and I couldn't love it more. There is nothing better than hearing fight songs while you walk around shopping on a Friday afternoon. Recently the controversy or scandal at Penn State was with Jerry Sandusky. Since the revealing of that event, students on campus have pulled themselves together and we have gone back to life as usual. In our own way, students, who didn't really associate themselves with Sandusky to begin with, have disowned him. He is not a part of our university or who WE ARE. At Penn State we yell WE ARE at passing tour groups. We get 110,000 people to all wear white. We wear Penn State sweatshirts and sweat pants to class and consider ourselves to be "appropriately dressed". There is a lot of Penn State pride. We also have a strong sense of tradition, that gives the campus and electric feeling whether it be game day, THON weekend, or just another rainy Tuesday. The most frequent student complaint is the rain. I suggest having a solid pair of rain boots before coming to school here. Girls, you're going to want a couple of pairs, so they can match your outfits. Happy Valley is usually Rainy Valley, but it's one of those things that I have learned to love to hate. Some days it is comforting for there to be a rain cloud in the sky.

I know one of the biggest issues that most prospective students pose is that "the classes are so big!" Please take it from me, that means nothing. If you have a passion for a class/subject, show it, those professors will remember you. Just think how amazing it is to have a teacher know your name, your face, your potential....in a class of nearly 300 students. I had this happen in my Mammalian Anatomy class freshman year. I went to the professor, and Dr. John Waters and I became great friends as we discussed possible projects about my interests. Every day after I made that first comment, he said hello as he walked into class. Another thing to keep in mind, the academics are challenging and stimulating. You can take them as seriously or lax as you like, but ultimately you have the freedom to push yourself forward or fall behind. No professor that I've had has ever acted like a middle school teacher watching over your shoulder. Meanwhile, they are also there for you, should you show the need.

I know one of the biggest issues that most prospective students pose is that "the classes are so big!" Please take it from me, that means nothing. If you have a passion for a class/subject, show it, those professors will remember you. Just think how amazing it is to have a teacher know your name, your face, your potential....in a class of nearly 300 students. I had this happen in my Mammalian Anatomy class freshman year. I went to the professor, and Dr. John Waters and I became great friends as we discussed possible projects about my interests. Every day after I made that first comment, he said hello as he walked into class. Another thing to keep in mind, the academics are challenging and stimulating. You can take them as seriously or lax as you like, but ultimately you have the freedom to push yourself forward or fall behind. No professor that I've had has ever acted like a middle school teacher watching over your shoulder. Meanwhile, they are also there for you, should you show the need.

When you are taking general education classes, they tend to be big class sizes where you might not know your profesor that well. However, that doesn't mean that it's totally impossible to form a relationship with them. All professors are required to have office hours where you can talk to them and get your questions answered; Some professors are even interested in getting lunch with students and some will even offer to pay for your meal!

Penn State is the only college that I applied to and luckily I was accepted. In the past 3 and a half years being here at the main campus, I have never once regretted my decision to come here. Our University has had many ups and downs, especially in the past couple months, but I still could not have seen myself attending any other college. The best thing at this school, besides the intense football games, would have to be the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance MaraTHON. It is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world that culminates in a 46 hour no-sleeping, no-standing dance marathon in February. It is the most amazing event I have ever attended in my life - DEFINITELY GET INVOLVED WITH THON! Some people think Penn State is too large, but I think it's just right. I'm not the type of student who likes to raise my hand in class and be put on the spot. At Penn State being put on the spot rarely happens. If you do like to raise your hand and participate though, it is very easy to do so! Upon telling people that I attend Penn State - University Park, most people are like "ohhh WOW!" People really look up to Penn Staters, especially those that attend the main campus. The school pride at Penn State is amazing. Most Penn Staters are completely obsessed with their school and they deserve to be!

I believe my professor knew my name becuase I always be the only one Aisan girl in my engineering course. My favorite class a major courses about designing VLSI on CAD software and the least favorite course is the group speech course. Class participation is very common and students might work together after the class in computer lab. If the homework is hard, classmates would hold conversations outside of the class to solve them. The most unique class that I had never taken is a philosophy course about sex and love, I've learned about a lot of the proper view on how to look at homosexual people in that web course. And If the professor is the kind of person want to spend a lot of time interact with students, I would also try my best to communicate with that professor no only in academic issue but also extracuricular events. Our school's academic requirements are not the same for all the major. For my major, it is very low; the graduation requirement is only 2.0 GPA. But for some other major, for example, Finance; even the entrance major is 3.6 GPA. My school has its own facility on helping students getting a job, but its education encourages students to establish study to be a life long habitat.

The academics are extremely competitive and difficult. The teachers are world class professors and truly prepare us for the real world and future careers. While the classes are often large, professors and teaching assistants make themselves accessible to all students in need of help.

There is a common misconception that at a large school you will be sitting in a lecture hall with hundreds of students (we do have one 700 person lecture hall!) and the professor won't know who you are. Sure, that can be the case if you allow that to happen. It is common for general education classes to be taught in the larger lecture rooms. However, at PSU the university provides resources to make sure students can master the material and connect with their professors. With larger lecture classes, there are often smaller recitation classes in which a TA reviews (they do not teach new material) the information taught earlier that week by the professor. For every one hour a professor teaches class, they must hold one hour of office hours. During this time, they cannot check emails or grade papers. The professor simply waits for students to come in with questions about notes, exams, or assignments. Building relationships during office hours allows for the professor to put a name to a student's face. Also, sitting up front in class never hurts! It allows you to forget about the hundreds of people sitting behind you and your professor starts to recognize you. Every student is guaranteed two classes with 30 students or less: English 15 and First-Year Seminar. When we schedule courses (we go based on credits with the exception of honors and student athletes so typically seniors have the most and schedule first ) you can check how many seats are available in that class, which allows you to pick smaller class sizes if that if what you are most comfortable with. As far as scheduling goes, try to transfer in with AP credits or attend the summer session before freshmen year. Coming in with extra credits will bump you up in the registration time table. Like most universities, we have a course management system called Angel (similar to Blackboard). It allows professors to upload a syllabus, assignments, exams/quizzes and skeleton notes. Skeleton notes are PowerPoint slides with key words missing, so students have to attend class to get the material!

The academic atmosphere is varied depending on what type of classes you take. There are a lot of students here. So, many classes (especially general education courses) are going to be large. In fact, one of my sociology classes had over 300 students. So, in that scenario, it's a little bit more challenging to stand out among the crowd. Honors courses are a lot smaller, so professors definitely will be able to learn your name. In my experience, my professors have always been eager to help you and see you succeed. Penn State is known for its football program, but it definitely provides a quality education and unique opportunities that will help students learn and eventually get jobs.

Professors in my major or for small classes know my name- for larger classes, if you don't go to office hours, they won't know your name. Favorite class: Intro to Ballroom (Kines 017). Least favorite: Chem 110H. Honors students study a lot, other students, it depends. Class participation common in honors classes, not so much in others- mostly just the same kids over and over. Most unique class: Inart 005 (watch 5 performances at the Eisenhower auditorium and write about them). I spend time with professors in my major. I believe the general education is very reasonable compared to other schools and if you take AP classes in high school, they are easy to skip. Education is definitely geared towards getting a job, and we have the largest career fair I believe in the world.

The academics at my school are definitely challenging. But, it really instills in every student good time management skills. And there are programs on campus that make resources available to us to help us through whatever academic problems we are having.

I have friends in a few other colleges and I have attended classes with them out of curiosity and comparison purposes. NOTHING is like Penn State. The teachers here are so willing to assist/help the students with anything whether it is review for an upcoming exam or writing letters of recommendation. The classes are academically challenging which is important because after all you do want to get an education from school. At the same time, the classes are very interesting, and grading is fair; you get what you deserve and you get out of the class what you put into it.

Academics at Penn State are more difficult to narrow down. There are many different colleges, majors and minors that students can fill their time with, and each option varies greatly. Despite their differences, all of Penn State's colleges and faculties are devoted to teaching students the best possible methods. As a student in the College of Communications, I know that my teachers are constantly in touch with me not only with assignments but in regards to real world experiences. The colleges offer many students the chance to branch out into different fields and get hands-on work experience. Classes are a bit large when you begin college because most are general education courses. However, once you begin a major, you realize that class size becomes much smaller and is a much more effective learning environment. Most professors are extremely helpful to students outside the class and offer many opportunities to meet and expand their research. I personally think Penn State's academics are some of the best that the nation has to offer. Most professors are well established in their own fields, and there is also opportunity to work with professors on their own research. I know that Penn State's academics are wonderful because I am currently a part of the Schreyer Honors College, which is a great learning arena. The courses challenge students to work hard and do enormous research so that each person gets a good sense of where their life's work can lead. Overall, Penn State's academics are a combination of teaching students valuable tools and helping students gain the necessary skills to become employed in a creative job following college.

Even though Penn State is a large, state school, it does not lack any of the academic challenges that students may find at smaller, private universities. Instead, Penn Sate is highly ranked in several different areas of study that continue to produce highly qualified and motivated graduates. For those that desire more academic challenge than their regular coursework provides for them, Penn State has instated an honors program that is competitive with many Ivy League college graduates.

I don't think more than 2-3 professors could have told you anyone's name in their classes, even the small ones. I was there for Computer Science so other majors may have had different experiences.

Intro classes are usually huge at PSU; about 400 students in some cases. But once you get more into upper level classes, the class size shrinks considerably and usually professors of those classes know everyone's name. It the larger classes, it may seem like you're just a face in the crowd, but by visiting the professor during office hours, it can make the class feel much smaller and allow the professor to get to know you. Because I am in one of the more difficult majors, I study pretty often, but some of my friends who are in easier majors, don't. And although I put in a lot of time studying and doing work, I make sure to balance it with relaxing or going out.

Most professors are very respectable, and yet create a fun and intelligent class room setting, not many boring lecture after lecture types. Not to disrespect, but the only bad classes I've ever had are Math classes with very Asian professors. There learning style is very different from many "not-asian" students, creating a very difficult atmosphere to learn. Class participation is pretty solid, except on beautiful Fridays in the early fall or late spring, when I've experienced about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} attendance.

I'm going to be a senior in the fall and I have always had a fairly large class size. Until this year I had no classes in my major itself. I'm not the type to get to know my professors outside of class but I know plenty of people who do, especially for advice or mentoring. I feel like I have learned more about "real life experiences" and whats its like in the business world that actually classroom academic information. I love the focus on applied learning. The business college is amazing, the building alone is shockingly beautiful. The business school is also nationally ranked.

You will learn the best methods for cheating, getting by while doing the least amount of work and figuring out which classes to take by the easiest professors. You will learn to cram for tests and still get good grades. This means only about 10 days of solid work in a semester which I'm not complaining about. You do have to go to class though for the most part.

Most of your earlier classes will be large lectures, which is fine. You can generally miss them if you need to or do the sudoku in the Collegian. Most people don't study much. I've only gotten to know a couple of professors personally, but that's alright. You should get to know some though for references at least.

Most prohessors the first few year know you as a number, but as you move on they will remember the person, more than the number.

People have the misconception that all classes at University Park are huge lectures. This just isn't the case. When you are signing up for classes its easy to see what you are getting into and how many people will be in your classes. Most of my classes have had about 25 people at the most. As far as class participation goes (I'm going on my experiences with English classes at PSU) there are usually 5 or 10 students that are always on the ball. In my studio art classes however, everyone is excited and constantly buzzing with new ideas. I would not recommend taking a large lecture class in the Forum or Thomas. In these classes you get lost and its so easy to just simply stop going and hope to God that Nittany Notes can help you out. As for English, I would highly recommend taking courses with a grad student if at all possible. They are much more likely to see outside of class and continue the learning experience all over campus. I did have a very seasoned prof. in my COMM 150 class who set aside every Wednesday to meet with students at a bagel shop down town to simpy talk about movies!

The first year classes are mostly huge, like 300+. This is weird to some I guess, I'm personally from a tiny school and it's really no big deal. Some classes are attendance based, most aren't but lecture notes aren't always posted online so attendance is sort of important. Check ratemyprofessor.com for info on classes, there really is no set teaching style or difficulty because there are like 100 departments and like 20 professors within each department. My department, geography, is amazing. It's small and everyone's friendly and outgoing. Before geography I was in engineering which I found to be the opposite, huge and professor's were hardasses.

Most professors will not know your name. Once you enter into your major and have some smaller classes then professors might know your name. In large classes (300+), participation is rare. Industrial Engineering at PSU is a highly ranked program with nice facilities and good professors.

Big classes can be intimidating. You WILL have classes 100 Thomas and the Forum building, which are big lecture halls. The forum can typically seat between 300-450 students, and 100 Thomas seats around 750. That said, big classes aren't as bad as they're cracked up to be. In face, I really like them. First of all, taking attendance is impossible, so if it's a blow-off class, like most of the intro-classes are, then you don't really have to go all that often. And if you really want to get to know the professor, then they all hold office hours multiple times every week, where you can go to get extra help. Overall, you're going to have a mix of tougher classes and easier classes. From what I hear, the science-intensive majors (read: engineering, physics, chem, bio, etc.) are much more challenging than most of the business classes, which are tougher than a lot of liberal arts and communications classes. This being said, you're going to have easy and hard classes regardless of your major. Another thing to note is that although the classes are fairly standardized, the tests aren't. Some professors are MUCH easier than others, so I'd use ratemyprofessor.com as a guide before scheduling.

Since Penn State is a huge university, it really is up to you how well you get involved in your academics. No one but is going to be holding you accountable here. Everything depends; what major you're in, how involved you get in your classes, what sorts of things you're interested in. You can do as much or as little as you want to get by here. Still, there's a sense of community here in that we all have to be somewhat intelligent since we were all accepted at a high-ranking university. The English department I know first-hand. I love what I study, and that's why I study it. I'm not driven by money or prestige, and I think that separates liberal arts majors from the rest. We're genuinely passionate about what we study. I've gotten to know only a couple of professors outside of class, but not because the others didn't give me their time. I had plenty of opportunity to meet with professors outside of class, and I know they really like meeting and getting to know their students. The English major is all about learning how to communicate, how to form arguments reasonably and for the sake of classic study. I did feel like there were some artsy-fartsy types in my major, who wore barets to class and thought they were entirely too complicated. But there were also plenty who were grounded and down-to-earth (if that can be said about an English major). There's lots of variations of study and in people in the English major. Again, it's what you make of it.

Class size depends on the department and whether the class is a general education requirement. The foreign language classes and English classes are almost always very small. Most of the other gen. ed. classes are huge, some easily reaching 700 people. My department is the largest department in the College of the Liberal Arts. That being said, it is actually on the small side. This allows us to get to know the faculty, which is beneficial for future endeavors. I know people in science, engineering, and business have a much more difficult time getting to know the faculty because of the shear size of the respective departments. The general education requirements are somewhat excessive, but at the same time, I really do think I know more than some of my friends at other schools. Although you may think these requirements are ridiculous, they can help you in your actual major.

Some classes, obviously, are very big. Some are small. Depends on the class and its level - intro courses tend to be large. Students do a reasonable amount of studying but nothing outrageous. The lack of intellectual debate on campus is very obvious - those who are actually interested in learning and thinking find themselves distanced, somehow, from their fun-loving counterparts who go to class and take exams, but couldn't care less about actually broadening their intellect. PSU's academic requirements are rather easy to meet - anyone with a social security number can basically be accepted to a commonwealth campus. And while the school pretends to make a huge fuss about main campus, those same D+ high school average, beer guzzling, 20-and-never-lived-anywhere-but-with-mom types still make it down to University park their junior year. Even requirements for freshmen aren't that demanding. A 1200 on one's SATs isn't that impressive. I certainly feel that if you dig into your courses and work hard on mastering the material, not just cramming it in for an exam, the education here is solid and will prepare you for the future.

My friends refer to my major (English) as fake, but I don't think that's true. My science and math major friends have their problem sets and lab reports, but I have fifteen page research papers and over twenty books to read- all the way through. My books aren't textbooks that I have to read bits and pieces of. I have 400 page novels that I have to read all of, sometimes in a week or less. My course work can be just as rigorous, just on a different scale.

All of my current professors at least know my face. There is only one that does not know my name, but she commented in class the other day that I always ask great questions. Just as it is with the social aspect, Penn State academics are what you make of them. You can choose to participate or not participate as you see fit at Penn State. The professors encourage you to want to do better and to try and work hard, but the intrinsic motivation really mainly comes from one place. My favorite classes by far have been those in which I have had a pre-existing interest in the content and those in which the professors have made the content interesting and engaging. I have particularly enjoyed HD FS classes and Psych classes here at Penn State. I also had a spectacular Sociology class with Dr. Silver. I actually honors optioned her class and learned so much that will be helpful to me in my career! Another professor that I've had along the way was Bonnie Osif. She was a wonderful teacher as she made each class period very personal. I have had the pleasure of meeting with her outside of classes to discuss other aspects of life, such as a shared interest in the Czech Republic. I love when professors develop a personal relationship with their students. It makes the academic experience far more valuable in my opinion.

Classes tend to be large but once you get into your core major classes, the classes are smaller. As a freshman I was a little intimidated at first by the huge lecture halls-there were people sitting on the floors and in the hallways because they couldn't get a seat. But that's unusual. It can also be a challenge scheduling classes because there are so many students, but if you really need to take a certain class, you can almost always convince administration to let you join. Almost all of the teachers I have had have been really good and really know what they are talking about. My favorite class so far has been sociology race relations. My teacher was the most open-minded individual I have ever met and encouraged this kind of thinking in us, as well as active participation on the part of the students. We even took a genetics test and I found out that I was 2{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} African! I find that my major of public relations is quite easy and I seldom have a lot of work to do. My friends that are business majors or science oriented majors on the other hand, have a much larger course load it seems. The business school is great at PSU, and it is known for its art and architecture department.

Academics at Penn State are tough. Do not come here expecting to not do a lot of work. Most courses during freshman year are very large, and interaction with professors is almost non-existent unless you literally hunt them down. As you get farther into your major though, class sizes become much smaller and interaction with professors is a regular occurrence. My major is meteorology, which is a top-notch and extremely difficult department. I have heard from other majors that they have less work, but no matter what you study at Penn State, expect a challenge!

Academically, I have found that classes vary a lot. In the bigger classes, generally your Gen Eds, professors don't often know your name and you generally get lost in a crowd. Some professors from these settings are willing to meet outside of class and some aren't. I find that some professors care only for their research and are teaching only to fulfill a requirement and teach accordingly. However, in the smaller classes, I find that the teachers are much more open to spending time with the individuals and going over things that were not well understood. Furthermore, they seem more open and likely to spend time with students outside of the classroom. As for intellectual conversations, I really feel that depends on the group of people you are hanging around. In some of my circles of friends, we have really deep discussions all the time but other groups you just knock around and have a good time.

Professors know your name if you participate generally speaking. I like my smaller classes because the students bother to get to know each other, most of the time. I don't really spend time with professors outside of class, but I could if I desired.

All of my professors know my name now. I'm a senior. Plus I'm a liberal arts major, so most of my classes have always been small. I've had lectures with 100's of students, but it's really not bad. If you want professors to know your name, and if you want a personal relationship with them, you can have that. It's really up to you. I love all of my Fiction Writing workshops. English 212, 412, and 422. My professors were great, my classmates were great, and the workshop setting is optimal. But I also LOVED BiSci 003 with Chris Uhl. It counts as a Gen Ed Science, and I suggest every freshman take it. It could change your life. I've hated every single one of my math classes. They were all taught by impossible to understand foreign professors and were incredibly boring. I don't study that often. Certainly not every day. And I've made dean's list once or twice. Class participation is huge in little classes. It gets kind of annoying, being graded on attendance. I hear intellectual conversation almost everywhere I go on campus and off. Some students are competitive and others are really laid back. We have a variety of attitudes here about school work. You can be yourself and do what you want. The most unique class I've taken was BiSci 003 with Chris Uhl. you learn about yourself and the earth... it's very personal and it's an amazing experience. I reccomend that every student take it. The English Department is small but very helpful. I know a lot of the professors and there are people in the department from all different background and different professors are interested in different fields. The major has the option of several different emphasis areas as well. No matter what part of English you like, 19th Century, contemporary, fiction, non-ficton, poetry, writing... we have classes for all of that. You can really personalize your English major.

Yes, IST 501, CSE Something, They do study on sundays and near exam. Yes. Yes they do have intellectual conversations outside the class. Students are competitive but in a normal way. Well as I was a graduate student so nothing out of ordinary. My major was IST, it was a blend of various departments analysing information people and technology all the professors were coming from different specialities and were very fridnly and cooperative. Inside my research lab we had dinners and retreats, we often went to our professors house so it was fun. Academic requirements are pretty stringent and strict and they are very focused on getting their graduates jobs as well as making them a better intellectual

Main campus is huge. Most classes are over 100 people. If students make the effort to get noticed, it is possible to gain your professors' attention. But it's a lot easier to just disappear and float through 4, 5, 6 years unnoticed. The most unique class I took was World Religions 001. It opened my eyes to understanding other ways of being. Most people love Soc 005 with Frank Clemente. It is also a pretty eye opening class, and I would say a "must-take" course.

Yes, some professors know my name. My favorite class is theater 101 and least are comm 381 and geog 120. Class participation is common. I don't like my major, I am a senior and still don't even know what it is (telecommunications???)

In some of the smaller classes, professors do know my name. My favorite class would be psychology 270, since that kind of education always interests me. My least favorite class was comp sci. In a few classes, class participation is common, and that is one thing that I do not like, when half of one's grade is based on class participation. My major is SCM, supply chain management, and time is spent with professors outside f class. I feel that PSU's academic requirements are not soley geared towards getting a job, but also focus on teaching students about their major and how this knowledge can be applied to the real world.

I would assume most of my professors know my name. Chinese & Finance 410 would be my favorite classes. Least favorite would be BISCI 004 and Geography 124. Most unique class would be Gemology: The chemical properties of gemstones. I am a double major: Finance & Chinese (Mandarin). I don't spend time with my teachers outside of class. I think the academic requirements are fine. I would say education here is geared toward getting a job.

Depending on the size of the class, professors know your name. Usually, as you start to take higher level classes you have professors multiple times and class sizes are smaller. My favorite class was Family Therapy. My major is Human Development and Family Studies and I thought family therapy was very interesting. My least favorite classes were math classes. They were mostly taught by Asian Graduate students who I could not understand and who did not care about my progress or success, I hated math because of it. Class participation is common in English or Speech classes. Yes, PSU students have intellectual conversations outside of class. I do not think that the majority of students in my major were competitive. The most unique class that I took was Art. I love it because the teaching method and presentation of the drawing class was so different than any other that I have ever taken. My major is great. Most of the professors are really personable and willing to help. The administration for the department, though, is below par. Academic advisers do not offer much help and the internship faculty offers little support.

all of my professors know my name. my favorite class was english 215 and my least favorite bio141. students study a lot. the library is always crowded. class participation in my classes is common. i have lots of intellectual discussions outside of class, and students are competitive. im an english major. i dont spend time w/ profs outside class really.