The academics at SIU, I believe, are grossly underrated. Southern has a reputation of being a party school, and because of that its academic reputation suffers. However, speaking from my own experiences, I've found my classes to be both challenging, informative, and speaking generally, having contributed positively to my academic growth. I'm an English major and have been for essentially the duration of my college career, so my personal experience with other departments is limited. What I will say, is that for the most part, all of my teachers, regardless of their departmental affiliation, have been more than willing to take a personal interest in me, and been incredibly flexible with their office hours. This is important, because at least for me, I've found that when I'm able to build a personal relationship with a teacher, I feel more comfortable in class, more comfortable seeking help when I need it, and generally feel that my performance in the class is helped. Now, not every department on campus is greatest thing ever. I've heard droves of complaints about the math department. Personally, I'm terrible at math, and I always have been, so it was no surprise to me that I struggled in the one math class I took at SIU. What I will say, is that my T.A. was more than willing to sit down with anyone who wanted help, and the department offered study sessions each week for any student interested. In all honesty, much of the problem with the math department stems from the fact that it's consistent mostly of foreigners almost exclusively from Asian countries, and to put it plainly, there is a language barrier. As unfortunate as it is to say, things like that matter. If the students literally can't understand what the teacher is saying, there is going to be an issue, regardless of that teacher's abilities. What I will say though, is that many of the students in the lower level math classes, like Math 113, which the university requires that everyone take, tend to give the bare minimum effort, because math is boring, and hardly anyone likes doing it. As far as other departments that tend to be viewed negatively, the Education Department is at the top of the list. As an English major, I've had classes with tons of people studying education, and overwhelmingly those students complain that their teachers and advisers are simply not good. I'm not an education student, so I can't speak from personal experience, but from what I've heard, the Education Department is one of the worst on campus. However, the English department is one of the best in the state. I can honestly say that I haven't had a bad English teacher yet. English 101 can be a little tricky, because it's taught by graduate assistants, and it can be hit or miss sometimes with the quality or aptitude of their educational abilities. Plus, some graduate students tend to think a little more highly of themselves than they should, and can be overly critical or scrutinize too heavily, but as far as the tenured professors of the college are concerned, they're some of the best. It should be noted that the bread and butter of SIU academics are the Engineering program and the Aviation program. We have the second best Engineering program in the state, and the best Aviation school in the nation, withholding the Air Force academy. Depending on your field, your program can be geared in one direction or another in terms of whether it's designed for getting a job immediately or simply learning for the sake of doing so. The English department is definitely a program geared more towards gaining knowledge, as most English students either pursue a secondary degree, go into education, or have another major as well. However, one of my roommates is a part of the Radio-TV department, and his program is the polar opposite. His department is definitely geared toward job placement, and according to him, many of his former classmates who have graduated are currently holding jobs in their department. Furthermore, one of my former rugby teammates was an engineering major, and he got a job right out of college making 80,000 dollars a year. This is obviously not typical, and he works in an incredibly narrow field, but it's just another example of how some programs prepare you to get a job right away, while others give you to the tools to go into any number of fields. As far as classroom competitiveness, I'd say that it's fairly mild. Personally, I'm incredibly competitive, and I want to be the best all the time, so I treat every class like a competition. Not everyone at SIU shares this motivation, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There is a great sense of community at SIU, and at least from my experiences, students like to help each other, and use each other as resources. We're all smart here (for the most part...like at any college, intellectually challenged individuals can seem abundant at times) and we're all capable of doing great things, so it's only logical for students to rely on each other for help and to bounce ideas off one another. I've met a lot of really intelligent people that have expanded my ways of thinking and provided me with insights that I might not have gotten from a college with a lesser sense of community.