St John’s University-New York Top Questions

The professors are hit or miss but I think that's like every school Either you get the beat or the worst. That's why students now use Ratemyprofessor.com every class I have taken all the professors learned our Names right away especially in the English department because it is small. You Get to know your professors right away. I do have intellectual conversations outside class Usually at the d Angelo center at Starbucks with my friends. If there is a particular Professor I like I'll grab a coffee with them or visit them at their office.

I love my course schedule at St. John's. I'm an English and Government and Politics major and I just love it. My largest class has 35 students in it, and my smallest has 15. Every professor knows me by name and always encourages class participation. One of my favorite classes, Western Political Thought, was devoted to discussing topics like "friendship, love, justice, etc". Some students disliked discussing these topics and preferred textbook conversation instead, but I liked the open-ended questions and personal opinions that were introduced. We discussed learning for the sake of learning, which is a liberal education, as opposed to learning only for the end result of getting a job. St. John's encompasses both aspects of learning. For example, our liberal arts college, requires students to take core courses in various subjects and encourage students to study abroad. The business school, Tobin, is more strict and not as likely to allow a student to study abroad, and is geared towards getting a job. Although each college host job and internship fairs, it seems as if some college are more interested in jobs than others.

The academics at St. John's University are fairly rigorous, but at the same time, it would not be impossible for a student to skate by for the majority of his or her time at school. The professors are fantastic, in the English department. I have never had a teacher not know my name, and almost all my classes are under 30 students. However, I am a bit of an exception; I am an English major, which naturally lends itself to smaller class sizes and more discussion-based classes than say introduction to biology or something of that nature. Furthermore, I am an honor student, and almost all the classes I have taken outside the English department have been honors courses, which are also smaller and more discussion v. lecture based. As an honors student, and a bit of an English nerd, I've always had plenty of discussions outside of class, even on weekends, but I know this is not always the case. One of my friend groups consists almost entirely of the party-type people, and although they are great, I have never heard them discuss class, or anything remotely academic, in or out of class. Interaction with professors is again up to the student; I have a personal relationship with several of my professors, but I know that with other people, and I hear that in the more science-related departments, interaction with professors, or even understanding the professors English, is not guaranteed. Competition among students seems again to vary greatly from department to department; I never worry about how my fellow English majors are doing, but I have frequently heard my friends, majors in Biology, pre-med, and pharmacy, complain about one student ruining a curve, or needing only to beet a certain number of people to achieve an A, etc.

The academics at St. John's University are very good. I am an English major with a minor in creative writing and the English faculty is always there to help their students with school work, preparation, studying, and skill-building. I have been in contact with several other students who have majors in communications, sports management, pharmacy, accounting, finance, legal studies, and hospitality management to name a few. They all have grades over 3.0 and are pursuing good careers in their fields. Some have internships and part-time positions thanks to what they are learning in class. If a student is struggling with their academic material or with writing assignments the university has access to a tutoring center and a writing center that provides excellent service. I am not the greatest in mathematics, so when I had to take a core class in the subject I went to the tutoring center a few times throughout the semester for help. Thanks to what I learned in the center, I received an A for the class.

Some of these questions I don't feel I could give general answers to, because to start off with, I am an English and French double major, and so the humanities departments are the ones that I deal with most of the time. These two departments are smaller than say, the psychology department, and so each of my professors know me by name and style. I'd say that I have had pretty decent relationships with most of my major professors throughout my time at school, and that's because they take in interest in who I am as a person and not just another student. It's a two-way street, because for the students that aren't willing to put in the effort to go the extra mile with their professors and classes, then they come out like any other kid who went to college and got any old degree. However, because I put time forward to get into conversations with my professors - about my academics or future or otherwise - I think I'd say that their basis for education is geared toward learning for learning's sake as well as getting a job. Most of the faculty have superb educational backgrounds and according connections to give to the students to work hard. I will not waste my time writing that the entire campus is a bunch of bookworms who are all competitively fighting for ranks between their 3.7-3.9 GPAs. There are countless students who I watch text in class each day, knowing that they're flushing their time and money down the toilet; but then the kid a row behind me starts to engage those students who care in a discussion about postmodern politics the effect of Occupy Wall Street on the recent lethargy of the American people. I find myself having conversations like this among my peers outside of the classroom too, but again, it arises in those students who are not in college simply "to get a bachelors degree so they can get a better job." Those students do what they have to do to get by. The students who are there to learn there, they show it. A friend of mine just recently won a position for a national conference for an essay show wrote critiquing our on-campus Writing Center. Another friend of mine is the president of an on-campus group for psychology majors and people interested in working with psychological issues. I find motivation and drive from students like those I've been explaining to propel myself forward. You CAN find intellectualism and great academia; you just have to want it yourself.

The academics in the Graduate English Department have been incredibly stimulating and informative. The department offers a BA/MA program, an MA program, and a DA program; these range in options offer students, in differing academic stages, varying opportunities. Because it is a relatively small Department, fairly soon, students and professors become very familiar with one another. Professors are readily accessible for help outside of class, via e-mail or in office hours, which helps strengthen student/teacher bonds. It is quite common to know classmate’s names, and professors know student’s names because class size never exceeds 25 students. Students study hard and on the Graduate level this is generally expected. Graduate students are often daughters/sons, wives/ husbands/, and mothers/fathers; the program allows for students to work hard and make time for personal matters as well. Preparation is required for mandatory class participation, which is generally very amicable and not competitive. Debates and disagreements are expressed respectfully and continue outside of class, sometimes on blogs. Students are expected to work rigorously to maintain academic requirements (GPA’s etc.), but never to increasingly overwhelming lengths. The coursework is challenging, but not unmanageable by most standards. My most favorite and unique class at St. John’s has been a Postcolonial Studies course taught by Professor Jennifer Travis entitled, Trauma Studies. It was my favorite class because it introduced me to a field I was relatively unfamiliar with. Thinking about this topic, furthered my interest in nationhood and identity, which are currently my dissertation prospects. I have no least favorite course because each class was enriching in its own way. The primary goal of all courses is to educate. While the DA program is heavily invested in pedagogy and theory, it trains academic scholars, before it does teachers and professors. Speaking as a former MA student, I am very pleased with my Graduate experience at St. John’s.

Though St. John's is not the most competitive school to receive an acceptance letter from, it is easier to get in than it is to stay in. The student teacher ratio is 17:1 and so professors are able to get to know students on a first name basis. Coursework is intense and so it is important for students to manage their time, committing a fair amount of hours to every class each week. Most professors have completed higher education, which accounts for the workload of each class. A unique thing St. John's has to offer is its Career Center. Students can reach out to the Career Center in search of jobs or internships and even years after graduating St. John's, you are still able to come back and utilize this resource.

Though St. John's is not the most competitive school to receive an acceptance letter from, it is easier to get in than it is to stay in. The student teacher ratio is 17:1 and so professors are able to get to know students on a first name basis. Coursework is intense and so it is important for students to manage their time, committing a fair amount of hours to every class each week. Most professors have completed higher education, which accounts for the workload of each class. A unique thing St. John's has to offer is its Career Center. Students can reach out to the Career Center in search of jobs or internships and even years after graduating St. John's, you are still able to come back and utilize this resource.

I've never had a large, lecture type of class at St. John's where the professor doesn't know who you are. All of my classes were small, with the largest being maybe 40 students or so for a Biology core. I definitely prefer small classes where you can interact with other students and the professors on a direct and persona level, and St. John's offers that.

The professors make sure that they learn everyone's name and they make sure that all of the students are doing well. The school has a lot of programs for students so that they can start connecting with alumni and find internships. In regards to the students, studying and conversations are pretty subjective, but the school makes sure that there are various facilities available for the students to study and even just to socialize in.

Professors can call most of their students by name, except the students who slip under the radar due to inactivity during class. My largest class consisted of 40 to 50 students, and even then, the professor employed a memory-game to have each of us know our classmates’ names by heart (therefore he can learn them as well). Most classes have about 20-30 students. My favorite class was Philosophy: (Honors) Logic with Professor Gianelli. It combined rigorous coursework met by hard work on the part of the students with ample explanation and patience on the part of the professor. The subject matter was very interesting and applicable to everyday usage of language and thinking, while the professor was engaging and conversational in his style of teaching. The class was tiny, consisting of about 10 to 15 students. My least favorite class was Discover New York because it seemed pointless and that sentiment was reflected in both the attitude of my classmates and my professor. Everyone seemed to care less about the academic portion of the course and more about the mandated trips to the city for Broadway shows and tours of museums. While collectively, most students probably don’t study too much (depending on how devoted they are to their education), many students I know are holed up in the library for hours on end each week. Some students don’t study outside of class time. Some students study for 4-5 hours a day, going over the coursework that was covered very quickly during class for the professor expects them to understand it through individual self-review. Or others type out early drafts of papers to submit to the Writing Center for improvement tips. I personally study an average of 8-10 hours a week, give or take additional hours if there are papers due or tests, and not factoring in the time spent at my job and organizations. While some classes have high levels of participation, some classes are spent in moderate silence. While professors will prompt students, students should take the initiative to get the most out of the class by engaging the professor in discourse about the subject. Some classes like Philosophy: (Honors) Logic may require more extensive explanation by the professor, so the students choose not to participate as often. But a class that is built around discussion, such as Introduction to Creative Writing, requires dedicated students to speak up. Many students, with intellectual conversation already sparked during class, continue their discussions long after the professor has released them. Many organizations on campus also encourage discussion of current events, controversial topics and age-old philosophical questions. I’m a member of the NAACP and at each meeting there is a room full of students voluntarily discussing social and racial issues in addition to their mandatory classes. My Mock Trial team cultivates verbal articulation for the purpose of intellectual debate. The close-knit campus atmosphere creates a constant buzz of activity and an aura of activism, as professors and students alike fervently spread their opinions in the form of signature solicitations for petitions (for Troy Davis) or chalk writings on the walkways (for Take Back the Night: Breaking the Silence about Sexual Violence). As it is with all colleges, there are a select number of students whose drive and ambition make them the most competitive out of their classmates. However, these numbers aren’t few at St. John’s for there are many at the top that vey for the coveted spots of highest honors. Such honors include the various Honor Societies for each college and most majors/minors, the President’s Society that spans all colleges, the Skull and Circle Liberal Arts and Science Honor Society and the Honors Program. The most unique class I’ve taken thus far is Latin American Art History. It covered all mediums of art from the time of the Mayans and the ideologies they exhibited through their stone carvings to later European-influenced art. While taking the class, I often forgot that I was receiving a grade at the end of the year for my performance in the class because the subject matter was so engrossing and the professor was thoroughly passionate. The English, Government and Philosophy departments of the university are comprised of talented and innovative leading researchers and writers in their fields. Each professor offers something unique to his or her respective department. In the English Department, many professors coordinate their classes with the Writing Center (leaders of which attend annual writing conferences to utilize the most effective modes of tutoring) to offer as many sources of help to students as possible. In the Government Department, professors propose classes based on their passions, such as Politics of Genocide (pushed for by an almost over-zealous professor), Constitutional Law (a first year law school class) and Current Terrorist Movements. The Philosophy Department boasts of amazing professors that I want to take again and again (I’ve taken Professor Gianelli twice and I have another class with him next semester). I personally don’t spend an ample amount of time outside of class with my professors because of my busy schedule, but there are a few professors that I’ve gotten to know better outside the context of the class. Often, a few students will stay after the class to ask more detailed questions about the subject discussed or ask the professor to expand on something he had mentioned. Once, my Emerging Global Societies professor invited our entire class to his apartment after finals to meet and then take a tour of the MET as a reward for our hard work during the semester. I greatly valued that personal time with the professor and to this day, it remains one of my most vivid memories of St. John’s. Though initially, I thought the core requirements were unnecessarily extensive (especially with three philosophy courses and three theology courses), but then I found myself appreciating the subjects I had once deemed pointless. I liked philosophy so much from my core requirements that I picked it up as a minor to further my understanding of it. St. John’s offers a classic education, with a focus on critical thought and well-roundedness (in addition to philosophy and theology: history, math, science, language and writing courses are required of all students). The education at St. John’s is geared towards learning and gaining an open-minded perception of the world. The philosophy and theology courses are not just for Catholic students, but for every student, so they are all-encompassing, covering a wide array of theories and religions. The purpose of the classes is not to strengthen faith or evangelize, but to have students explore the theories behind existence and human mental capabilities.

Professors can call most of their students by name, except the ones who slip under the radar due to inactivity during class. My largest class consisted of 30 to 40-something students, and even then, the professor employed a memory-game to have each of us know our classmates’ names by heart (therefore he can learn them as well). Most classes have about 20-30 students. My favorite class as Philosophy: Honors Logic with Professor Gianelli. It combined rigorous coursework met by hard work on the part of the students with ample explanation and patience on the part of the professor. The subject matter was very interesting and applicable to everyday usage of language and thinking, while the professor was engaging and conversational in his style of teaching. The class was also tiny, consisting of about 10 to 15 students. My least favorite class was Discover New York because it seemed pointless and that sentiment was reflected in both the attitude of my classmates and my professor. Nobody seemed to care so much about the academic portion of the course and more about the mandated trips to the city for Broadway shows and tours of museums. While collectively, most students probably don’t study that often (depending on how devoted they are to their education), many students that I know are holed up in the library for hours on end each week. Some students don’t study outside of class time. Some students study for 3 hours a day, going over the coursework that was covered very quickly during class for the professor expects them to understand it through individual self-review, or typing out early drafts of papers to submit to the Writing Center for improvement tips. I personally study an average of 8-10 hours a week, give or take additional hours if there are papers due or tests, and not factoring in the time spent at my job and organizations. While some classes have high levels of participation, some classes are spent in moderate silence. Most of the time, the students must take initiative to get the most out of the class by engaging the professor in discourse about the subject. Some classes like Philosophy: Honors Logic may require more extensive explanation by the professor, so the students choose not to participate as often as a class that is built around discussion, such as Introduction to Creative Writing. Many students, with intellectual conversation already sparked during class, continue their discussions long after the professor has released them. Many organizations on campus also encourage discussion of current events, controversial topics and age-old philosophical questions. I’m a member of the NAACP and at each meeting there is a room full of students voluntarily discussing social and racial issues in addition to their mandatory classes. My Mock Trial team cultivates speaking ability for the purpose of intellectual debate and conversation. The close-knit campus atmosphere creates a constant buzz of activity and an aura of activism, as professors and students alike fervently spread their opinions in the form of signature solicitations for petitions (for Troy Davis) or chalk writings on the walkways (for Take Back the Night: Breaking the Silence about Sexual Violence). As it is with all colleges, there are a select number of students whose drive and ambition make them the most competitive out of their classmates. However, these numbers aren’t few for there are many at the top that vey for the coveted few spots of highest honors. Such honors include the various Honor Societies for each college and most majors/minors, the President’s Society that spans all colleges, the Skull and Circle Liberal Arts and Science Honor Society and the Honors Program. The most unique class I’ve taken is Latin American Art History. It covered all mediums of art from the time of the Mayans and the ideologies they exhibited through their stone carvings to later, European-influenced art. While taking the class, I often forgot that I was receiving a grade at the end of the year for my performance in the class because the subject matter was so engrossing and the professor was thoroughly passionate about his field of expertise. The English, Government and Philosophy departments of the university are comprised of talented and innovative leading researchers and writers in their fields. Each professor offers something unique to the departments. In the English Department, many professors coordinate their classes with the Writing Center (leaders of which attend annual writing conferences to utilize the most effective modes of tutoring) to offer as many sources of help to students as possible. In the Government Department, professors propose classes based on their passions, such as Politics of Genocide (pushed for by an almost over-zealous professor), Constitutional Law (a first year law school class) and Current Terrorist Movements. I personally don’t spend an ample amount of time outside of class with my professors because of my busy schedule, but there are a few professors that I’ve gotten to know better outside the context of the class. Often, a few students will stay after the class to ask more detailed questions about the subject discussed or ask the professor to expand on something he had mentioned. Once, my Emerging Global Societies professor invited us our entire class over to his apartment after finals to meet and then take a tour of the MET as a reward for our hard work during the semester. I greatly valued that personal time with the professor and to this day, it remains one of my most vivid memories of that professor. Though initially, I thought the core requirements were unnecessarily extensive (especially with three philosophy courses and three theology courses), but then I found myself appreciating the subjects I had deemed pointless. I liked philosophy so much from my core requirements that I picked it up as a minor to further my understanding. St. John’s offers a classic education, with a focus on critical thought and well-roundedness (in addition to philosophy and theology: history, math, science, language and writing courses are required of all students). The education at St. John’s is geared towards learning and gaining an open-minded perception of the world. The philosophy and theology courses are not just for Catholic students, but for every student, so they are all-encompassing, covering a wide array of theories and religions. The purpose of the classes is not to strengthen faith or evangelize, but to have students explore the theories behind existence and human mental capabilities.

I can hardly say that the classes are amazing or mind-blowing; maybe that is because I am still in many entry-level classes. I have to admit that I feel I have learned a lot so far at St. John's; my photography and theology classes especially challenged me in two areas that I had never been challenged before, which was cool, if not a little intimidating! I don't particularly like how many core requirements there are for liberal arts majors, but I suppose that is an occupational hazard of the liberal arts major! Overall, I would say I am having a positive academic impact at St. John's. The professors seem caring, knowledgeable, and dedicated. I haven't encountered a disappointment in the faculty so far.

The academics at St. John's University are very good. I am an English major with a minor in creative writing and the English faculty is always there to help their students with school work, preparation, studying, and skill-building. I have been in contact with several other students who have majors in communications, sports management, pharmacy, accounting, finance, legal studies, and hospitality management to name a few. They all have grades over 3.0 and are pursuing good careers in their fields. Some have internships and part-time positions thanks to what they are learning in class. If a student is struggling with their academic material or with writing assignments the University has access to a tutoring center and a writing center that provides excellent service. I am not the greatest in mathematics so when I had to take a core class in the subject I went to the tutoring center a few times throughout the semester for help. Thanks to what I learned in the center I received an A for the class.

The academics at St. John's University are very good. I am an English major with a minor in creative writing and the English faculty is always there to help their students with school work, preparation, studying, and skill-building. I have been in contact with several other students who have majors in communications, sports management, pharmacy, accounting, finance, legal studies, and hospitality management to name a few. They all have grades over 3.0 and are pursuing good careers in their fields. Some have internships and part-time positions thanks to what they are learning in class. If a student is struggling with their academic material or with writing assignments the University has access to a tutoring center and a Writing Center hat provides excellent service to their students. I am not the greatest in mathematics so when I had to take a core class in Mathematics, I went to the tutoring center a few times throughout the semester for help. Thanks to what I learned in the center I received an A for the class.

The academics are very strong. Every professor I've had in a class that required regular participation knew my name within the first view weeks. Participation is strongly encouraged and warmly welcomed. Professors have been known to engage in long discussions on topics in class and sometimes out of. The English department is very strong. The professors are always willing to help and lend a hand to any student. The classes are so diverse in most subjects that they're good for both pursuing a future career or learning for the sake of learning.

The rigor of academics at St. John's University varies. When it comes to classes that make up the core curriculum, I have found myself bored and rarely challenged. However, when it comes to my major, which is English, I am consistently engaged. The majority of professors make themselves readily available when needed and are willing to assist a student whenever possible - however, some seem as though they'd rather be elsewhere than teaching a bunch of college students. For the most part, the professors really seem to love what they do. Also, most of the classes I have taken have been considerably smaller than what I had expected prior to attending college, making for an intimate and personal learning experience. This also allows for more adequate participation, as the discussions become more like conversations between the students - allowing for more in depth understanding and analysis of the material. Studying is, of course, crucial to doing well in school - and areas designated for studying on the St. John's campus are plentiful. There are many student centers and common areas specifically for the purpose of studying and further developing knowledge - and many of these areas are open 24 hours a day. Overall, the academics at St. John's University are up to par and allow for students to broaden their minds and work towards successful futures.

Academics at St. John's varies throughout the five colleges on campus. It is well known that the six-year pharmacy program is widely revered and highly difficult so pharmacy students never leave the library. The School of Education students live an extremely leisurely life yet have the attitudes that the school revolves around them. The College of Professional studies is known to be one of the easiest schools yet it has awesome electives like wine tasting classes and piano classes that fill up almost instantaneously each semester. The Tobin College of Business is very difficult but provides students with many real world opportunities working with businesses in New York that give them a leg up on the competition from other colleges. My college, the St. John's College of Liberal Arts, can be difficult or easy and really is whatever the student makes of it. As a double major in both government and politics and English and a minor in Economics I couldn't be more pleased with my education. My classes are difficult and always engaging. I have taken fascinating classes such as the Politics of Genocide, Media and Politics, and the History of Silent Film. St. John's definitely builds scholars but also has a reputation for landing students incredible jobs through its large network. The vast number of 5-year masters programs here are quite sought after as well.

The rigor of academics at St. John's University varies. When it comes to classes that make up the core curriculum, I have found myself bored and rarely challenged. However, when it comes to my major, which is English, I am consistently engaged. The majority of professors make themselves readily available when needed and are willing to assist a student whenever possible - however, some seem as though they'd rather be elsewhere than teaching a bunch of college students. For the most part, the professors really seem to love what they do. Also, most of the classes I have taken have been considerably smaller than what I had expected prior to attending college, making for an intimate and personal learning experience. This also allows for more adequate participation, as the discussions become more like conversations between the students - allowing for more in depth understanding and analysis of the material. Studying is, of course, crucial to doing well in school - and areas designated for studying on the St. John's campus are plentiful. There are many student centers and common areas specifically for the purpose of studying and further developing knowledge - and many of these areas are open 24 hours a day. Overall, the academics at St. John's University are up to par and allow for students to broaden their minds and work towards successful futures.

Anyone who says that St. John's gives out 'easy As' obviously hasn't taken a class here since 1972. We work hard for our grades, especially when you get paired with a professor just as arrogant and incompetent as the next teacher is inspiring and capable. It's a disparaging toss-up of professors that you might get at StJ, that no amount of scrolling RateMyProfessors.com can prepare you for. I've had professors that've run the gamut from easily displaying why they deserve their tenure to some that I don't understand how they haven't lost their teaching license yet. Every now and then you'll get a professor that takes the time to learn your name, no matter how big the class is, but most likely you won't, no matter what size the class is. My favorite class is Creative Writing, indicative of my minor. My least favorite is any theology course; I'm not sure if it's the subject, the professor, or a little bit of both, but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I figure it out. Class participation all depends on what class it is; one one hand you have some classes which are very interactive and you're happy to engage in and on the other hand, you have classes with professors that have no regard for the students, so they speak so fast that you'll miss half the lesson if try to stop and speak. Like I said before, it really is a random toss- up. Outside of class, most of the time we're having intellectual conversations about a class we have together because if we relied on the teacher's conversation alone, we'd all flunk out of college. We rarely have time for ourselves; we practically LIVE for the weekend. Fortunately for me, StJ has a really great English department, which is my major. This upcoming semester will be the last of my core classes, and I will only have to worry about classes for my major and minor. That's one of the advantages of StJ; they give you a lot of ridiculous core classes, but at least you're done with them by your junior year as opposed to having to take them every semester. With all that being said, even though we have a career center to help us gain employment, sometimes I can't help but feel that education at StJ is geared toward learning for its own sake,

Academics at St. John's University very from department to department, but my overall understanding from my own experience and talking to my classmates is that the education here is pretty good overall. Most of my classes, especially my English Major classes, have been excellent and challenging. My professors all seem to genuinely care about their department and their students, going out of their way to help us when we are confused, need a job/grad school reference, or just simply want to talk during their office hours about our life and future goals. St. John's has a large core curriculum that it requires all students to take, and while I was upset about being forced into so many courses that did not interest me when I enrolled, I have found that some of my most rewarding and fun classes have been core classes. For example, I took a history core Freshman year called "Emergence of Global Societies," which was basically a course on the history of the world. I usually hate history, but my professor was so dynamic and charismatic that I ended up falling in love with the subject! I got an A after many hundreds of pages of reading through out the semester and some very difficult tests, but My professor taught me how to manage my time, gain a valuable work ethic when it comes to classes, and most importantly to just broaden my horizons outside of just my major of English. I still meet that professor two years later and thank him for his wonderful class, and he takes an interest in hearing how the rest of my studies have progressed and my future plans to teach in Japan. So overall, the academics here are very rewarding and fruitful for a solid college education.

The thing i love the most about St. John's University's academics is the fact that our professors know you by name, the classes are really small about (15-20 students per class). For the most part there are active class discussions that allow the professor to hear how the students think and help them relate the work to the students. Students are very helpful towards one another. The professors are always available to help. I love that St. John's requires that you start your freshman year with 15 credits instead of 4 and encourages that we take 18 not that many universities do that and they definitely they their best to prepare us for the real world which is a huge plus. A lot of our professors are authors, judges, attorneys, philosophers etc. these are people who have thorough experience in the field who know exactly how to prepare us for what is to come.

The academics here are impeccable. The professors are really dedicated (at least in the classes I've taken) and really make an effort to teach you as well as get to know you. I can't really say what my favorite class has been, because I've loved so many of them. One thing that is unique about Saint John's is that you have to take classes outside of your major so that you get the ultimate learning experience, rather than the bare minimum required in order to obtain your degree. As far as the students in my classes, there has been no competition, as we all really work together to help each other do well in the class. I've recently changed my major to English, and this has to be the best semester I have ever had. I feel so comfortable, as if I've really found my niche. My professors in the English department are AMAZING. They help us to become better writers without trying to judge the writing that we create. It's all a part of the learning journey, as we get more and more out of it through every class.

Professors are very interested in finding who their students are and most of all know our names. I found that very unique because not many teachers care and at Saint Johns they do. My favorite class so far has been my introduction to literature critique and theory class. Not to be biased I am an English major. That is the class in which I am mostly challenged and where everyone has a say. I do not have a least favorite. The one that I have trouble staying up in is my emergence to global society. A class that is the most interesting and that every freshman must take is discover New York. It allows students to learn about New York in a fun interactive way. As I mentioned earlier I am an English major and the department is very helpful. When I go everyone is friendly and things get done quickly. The education at this school is all academic as well as learning about what to expect when you graduate. There is plenty of help when it comes to making a resume and we are even provided a career link where jobs and internships are posted.

The class sizes are very small here at st. John's. My biggest class has about thirty people. Most of the professors care about the students, and don't mind taking a little bit of extra time to explain things in class or outside of class. One major complain is that the school requires three sections of philosophy, and theology. Both of these classes are fairly simple though, but if you're a science major you can't help, but wonder why you're taking them. For the most part the classes are fairly easy. I spend a lot less time working on school stuff here than I did back in high school. However, I am an English major, and the physicians assistant program, and the pharmacy program have been described to me as slave labor.

Where do I begin? I do not have one particular class that I can claim as being my favorite. I recently switched my major from English to Criminal Justice so all of my criminal justice classes hold my interest. My least favorite class was my African American Literature class. It was easy to participate, but I just was not interested enough to really be excited about attending that class.The class size ranges from 20-30 students, occasionally 50-60 in the elective classes such as music or art. In regards to classes that focus on a major, like my criminal justice classes and former English classes, they were small enough that the professors could remember each student's name or at least place the name with a face. Class participation is expected, being that our classrooms are small in student number. My major now, Criminal Justice, is amazing! Most, if not all, of the professors have a background in either law, working as a police officer, detective, judge, forensic psychologist, and more. That means these professors are not only book smart, but they can teach from personal experience. I love when my professors start telling the class about their life stories because it actually has something to do with what we are learning. The academic requirements for St. John's are straight forward and reasonable. It was interesting that they required nine credits of theology and nine credits of philosophy. The most unique class that I have taken was my forensic psychology class. We actually did a lie detector session where the professor tested us on simple questions that we previously wrote answers out to and then we chose which questions to lie about. The students and I did not want to leave once class was over! St. John's has a place called the career center. At this center, they help students to find jobs and mainly internships. St. john's has a lot of relationships with different companies who favor St. John's students. So in my opinion, St. John's is very focused on students' futures after college.

As an English major, I love reading and writing. Here, you'll certainly be doing a lot of both. They require three courses in philosophy and three courses in theology. At first, I thought that was ludicrous; one course I could understand, but three?! However, while the classes are a pain, the professors are nice and the material is interesting and pretty cool; it's certainly not as bad as I expected. At St. John's, although they certainly care about preparing you for your job, they spend a lot of effort in deepening your knowledge of the world and of yourself. As for my professors, there's not one I don't like. They genuinely care about the students and their learning. All of my classes are 20 students are less, and I'm a freshman taking core courses! I find this amazing. I get individual attention and the professors promote student engagement. People are reluctant to participate in class, but many of my classes are in the morning and we're all dead tired. Something I love about academics here is that the students care about doing well; study groups are extremely common and it's easy to make friends in your classes. The English Department here is amazing; the best class I'm taking is Literature and Culture: Monsters (we're reading books like Frankenstein and Dracula), and my professor is the head of the Department. It's easy to talk outside of class not only with him, but with all of my professors. They're always happy to have a conversation with you, whether it's about the class or about life in general. I'm very satisfied with the academics here.

With the smaller class sizes at St. John's Staten Island students are able to communicate with their professors on a daily basis. Almost all of my professors know me by name and a few I have come to develop a academic relationship that without smaller class sizes I would not have been able to. It is through these smaller classes that participation is peaked and the professor is able to clearly hear almost every students voice. The conversations that develop in classrooms are largely interactive and allow students room to develop their ideas. At the moment I am an English Major, and I feel that everything that I have learned in this academic program has fully helped me grow as writer. Not only has these classes enabled me to grow but it is the interaction with professors that has created a deep core to the learning.

Some of the classes may seem like they are very large and the students may think that the professor doesn't know their name but contrary to belief, the professor knows everybody's name. Recently this semester, I thought one of my professors didn't know my name because I didn't speak very often in that class but it turned out that he did know my name and like my name because it's not spelled how everyone believes it should be spelled. One of my favorite classes during my past three semesters at St. john's was History of Latin America II. I really enjoyed this class because it was very structured and the professor stayed on schedule with all the material he wanted to cover. He was a really nice professor and every so often he would throw a small joke in his lesson that had some awkward punch line but it was still funny. My professor was from Mexico so our class would teach him the proper meaning of one English word if he taught us a really interesting word in Spanish. On the flip-side of the coin I had a class or two that I absolutely just did not like whatsoever. My least favorite class was Intro to the Study of Law. I truly despised this class because my teacher would tell us that he would see us Thursday morning for class and never show up. Th first two times that this happened I wasn't mad but when it became a constant thing everyone in my class became annoyed. If that didn't happen he would send an email after class time started telling us he wasn't coming in that morning. On the rare occasions that he did come to class he didn't teach my class anything; the only thing he talked about was the traffic on the way to campus and what he had from Dunkin Donuts that morning. The students at St. John's are always studying for something. We're always hard at work doing some kind if assignment for a class. Class participation is common because in some classes your grade depends on the students amount of participation in class. Some professors say that class participation isn't just about showing up; they want you to be active during the hour of class. Outside of class students are bound to have intellectual conversations because they usually end up talking about the material from the class or something events that are occurring around New York or around the world such as Occupy Wall Street. Some of the students at St. John's are competitive but some of them aren't as competitive. The students that I've noticed are the most competitive are the Pharmacy, Biology, and Chemistry students because they need to maintain certain grades to be in specific programs. I'm competitive with myself because I know that I can do better so I always try to get straight A's. I actually am a double major in English and History. Being in the English and History department is interesting because all of the professors that I'm around all have different teaching styles and they all teach something different. the professors in the English department all have different personalities and very creative ways of writing. The professors in the History department may seem like they teach about issues and topics of the same geographical region but they cover different aspects of that countries History. I do spend a majority of my time outside of class with my professors because I'm a student with many ideas to approach writing topics so i like to ask my professors their opinion on it and I like to pick their brains about different topics we've spoke about in class. Some people complain about the academic requirements to be considered for certain programs at St. John's but I believe that if you're determined to be a particular program you'll get your grades up so you can be considered for it. I think the school gears their academics toward learning so that the students are educated but at the same time they try to give you a push into the work force so the students can eventually get a job prior to graduating.

I couldn't ask for better academics. Since classes are relatively small (usually about 50 and under), professors typically know all the students names. I'm in the Honors Program, so the classes are even smaller. The professors are always accessible by e-mail and, for the most part, they want to help out. My favorite classes, so far, have been Introduction to American Literature and Introduction to Creative Writing. My peers in both those classes were enthusiastic and willing to learn. The most unique class I've taken so far is Introduction to Creative Writing. It's almost like a book club since we discuss our favorite parts of our peers' pieces. However, we also provide suggestions and share our insight as educated readers to help our peers better their craft. I feel as though the school leans toward teaching and learning for its own sake. There are a lot of internship opportunities, but the classes are more learning-based. It really makes for an interesting classroom experience. I've learned so much!

The academics at my school are fairly good, except that too much attention is geared towards the pharmacy program. The university as a whole is not easy to get in to, it is in the Princeton Review's Top 200 schools. I believe that I am getting good education as an English major, because I am being exposed to many different ideas and viewpoints.

St. Johns university is a great school that performs you a lot for the future. They prepare you in class through hard programs and through valuable internships and externships. Most people in class participate and study regularly because we find out at an early time that is what it takes to succeed in the class room. My most unique class I have taken so far is Discover New York, in this class you get to choose what you want to learn about New York through its criminal history, cinema plus many other methods. I spend a good amount of time with my professors outside of class because they have a lot to teach us about the world, that doesn't get taught in the classroom.

Okay, the first thing you need to know about SJU academics is that students are treated very personally. In no circumstance (that I know of) will you be in a class of larger than 35 students, so you will get to know your professors quite well. I like this a lot, because it makes school-work so much easier to complete, knowing that you can always go to your professor for clarification. There are some professors that I've had that have responded to my e-mails at 1:00 AM the day before a project is due. Apart from the professors, I feel that the classes are not a whole lot different from many other schools. I looked at some bigger schools (i.e. University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, etc.) and the classes, from what I saw, are really similar in nearly every aspect. The material seems to be the same, the amount of work required sounds to be about the same. SJU is nothing extraordinary in that field.

While in class at St. John's, I have yet to find myself not knowing the professor's name or the professor not knowing my name. They professors for the most part are available to speak to outside of class. The students at the university for the most part are not very competitive.

for my major Speech Language Pathology. this is the only school that i know of that has it own clinic and in your senior/ junior year you get a patient to work with. you dont need to wait until you finish your masters to work with actual people. it is the best ever. all my teachers know my name and professors that i have from semesters ago still say hello to me in the hallways. you get a laptop when you register for classes that is yours until you graduate. there are a million computer rooms and printers. it is really just a great environment there are always activities to join or be apart of. (major clubs, greek life, student gov)

some professors are great, others are a bit antiquated. I really appreciate those that take the time to learn your name, versus those that just know you as a number on the class roster.

Professors do know my name, because I participate in class. Favorite classes include: Perspectives on Christianity (& I'm Jewish, so you know it's good, with Holland), Christian Marriage with Valenzano, Intro to Legal Studies with Helldorfer, Intro to Sociology with Trumino, Speech with Morris, Ethics with Parsons, & Legal Documents with Cardalena... Details about favorite classes: Christianity was cool because of the way the professor taught it. It was a REAL college class. No bullshit. I learned, and I was forced to learn. And I got an A because I worked my ass off for it. It was hard, but at the end, I really liked it. No religious talk. Simply attempting to gain an UNDERSTANDING. beautiful. Christian Marriage with Valenzano is fun because he's an easy going guy. Likes to crack jokes and switch up between comedian and professor. Lenient professor. Helps out. Helldorfer is awesome for Legal Studies. Also a real college class. Interesting real life stories, challenging work, the whole nine. Loved that class. Trumino for Sociology is another one. Excellent, excellent teacher. Loves to curse, which adds an element of reality to it for some reason. No false sugarcoated bullshit. Just the raw material and facts. Challenging class only because you HAVE to do the reading. Easy A with the reading, and fun to be in class. Speech with Morris is challenging but fun at the same time. Its hard b/c you have two or three written exams and a paper to write, but it's not entirely that hard. I enjoyed it because I overcame the butterfly effect when coming on stage. I wrote some pretty cool speeches for that class, and I really enjoyed doing it. Ethics with Parsons, is fun because of the way he is. He teaches well and his this dry tone and wry sense of humor. He's young so you can really relate to him and he was a great help. Legal Documents with Cardalena is fun because it's an easy going class and he's just excellent with the stories. Take all his classes. They're real fun. Least favorite classes include: Discover New York with Paravazian, Ecology & Environmental Science with Lauro, Judaism with Perelmuter, Metaphysics with Boyle, Sociology of Institutions with Friedman, & Accounting with Platt... Details: Discover New York with Paravazian, really nice lady but it's honestly a BS class. It's not fun, nor interesting, and is just one of those requirements you have to take. She's a nice lady, but the class seriously sucked. Ecology & Environmental Science with Lauro, Also a nice lady, with a true passion for what she teaches, but I never liked science. I'm more mad at myself for not applying myself and getting an A... and very unhappy about this class being my lowest grade, a B+ :( Judaism with Perelmuter, very unhappy because it wasnt what i expected, at all. this guy is just... blah. really a big joke. Metaphysics with Boyle, while he's a very nice guy, i find his test grading methods very odd. he grades it like they judge diving at the olympics. very arbitrary. other than that, its just terribly boring. the class brought tears to my eyes out of boredom. Sociology of Institutions with Friedman, This one was the worst. The lady's so nice, but it's dreadful having to sit there for three straight hours talking about our opinions on articles. Ridiculously stupid because we never learned any real material and it was just a drag going there. Accounting with Platt... Also a nice guy, whos very tough and can sometimes be unintentionally mean, lol. The class isnt enjoyable because the material is terribly boring. I just dont see how people can want to be accountants lol. Its hard to bear, but Ive had worse, i.e. boyle :( lol. Students are seen studying, I'd say like, a 5 out of 10. Half of the kids are just rich spoiled kids who dont put the time or effort in, while the other half take up the empty spaces in the library and really get cracking. Class participation isn't entirely common, but it does have its ups... I don't know about manyyyy intellectual conversations outside of class involving St Johns students, let alone inside class :( lol If students are competitive, its between the top two through five. The rest just settle for the C+, B-, whatever. The most unique class I have taken as of yet would be discover ny, in the sense it is not like other schools. But otherwise, I wouldnt be able to choose a unique class that I know of. I am a Legal Studies major who is really interested in going to Law School. The curriculum is absolutely amazing and very very interesting. I'm a happy camper. I don't spend time with professors outside of class, except on the rare occasions of walking out together. And another rare occasion where I met a professor in front of his house to get a recommendation. St Johns academic requirements are just right for me. I don't really know if its geared toward getting a job, which is a very good question, but I have two things to say on this - 1) im still a sophomore so I have only taken core/required classes which are in my opinion solely for the sake of learning. 2) meanwhile, im not really worried about it being geared toward a job because Im sure Ill be able to make my way out there, but its a very good question that I have honestly overlooked... :/