University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

Freshman year you will have classes with hundreds of other people and take your finals in a basketball stadium. But by senior year your classes will be cut down in size and more interaction is held. On the plus side that stadium is sponsored by Coors.

There's two types of classes, the small classes where the teachers know you by name, and the large lectures where they probably don't but that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different. Libraries and study halls, lobbies and fields, there constantly full of people studying or hanging out.

I know all my professors because I go to office hours and sit in the front row. The professors here are like celebrities. They are very well know, published scholars and they honestly just want to talk to students and answer their questions.

Its pretty diverse. Some teachers are really laid back and awesome. Others kinda suck. There is no "typical" professor.

If you put the time in, the professor will learn your name pretty fast, unless they know your name on the first day of class. Usually there is one or two people who participate, and the rest snicker and text in the back. In certain classes, like business or polisci students are extremely competative. Some of the fields, like communication, are not really geared towards getting a job, but just a degree.

Academics were harder than I thought, make sure you check your professor on ratemyprofessor.com before enrolling in a class..I learned the hard way. Make sure to stay on top of your work load and don't let partying take over your life.

Classes are dec. Not very tough, you can usually avoid taking classes that look to be a lot of work. You'll get the hang of it. Its pretty easy school for being the 11th best.

About half of my classes freshmen year were in lecture halls with over 300 students. and in those classes only one professor didn't know my name. You need to make yourself known in lectures, that is the only way you will be notice among a group that big, also go in for office hours or just talk to the professor after class, They are very nice and usually willing to help if they can. Also if you are in the dorms take part in the free tutoring you can receive for just about any class. Classes are competitive. I am taking classes to transfer into the Engineering department and the classes are very difficult.

At CU there is a variety of class types that a student can sign up for and some of them are large and informal while others are small and a student can really get to know their professor. The choices offered at CU really make it a better place because students get to pick the type of enviornment that they learn best in and enjoy the most.

big classes, so it is not very personal, but as you move in a more specific direction of your major, the classes become smaller. professors usually do not know names of individual students, which is a down side, but all of them are very liberal and free-minded which encourages the students to think the same way. our advising department is amazing. they have saved me from anxiety attacks many times.

Of course there are the massive intro lectures that most are going to have to take at some point in their career here, but I've noticed that it is possible to still get to know your professor. It seems like there is a good balance because there are still classes that won't go above 20 or so people, give or take 2. As for the requirements, it depends on what department you are going into. Some are definitely more strenuous then others, but it's all relative. As for the professors, I feel that the majority, if not all, are more then qualified to teach in their fields, but there have been a few that are just shitty instructors.

Students here seem to contribute more to class discussion than my previous college on the east coast. Of course, this gets old pretty fast when people monopolize the prof during class time to talk about something irrelevant to class material. The academic requirements are pretty standard, but a lot of it seems geared towards punching out graduates as quickly as possible.

I would say that the education at Boulder is more geared toward learning for its own sake but it depends which major you choose. Most of my friends in the arts and sciences majors feel that they haven't been prepared for a specific job. The school of journalism, engineers, architects, business, and those type of majors tend to prepare more for getting an actual job after graduation. Career Services is a really good resource for help with finding jobs, internships, or learning more about the process. The academics at Boulder are highly regarded by others. When I say I go to school at Boulder usually there is a favorable response. My experience with the psychology department has been positive for the most part. There were some classes I was disappointed with, that were too easy, but the majority have been challenging, engaging, and overall I have been satisfied with the education I've received at CU. Professors are usually very helpful, but it is the students responsibility to approach them. The first days of class they'll invite you to come to their office hours, and give occassional reminders throughout the semester, but it is up to you to take advantage of it. I would- it makes it much easier to get letters of recommendation later on. Also, because classes are so big this is one of the more likely ways a professor will learn your name, especially if the class is a large lecture. One of my favorite classes at CU was "Social Constructions of Sexuality" I highly suggest taking this class, and you'll hear by word of mouth the same thing, it's extremely popular, and one of the more intellectually/academically challenging courses I've taken. My least favorite class in the psychology major was "Statistics and Research Methods" but it's required so you just have to deal with it. A psychology course that was one of my best was " Psychology of Personality" with Doctor Jennifer Schwartz. She is an excellent professor that encourages class discussion, challenges us to think, and teaches in an interesting expressive way. There are other professors like this in the department, but she was one of the ones I had that was excellent. The time students spend studying depends on the major they are in and the difficulty of their courses. I have some friends in the engineering and physics departments who spend almost all of their time during the weekdays and some weekend days studying. Most of my friends in the arts and sciences majors though don't spend an overwhelming amount of time studying. There is always so much to do in Boulder that most students spend more time out enjoying Boulder. Usually it depends what kind of student you are, the academics are decently challenging but not overwhelming. In my experience it has been very easy to balance free time with academics. As a general rule, I'd say students are less competitive and more laid back in Boulder. Once again this answer could depend though on who you ask and what majors they are taking.

During the first two years at the University the classes are huge. Entry level classes at CU are bigger than my entire High School. When you get higher into the University the classes get smaller and the teacher get to know your name. Labs, Studio classes, and smaller regular classes open up the education process for teacher student interaction which helps learing the material more interactive and interesting. Finding a major was extremely difficult at CU because you feel like just a number, no one tries to help you figure out what you need to do, what classes to take, and what infomation you need to know to be successful here. One of the most frustrating parts of CU is that each major has very very specific requirements so when changing your major or trasferring colleges you loose lots of credits and waste a lot of time. I also feel that many of the classes and majors are geared towards learning for the sake of learning, not necessarily for job placement.

Outside of the science and engineering majors, the majority of the student population are amazingly unintelligent. But they are pretty. And rich. And that's what makes it CU.

Professors are sometimes amazing and sometimes aweful... depends on the Professor and the class.. how much you are into the class as well. Also, it may be harder to have a one-on-one relationship with your professor because of such big class sizes but it is definitely possible. Even in my class of about 500+ students.. the professor knows who I am, but its only because I put the effort in so that she knows me.

-Boulder is a very challenging school, especially all sciences, because it is a major research university. -I think many people are very involved with their studies, and there is always a lot of competition within each class

Boulder is filled with pre-med, pre-health students. Everywhere you go there will be at least several pre-med students and some are very competitive. Our bio is spit into three departments, physiology (the most popular major), molecular cell biology, and environmental biology, and on top of that, there are crazy loads of people who are history, english, as well as engeneers who are also pre med. As for the classes, not all classes are huge lecutures. The ones with several hundred kids in them would be the Freshman intro classes, and the rest could be somewhere from 12 to 50 in some classes. It's about half and half on teachers who remember your name and who don't. People tend to think our school's grades are inflated and most teachers would have T.A.s to teach for them, because it's a huge school but it's not the case. The only classes I've taken so far with TAs are science lab courses. Some of the core requirements are very unnecessary and many feel like it's there so our school can make money off of us, but sometimes it's a nice way to discover an unexpected field of studies that you never had interested in. I took a world music class for a core requirement and I ended up liking it so much I took a similar one just for fun. My major, Molecular Cell DB, usually loses tons of Freshmans after the first year, discovering that they just want to go to physiology department to go to med school. We have absolutely wonderful professors, and if you spend time with them, especially at their office hours, they will be helpful.

Class is not bad here. Likely to have several lectures your first year, but lecture halls are not bad at all. I've grown to like those more than a small classroom. People here care about what they study and often carry intellectual conversations outside of class.

TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS! Don't just be a number, the more they get to know you the better they can help you, so don't be afraid to send them a lot of emails and go to their office hours!

Most of the classes I have taken have been pretty big so the teachers dont really get to know your name. This kind of sucks as far as letters of recommendations go. The classes are pretty cool, but you get out of them what you put in. People spend a lot time studying outside of school, depending on their major. I dont really feel like the atmosphere is very competitive, which is nice. Class participation is common because of clickers but most classes are too big to be able to have group discussions or anything like that.

You can get as much out of your academics as you put into them. Yeah, there are tens of thousands of students here, but if you email your professors, even in a class of 300, you can get to know them if you want to. You are free to be as active or as passive as you want; nobody forces you to move, but you are allowed to move if you wish.

CU is a large campus, it is of course all walkable, but the classes for sure diverse in size. I have lectures with 400 people, and I have classes with 20 people. It just varies, and once you really get into your major your junior year, all of the classes because more intimate and small. Everytime you walk into a coffee shop in Boulder you can listen to all of the students and professors having some of the most intellegent conversations I have ever heard. you name it, politics, philosophy, athletics, etc. CU attracts people who know how to have fun, but also know when to study and do well in their classes.

Academics depend so much on your major that it's hard to answer this question accurately. Classes range from 400+ to less than 20, and these numbers play a large part in whether the professor knows your name, how competitive the class grading is going to be, and the experience of the class as a whole. I am a chemical engineer, and homework is assigned on a weekly basis. Some assignments take an hour, and others can take upwards of 10 hours. One nice thing about engineering homework is that if you do it, you are also studying for your test at the same time. I often work in big groups as well, which makes things much easier and much more fun. If you want to get to know professors, it's up to you. I know people that are on a first name basis with their profs, and others that don't even know their names at all.

I know my professors names. Favorite class- Sex, Gender, and Society. It is an open environment where anyone can say anything. We have really great discussions and share important ideas. My least favorite class was MCDB genetics, it was really dull and the material was extremely difficult. Most students I know study a lot! Many students participate in class. There are intellectual conversations outside of class. Students are very competitive. Sex, Gender, and Society is the most unique class I've taken so far at CU. I am actually between majors right now but have a strong interest in neuroscience. I go to many of my professor's office hours. I think Boulder's academic requirements are very manageable. I think Boulder has a good mix between educational emphasis on getting a job and learning for its own sake.

classes are fun, lots of choices. well-rounded core.

Profs usually only know your name if you introduce yourself, especially in the larger lectures. I'd say that study time varies greatly from student to student; some people are studying every day for a few hours while other study maybe a couple times a week. Some students don't need to study as often though. Academic rigour definitely varies from major to major and requirements often seem to vary as far as time spent on that major. I'd say that a boulder education is geared more towards learning for its own sake than job placement. There are no sort of direct trade majors associated with boulder like interior design, agricultural studies, etc.

The academics portion of CU might be the area where the size starts to affect you. Because most of your classes are huge lectures of 250-350 people, it's easy to feel unmotivated because you are just a number on a test. The good thing is that most large classes have a recitation section where you meet with 20-30 people once a week and talk about what you have been doing in lectures. You should definitely take advantage of these because they let you ask questions and better understand the material. Some classes, like calculus have around 30 sections of 30 students so you are guaranteed a pretty small class. Also, there are free tutors if you live in the dorms which is totally awesome. Even if your not struggling you can still get them. Right now I have 3 tutors and all of them are really cool and have helped me a lot. Inside a Boulder classroom, people ask questions and talk about what we discussed outside of class. There are always people in the library studying, but if you study all the time in Boulder, something is wrong with you. The nice weather and amount of activities going on makes it hard to study. I think most people do the homework to get by and then cram study before a test. I've found that classes in the Political Science department are pretty competitive as well as Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB). Some people really want to do well and feel that they should go about this by bringing other people down. But, you can always avoid these people and find others that are pretty laid back. Some departments have their own help labs or study groups to encourage people to work together to learn better. I find these to be really helpful and a good way to meet people. I'm an open option major, so I'm taking a wide variety of classes...from Survey of Western Political Thought to Genetics to Calculus. The classes are difficult at times, but it seems the intensity comes in waves. Around midterm time you might be pretty stressed out while a couple of weeks you might have nothing going on and you can do whatever you want. Professors are always available during office hours and although you are just one of the masses, they try to form a relationship with you and help you out as much as possible.

only some professors know my name, that is if you go talk to them several times, but even then the big lectures they still wont know your name because there are so many students. I would say my favorite class right now is either my cognitive psych class or child and adolescent psych class. My least favorite is Humanities 1020. Students take school very seriously and study at least a few hours a day. Students are very competitive, it seems as though, they are always trying to do better even if they did get a high A on the test. Boulders academic requirements are pretty high, especially for law, medicine, and the school of business. This school seems to be very competitive when it comes to getting into. I feel like the school is geared towards both getting a job and just a learning experience, as there are opportunities to get an internship within your department of study, but CU also gives you the opportunity to take other classes not within your department, to broaden your learnings.

As a current Communication Major, I remember being elated when I was accepted into the program. Since then, both my major and non-major classes have been challenging, and informative. All the professors have been approachable, and most know me by name. Office hours are a wonderful tool, and CU itself does not employ any professors exclusively for research. All the professors on campus teach a class, making them committed to education before research. The academic requirements are rigorous, but leave you with a degree equipped for the real world. The students here have a passion for learning, but rarely a competitive outlook. Instead, I feel they learn from each other, taking experiences from each person they meet, and using that to enhance their education.

In my smaller classes my profs know my name. My favorite class was "World Musics-Asia". Im a history major so learning about music was awesome. My least favorite class was "Intro to geology"(rocks for jocks) because being a senior and having to take that class for core credit blew! You have all types of studiers here. from those who only party to those who only study. The students can be competitive. The most unique class I've taken is called "Fight the Power" and its about male impunity in the world. Im a history major. I see my profs outside of class only during office hours. I think that Boulder academics can be as hard as you want them to be. The education can be geared towards getting a job or you could major in "16th century French poetry"

All my professors know my name, but then again I don't take big lecture classes. If you want smaller classes, you can find them. Every class I've taken has a huge grade on class participation, so its hard to sit in the back and not say anything. There always intellectual discussions and debates outside of class, we like our opinions.

I know all my professors' names. Many of the professors I have are on the frontline of their field. Sometimes it hard to find a research article without my professors name in the title. this is especially true in the sciences.

some of my professors know my name, and some don't. My class sizes range from 18 people to about 500, so it's not really their responsibility to get to know me. If I want any kind of relationship with my professor it's my job as a student to make the first move. My favorite class at the moment is probably Anthropology with Dennis Van Gerven. He's just so passionate, it's hard not to get drawn in, despite the huge class size. I disagree with some of CU's requirements, but not many. As a Psychology major, I'm not sure why I'm required to take Math, for example. Or two semesters of a difficult science, for that matter. I like that there are Race/Gender requirements though. I feel like it definitely encourages kids to take a look at cultures they wouldn't have considered otherwise.

We study a lot. Many of my professors know my name, and they're experts on their subjects. The other students are fun to work with, although competitive in nature. Like any University I would say the education is more for learning sake than job certification (as opposed to a trade school).

Whether or not my professors know my name is hit or miss. Freshman classes at CU are usually large lecture classes with hundreds of students and your professor is most likely not going to know your name. Later in your college career and when you develop your major more clearly, class sizes shirk and your professors are more likely to know you by name. My favorite class is The American Presidency where we dissect the process of the political election from start to finish. My least favorite class is Human Communication Theory which is extremely boring and I find it hard to pay attention in class. Participation is always required in classes, especially when classes are small. Students at CU are very competitive because there are a shortage of internships and one on one teacher involvement. The most unique class I have ever taken was Organizational Communication. It was interesting in that much of my class work involved spending time in an organization outside classes and write a report about some of the processes within the organization.

-Absolutely. -I have had several favorites that have changed my life. Brilliant people, exactly what a good education should be. I haven't had one that I hated. If I don't love it, then it is mediocre and serves its purpose. -Some study all the time, some none of the time. It all depends upon what kind of student you are. -Yes -Some do, some don't, it just depends on who you talk to. I do! -Not really. It's more about trying to get your personal best for your own purposes than beating others for whatever petty reason. -My Physical Anthropology class is more political and socially concious than ANY of my political science classes have been. It's incredible. -Poli Sci here is great. We have an amazing poli sci faculty. -No, but I'd like to. I'm just too intimidated. -They are good. I'm glad I had to take a foreign language. I think the standards are good, but a couple of idiots do manage to get in every now and then. -Absolutely. Especially learning for its own sake.

My advice would be to get to know your professors, otherwise they probably won't get to know you. They can help you a lot in the class and in the future so stop by their office hours!

Boulder is a challenging school, bt worth it. However, the school is giganic and one-on-one student teacher interaction is rare. Lectures usually have anywhere from 50-250 students. There are some small classes depending on your major. Depending on whether you are in lower division or upper division classes the amounnt of study time varies. Typically lower division classes require require anywhere from 2-12 hours a week and upper division classes usually require 5-12 hours a week.. Per class. There are many intellectual conversations and activities out of school to participate in. I am a Communication major and I love it! The majority of the professors in the communication department are fair, smart, and passionate about what they do. They all offer help outside of class time (in office hours) and most are available by email at anytime or by appointment. The academic requirements are tough, but the challenge is rewarding in the long run.

This campus has a very positive academic environment, especially if you apply yourself. Engineers tend to study more than Arts and Sciences majors, that's just the way it goes. It's not really competitive. In engineering, we all have a common bond of studying, and I can always find someone who wants to do hw or study for a test together. It's kind of like "we're all in this together, let's help each other out." copying is looked down upon, mainly because that would only help you for one semester, or until that smart guy is not in your class anymore. This university is large enough that very few students actually take ALL the same courses in the samwe order; there is enough variety of courses and diversity of students that everyone does their own thing.

Professors probably don't know your name in lower division classes, but there has been an increased effort in recent years to ensure that juniors and seniors are enrolled in classes with less than 25 people. My favorite class was the Social Construction of Deviance taught by Patti Adler. A great class with a great teacher and challenging curriculum. The most unique class that I know of is the Social Construction of Sexuality. Although I never took it myself I heard great things about it and really regret not enrolling myself. The Dept. of Anthropology is great in my opinion. It is one of the smaller departments at the school and so kids get to know each other throughout the years. The department also runs some really good field schools and has great professors. The education at Boulder is probably geared towards learning for its own sake mostly. However, the school offers many opportunities for students to get career assistance if only they ask.

Students are very engaged with their areas of study. Introduction classes that have 150 students in it do not often see much participation but once students refine their tastes and get into smaller classes almost everyone participates. Of course, there are students who do not participate and are not engaged in the material but on a whole students want to be in the classes they are in and act accordingly. Professors are very passionate about their fields and teaching their students. They always have office hours and are also willing to meet outside of these established hours to help and talk to students. Boulder offers a number of really interesting classes. Elective class, when spent wisely, can be terrific in offering new exposure to different fields of study than your own. In particular, some great classes to take are Introduction to Hip-Hop and Social Constructions of Sexuality. The classes and learning environment in general are geared toward offering life as well as proffesonal.

I have been able to develop a personal relationship with almost every professor I have had here. And that's because I sit in the front row, ask questions, go to office hours, and in general, give a damn about my classes. And professors appreciate that. My favorite classes have been Nutrition for Health and Performance (I think everybody should take it, regardless of major!!), Math for the Environment (taught me the more practical applications of math...like determining whether or not your credit card company is screwing you...) and Environmental Justice. The classes available at Boulder are so great...I wish that I had several more semesters to take advantage of them...from dance, to ethics, to politics, to science, Boulder has it all. My least favorite classes were the ones that I didn't feel really challenged me. I can barely remember them, something like Chemistry or Math or something. I study CONSTANTLY....because I am insane. Most students are able to still have a life, bit I would say you need about 20 hrs/week to be an A student, on average. Class participation is done by those who are vocal, usually the same handful of students. Most people think class is a waste of time. Boulder students do have intellectual conversations...mostly political. They are very smart and engaged. They give a crap. It's wonderful. Students are very, very competitive. Just have to look at student government elections to see that. Yeesh! Also, there is no such thing as "the most unique" anything. There are no degrees in a constant. It is either unique or not. But a unique course that I have taken is Math for the Environment. A bit of a conspiracy theory class, but useful in that it teaches you to be suspicious. Very valuable. My major is Environmental Studies. What a great major. Flexible, applicable, respectable, and interesting. I have had lots of lunches with profs outside of class. In one case, the prof was trying to "get" with me, but he was a young, first year prof that quit right away. Boulder's academic requirements are adequete, but lack the need for an understanding of real-world and whole-world impact of individual actions. Most students don't even know that when you turn on a light switch, you are burning coal which leads to increased CO2 which leads to more intense global warming. AGHHHH!!!!! The education at Boulder is for the sake of starting a career. Not only the classes, but the endless opportunities allow for this. Because of CU, I am well positioned to get an awesome job right out of college because I have taken advantage of extracurricular activity and, of course, lots of admin connections. Reccomendation letters, anyone?

All my professors know my name. I had a 300 person class freshman year and that prof didn't know my name, but the recitation leaders did and ever since then even in 100 person class the profs did and made time for every student. My favorite classes have been poly psci classes and my favorite profs have been Jennifer Fitzgerald and Moonhawk Kim. They were really challenging classes but I learned a lot and enjoyed all the subject matter - really feeling connected to it. I think the amount of study varies per student and by major. I also find that people take harder loads their junior years, but it all varies. Class participation can be too much some times, its very common. Boulder students pride themselves on having intellectual conversations outside class and we have the mass number of coffee shops to prove it. I feel that students are more cooperative than competitive. There is a great human sexuality class that i haven't taken but have sat in on and found amazing and unique. My major is International Affairs but I have done a lot of work in the theater department and the economics department. The international affairs department is really a mix of poly psci, econ and language departments which makes it very personalized. I do spend a lot of time with them in their office hours and talk to them outside of class and run into poly sci profs at political events around town. In the theater department my experience has all been in the costume shop but I am continually impressed with the high level of hands on for designers and actors and the high level of experience and ability of the staff. I think that the academic requirements are good for most majors, with so many colleges and majors it really does vary. For my experience i found it demanding but to the level that was required for me to get what i wanted out of my education. I think that education at boulder is flexible. I think that the political science department is geared towards even higher education and learning to be educated, but the theater department, architecture and education are very hands on and career focused, so it is really up to the student.

Professors only know your name if you talk to them and show your interest besides attending class. this school can be as small as a student wants it to be but it is totally up to the student. there are so many people here there are always study groups you just need to take the initiative to find out about them. Boulder is a highly intelligent town and represents their intelligence well.