University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Eli

The worst thing about the school is the inability to use the wellness center weightroom for free. Students are paying lots of money to go here and there is no reason they should have to buy a membership just to use the wellness center for lifting weights and wanting to stay in shape.

Alexandria

The only thing that is bad about this school is the parking. The parking passes cost quite a bit of money and if you live off campus and do not have a parking pass it is hard to finding parking, or parking is far away from campus.

Elizabeth

After mulling over the academic and social programs at UW Eau Claire, I struggle to complain about such a vibrant and intelligent atmosphere; I'm embarrassed to state the worst thing about UW Eau Claire, is the way it looks. Fully aware that one should never judge a book by its cover, it is still difficult to look past the large and lifeless buildings that seems to sleepily lumber over the campus. Many of the buildings inspire little desire to discover the incredible academic wealth and intelligent people that lay within..

Cori

I have not yet attended, so I am not a reliable source for this question.

Allison

The worst thing about the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the winter. The winter season is brutal, but it is also so beautiful. To accomodate with the brutal season, there is a bus the takes students to and from upper and lower campus so they don't have to face the hill. Although the winter season is horrid, classes are rarely ever cancelled but students always try to make the best out of a snowstorm. For example, a campus wide snowball fight or snowman building. These things make it worth enduring those few months of the frozen tundra.

Samantha

The city is too small and the hill that we have to hike up is awful!!

Lauren

It can be very difficult to get into classes that you need on time. Some classes only run once a year, interfere with schedules or fill up before you get a chance to register. Departments often do not have the funding to provide enough seats or sections of a class.

Eric

The worst thing about my school is the closed-off attitude many students have. While the campus is certainly welcoming, many students prefer to keep to themselves, which makes it harder for a newer student to find new friends. Fortunately, there are hundreds of student-run organizations that one can find people with similar interests.

Samuel

I'd prefer if our school wasn't as income-based as it is. There have been a lot of expensive additions to the campus which are purposed to draw more students, and more money. These additions come with a large cost to students in their tuition payments and other financial obligations. Nonetheless, I am very blessed to be recieving such practically useful education for the price I have been.

Sydney

The worst thing about UWEC is that to get food, we have to walk outside no matter how cold it is.

Brittany

Honestly, the weather. If you arent from WI or MN or some state like that, the winters are going to be brutual. Trust me. I am from MN and it still kicked my butt. Combine that with walking up the hill after class, and it sucks. You have no motication whatsoever to go to class during those below freezing days.

Sarah

I have to say the worst thing about my school is the payment online. I had to pay 2 $100 registration fees before signing up for classes and they really didn't define on how to go through it properly, so I accidently rolled both them into a different semester and had to repay the $100 both times and they refunded the money back to me. That was a strainful experience and with financial aid. One couselor said I could get money for winterim and they didn't add it. So I have to speak with them about it.

Justin

As a biology major, I found that many of my classes were a little too large to facilitate a proper environment to adequately learn the material at hand. Classes outside of my major that were just as large did not seem to pose as many problems. The couple biology classes that I had that were smaller ended up being the most beneficial in terms of learning and retaining the material. Smaller labs would also help the hands on learning experience. This was a noticeable problems, especially when comparing it to the private school I transferred from (Gustavus Adolphus College).

Mary

I would have to say the worst thing about the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire would be a somewhat lack of diversity. While there is a strong effort to create accepting individuals out of students, the student body itself is rather homegenous.

Stephanie

The worst thing about my school is also one of its best. It is also one of the most well-known things about the campus: the hill. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a massive hill that separates lower campus (most of the academic buildings) and upper campus (which includes all but two of the dorms). Although some people complain about walking up the hill several times a day, it is one of the things that distinguishes my campus and keeps our campus healthy and in shape.

Stephanie

There is very limited parking, this causes the staff and students to complain.

Katie

The worst thing about this school is that the student population is not very diverse. It isn't the school's fault, it's more of a result of being in small town Wisconsin.

Victoria

The only thing that I would concider bad about my school is the hill. To get to upper campus you have to walk up a huge hill! Everyone who goes here knows about the hill, and would probably say they dread walking up it every day.

Erika

I think the worst thing about our school is the transportation to and from school. The bus doesn't come often, and walking across the bridge is bitter cold in the winter time. I'd like to see more bus times which would help reduce the in-safety of the cold winds while walking across the bridge.

Kate

Hands down, "the hill" is the most off putting aspect of school! Though once you get used to it, its no big deal. At UWEC we have our own built in stairmaster.

Olivia

Sometime you can feel a little lost because there are so many students.

Heidi

The worst thing about my school would be the availability of on campus jobs. With so many kids going there, it is really hard to find an on campus, convient job.

Katie

The worst thing about my school is that it is very expensive and at least three of the professors I have had during my two semesters at this school have been not very good professors. They either don't care how the students evaluate them or they don't actually teach anything and we have to learn everything from the books so going to class is a waste of time.

aaron

Lack of student interest in campus politics because the school has not improved much over the last few decades buildings wise, since there aren't many students stepping forward to lead the way to renovate the acedemic buildings.

Melissa

The worst thing about UWEC is the lack of cultural diversity. I think the university strives to promote diversity on campus, but they have a hard time attracting multicultural students because it is a primarily white institution and because of the lack of diversity in the surrounding community. There is a large Hmong population on campus but the rest of minorities are strongly underrepresented. A lot of students I know say that they suffer from culture shock when they move to UWEC and that is definetley something to consider before choosing this school.

Mandy

I believe the worst thing about this university is 'the hill'. It is a giant, steep hill which almost every student has to climb every day, possibly multiple times, and it really takes your breath away. I would also say it is a good thing, though. It has gotten me in quite good shape. No freshman fifteen for me! Plus, I now have legs of steel. The hill is pretty intimidating at first, but one gets used to it, although they may not enjoy it.

Jennifer

I absolutely adore the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, but if I could change one thing about it I would create more meal plan options for students living on campus.

Megan

My least favorite thing about the school would be the lack of healthy food options. The food they serve here is delicious, but all of it is extremely fattening. I wish there were more options.

Jadra

There really isn't much to complain about. The one thing that I don't enjoy at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is when it snows and they don't do a very good job of plowing. When they plow they block cars in that are in the parking lots, and they also do not plow the sidewalks very well and sometimes if you walk down the hill it can be very slippery, which can be unsafe.

Katie

The worst thing about my school is how much it snows in the winter. The paths on the way to class get very slippery and people tend to fall often. Also, because of all the snow it tends to be very cold at my school, but with a heavy coat and gloves every student can survive the cold winter months here.

Taylor

The worst thing about my school is the lack of help/advertising of help. We have the resources and have the people to help students, not only with academics, but also with financial aid, housing, counseling, etc., but my school doesn't reach out or make it known that they exist very well. This is especially true for transfer students. I was a transfer student halfway through the year, and I felt lost. As a transfer student, you would think the university would see you as a student who needs more guidence. Reaching out is something we lack.

Michelle

Not very "Non-Traditional Student" friendly. Not many online courses, night courses or weekend courses.

Megan

The culture. A lot of students are from larger cities and from families that have pretty nice financial standing. As someone from a poverty-stricken small-town, it can be hard to find people with the same values. A lot of students drink on the weekends, so if you're not interested in partying, it might be hard to find something to do.

mary

Lack of diversity but I know it is the most diverse institution in this area. I really like the school though. Maybe I could say the recent retirement of many faculty in social work has led to some disappointing new proffesors and turn over.

Kara

The bridge is really cold to walk across in the winter.

Chalen

The worst would have to be the dorm quality. Because the bathrooms are usually full of spiders crawling on the ceiling and around the windows. Something that creeps me out and many other students.

Mya

Hands down, the worst thing about school is the parking. There is not enough parking on campus or even on the streets around campus. I usually have to park about six blocks from campus everyday. I think there is a huge need for a parking ramp.

Bryanna

I believe that the worst thing about my school is that all students that come from Illinois or some other specified states don't receive in-state tuition, but states like Minnesota and even Indiana do. I believe this is unfair for those who are trying to earn an education just like the rest of the individuals here. This should be changed that way other students won't hesitate to come to Wisconsin schools.

Zachary

The worst thing about this school in my opinion is that whenever you have to go to upper campus or to stores you have to climb a very inclined hill that many people have a hard time doing.

April

The very few professors who think they are better than everyone else. Sometimes it can be difficult to get a schedule that you like a lot, but it is possible to get the classes you need eventually.

Megan

I think the lack of diversity is the worst thing about our school.

Michelle

I currently attend UW-Parkside. It is considered a commuter school so there is not as many activities going on than other colleges. I would do more activities at my college, but there is not a very wide range of activities that I would like to get involved in. Also, since I dont live on campus, I havent met as many people than if I did live on campus. I am normall an outgoing person, but it would be easier to meet people if I lived on capus or there were more activities going on.

Paul

The worst thing about the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is financial aid. Scholarships are often aimed at very specific people. Whether it?s because of your hometown, your year in school or other factors, it seems scholarships exclude you. As a nontraditional student, I find it frustrating how many scholarships are not available to me because of my status. There are some for nontraditional students, but those are also exclusive because they are based on marital status, gender and other factors. The difficulty to be eligible for scholarships, let alone attain them, is the worst thing about this university.

Shanda

Lack of ethnic diversity

Emily

There's a big hill you have to hike up to get to the dorms and a bridge to cross to get to one of the buildings.

Tosha

The worst thing, is that almost all contact is done through email and some students don't have internet access at home.

Brianna

The only drawback for my attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is simply that it is quite a distance from my home town. I have a long trip to and from school during the holidays. However, I would not transfer to a closer school because I love the atmosphere.

Daniel

I feel like there is not much to do outside of school work. The city is not very large and I have had trouble finding things to do that do not involve drinking. I wish there were better places for students to get together where there is not alcohol involved. This is a big issue for me because I do not drink.

Alyssa

The worst thing about the school in my opinion is the walking across the outdoor campus during the long Wisconsin winter months.

Ben

It's a 4 hour drive from my parent's house.