North Carolina State University--Raleigh | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Lindsay

Class: Alum
Major: Communications
Gender: F

High School: Riverside High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

I really enjoyed my four years at NCSU and actually wish I could have stayed longer. It's definitely a big school, but I enjoyed the change of pace from high school. The campus is not the most attractive I've seen, but a lot of it is just old and they've been doing a lot over the last several years to improve it. The new addition to the gym is awesome.

Academic Life

Once I got into my majors I began enjoying classes a lot more. I would definitely not recommend starting out in First Year College as I did because I really felt like it was a huge waste of time. I'd suggest starting out in a major that you're somewhat interested in and go from there. Changing majors really is not very difficult. Once you get into your major classes you'll start having more of the same teachers and I've actually developed relationships with some of my professors on a level of going to grab a cup of coffee occasionally or something, which I like a lot. One of my favorite classes at State was Public Speaking. I actually took it before I got into the Communication major and I think it's a really applicable to class to any student. Teachers LOVE class participation and a lot of them tie it into their grading scales, which I think is kind of stupid, but class participation always helps. I was a Communication-PR and Spanish major. I loved both of them, but would definitely say the Spanish department is very laid back, which has its pros and cons. Overall, I think NC State's academic requirements are not so terrible. Obviously if you suck at math and don't plan on needing it with whatever major you choose, it's kind of a pain to have to get the general education requirements out of the way. But, I will say I think State's main goal is for every student to learn and the secondary goal is to get a job. On that note, the Career Center is really, really helpful in developing resumes and helping with job searches.

Student Body

I think NCSU has many different cultures present. Being in the Spanish major, I got the opportunity to interact with many native speakers, which was so helpful. Overall, I think the student body is very accepting of different racial, religious, socio-economic groups, etc. that are present on campus. The only students that I think would feel out of place there are UNC students. :) There is kind of a variety of what students wear to class. Some people feel the need to always look really nice when they go to class. I was more so the type of person to throw on jeans and a t-shirt or sweatpants just because I'd much prefer to be comfortable. From a political standpoint, it seems like State students are pretty well divided. There are a lot of liberals and a lot of conservatives and many students are very active and speak out about their political standpoints. Students definitely start talking about how much they'll earn when they get closer to graduation.