University of Missouri | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Jordan

Class: Senior
Major: History
Gender: M

High School: Neosho
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

SIZE Mizzou is a large institution with an undergraduate body of over 20,000 students. Many people think that they cannot overcome the level of anonymity inherent to such a large body. Surprisingly, it is not difficult to quickly feel at home at the University. Joining a FIG (Freshman Interest Group) or a Greek Chapter can provide an immediate base of friends from which you can branch out mere days after your first hour at the University. Additionally, while many introductory level classes will have over one-hundred individuals in attendance, small classes are plentiful if one simply takes the time to thoroughly browse myZou. It's all about individual initiative. I have had a personal relationship with around 3/4 of the professors I have had at Mizzou (basically, any professor I have wished to meet), and all of the professors within my particular discipline. On a similar note, I have never had trouble learning in a large class, nor obtaining outside help from the professor if I found some facet of the class to be difficult. Especially after sophomore year, larger classes become less common. I have heard that many individuals are apprehensive about attending a "big school," but I think that many of their fears are generally unfounded. REPUTATION Mizzou commands a great deal of respect throughout the state of Missouri. Outside of perhaps Washington University in St. Louis, no other institution within Missouri can compete with Mizzou in essentially any aspect (and even when you include WashU, one must consider the urban setting, relative lack of athletics, and other items unbecoming to most individual's ideal of a college experience). As previously mentioned, many individuals from the state of Missouri tend to associate the University with academic excellence and some degree of financial security (not near the level of wealth associated with private institutions, but certainly above the regional institutions). Mizzou commands a fair amount of prestige at the regional level, with a mutual level of respect maintained among the other institutions of the Big 12 (Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor) and other universities in the surrounding area (Illinois, Arkansas). Additionally, Mizzou maintains respect at the national level. Individuals from other areas of the nation are not in awe of Mizzou (it isn't Harvard or Yale), but they tend to recognize the University as a respectable institution. Outside of the Big 12, I have met individuals from across the nation, including the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Pennsylvania State University, and all of them treated Mizzou with respect. While not generally considered a "national school," the University of Missouri is certainly one of the best institutions in the Midwest. COLUMBIA Columbia is an exemplary college town. With a population of less than 100,000, Columbia has retained much of its small town charm while meeting the needs of the college community. Columbia is home to several local restaurants of various taste and an active night life. Additionally, Columbia has consistently been rated among America's best places to live, and is roughly two hours away from St. Louis and Kansas City.

Academic Life

As previously mentioned, anyone who wishes to have a relationship with a professor may have one so long as they take the initiative. Professors will not seek you out... they have too many students to try and reach out to everyone. However, they are more than happy to foster a relationship if you show some interest (go to office hours). In all honesty, I do not know that I have ever had a "bad" class at Mizzou. I was not fond of "Introduction to Leisure Studies" because I thought that the subject matter was extremely dull. Most of my classes have been absolutely wonderful. Students study for various amounts of time... it really depends on how high a student wants their GPA to be. Some students never study, but you usually don't see those individuals second semester. Class participation is not very common in large classes. However, many of the smaller classes are completely discussion-oriented (additionally, many larger classes will have a weekly discussion section). As with any institution, some students are more competitive than others. The History Department if amazing. To begin, our academic advisor is fantastic. She has great suggestions for courses outside of the major, and simply knows about everything there is to know about the department. I have yet to have a bad class or professor in the history department. The professors tend to be brilliant, the classes entertaining, and the workload reasonable. I attend office hours every once in awhile in order to spend time with a professors. If I'm enrolled in one of their courses, I usually take a tentative assignment to garner feedback. However, I also visit when I'm not enrolled in their courses in order to receive additional help or simply to catch up (granted, this is a select few professors). Mizzou's academic requirements are fine. They are not strenuous, but force you to diversify and become somewhat more well-rounded. In my opinion, admission standards are a little low.

Student Body

I have mixed thoughts about the minority organizations on campus. I think that they approach some issues well and some issues not so well. Regardless, it is nice for Mizzou to have such an active and diverse minority community which tries to reach out to anyone who might not initially feel very comfortable at the University for whatever reason. I feel like they are able to help successfully transition students who might otherwise not stay at the University. Students wear a variety of clothing to class, however, regardless of the particular style, everything tends to be very casual. Most Mizzou students are from the state of Missouri. Most Mizzou students come from the middle to upper middle class. Mizzou students are perhaps a little more politically aware than their peers. I find that they tend to lean slightly left, but it's certainly not Berkeley.