University of North Dakota | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Laura

Class: Sophomore
Major: Biology
Gender: F

High School: St. Mary's Central High School in Bismarck, ND
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about UND is that it's a large school but it still has the feel of being a tight knit community. There are some 12,000 students here but I run into people I know everywhere I go. I think the size is just right in that regard, it makes me thankful that I didn't end up at a very small school. When I tell people I go to UND, they ask if I party alot because the school has that stigma about it. But when I tell them about my classes and activities they realize there is much more to it than that. I spend most of my time on campus in my various classrooms, on breaks or after class is done for the day, I go to one of the several coffee shops to study. I think UND is definitely positively impacted by being a college town, you get the sense that the city of Grand Forks really cares about the school and the businesses and community refelcts that. The biggest controversy on campus is the drama over the Fighting Sioux name and logo. But, I find that this has only increased school pride.

Academic Life

The dynamics of academics at UND are really varied according to department and individual classes. In my large lecture classes, professors don't nessecarily know my name unless I visit them for extra help. But, in many of the smaller humanities classes, I have really gotten to know my teachers and my classmates--I have met some of my closest friends in these type of classes. My favorite class is my creative writing class, it has really sparked my interest in a new activity. I'm beginning to prefer these smaller humanities classes as I get more involved with classes for my major. Most students I know are very serious about school and spent alot of time studying. For the most part, students are proactive about their educations, but perhaps these are just the people I associate with, because there are certainly examples to the contrary. I have found it to me very true that students have intellectual conversations outside of class, I have had such conversations even when I run into classmates at social events. I am a Biology major, and I find that department to be very challenging but also interested in helping students succeed. I have had more trouble with the chemistry department. The administrators seem to have a mentality to weed out lesser students and really aren't willing to do anything extra to help students succeed. It is my understanding that the department is under probation because not enough students pass its classes.

Student Body

There are groups of every kind on campus. I really think most people can find their niche here or at least people with similar ideas. We have many international students which adds another dimnesion to the student population. UND has a good number of service groups and students are usually interested in helping out. I have made friends with students from every field of study, it seems that different types of students find have opportunities to meet and form relationships. The aviation school definitely increases the diversity of the student population by increasing attraction of students from all over the world.