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Sort By: [Date] [Major] [Rating] Biology  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Quite Bright The study of graduate biology at Penn State was quite an experience. I will give the positives first. There were some very bright and dedicated professors, especially among the more highly regarded academics. However, the treatment of graduate students was a complete scandal. Teaching assistants were placed in a position where they were routinely cooperating with some highly innapropriate behavior. As an example, students would often tell teaching assistants to give them a better grade, or they would do everting in their power to get them in trouble. Because of the manner in which things were run, this was usually effective. If you did not cooperate with behavior along these line, you had a political problem. The teaching assistants were managed by a woman who worked every angle on the teaching assistants (Diane Burpee). She would even order the teaching assistants to tell the professors how great she was. If you didn't play her games, she would do everything possible to have you fired. It was a completely revolting job. I have never seen management as bad as that of the biology department teaching assistants. The graduate students constantly complained to each other about the place, but the lines of communication between them and the professsors were down. Also, though some top bioinformatics people are at Penn State, they are locked in bitter political and ideological disputes with top people at other universities. I have spent considerable time as a student in my life, and I never experienced anything like the Penn State biology department. Preparedness: B-, Reputation: D Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private) Jun 23 2005 Alumnus Male -- Class 2000   Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=17460&uid=1192'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save Biology  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Quite Bright I attended Behrend for my first two years prior to transferring to UP. My fisrt year at Behrend wasn't the best because I was forced to live off campus and due to a limited amount of activities, making friends even for extroverts was difficult. After my sophomore year, I had become more comfortable there but I was definitely ready for something bigger. A large group of my friends and myself all transferred to University Park together. We were able to join numerous clubs and gain invaluable research experience. The nightlife was awesome from $1 pitchers at the Gaff to the endless stream of downtown apartment parties and unbelievable tail-gating. I joined the sailing team and had a great time with a wonderful group of people. How many other universities in PA have sailing teams? (only a couple) My advice to potential, future Penn Staters.... start at a branch campus if you are uncomfortable with a university as large as main campus. PSU is an awesome institution with great opportunities.... you have to take advantage of them. Join clubs, live on campus, do undergrad research, buy football season tickets, go to women's basketball games, play intramural sports, don't trust the advisors, take TONS of pictures with friends at the lion statue, talk to upperclassmen about what classes/professors to take, and take Professor Clemente's SOC 005 class. That is the full Penn State experience.I recently graduated from PSU and have discovered that there are alumni everywhere you go. Throw the PSU name out there and someone is likely to respond. You have the advantage that tens of thousands of people walk away from PSU each year having had 4-6-10+ wonderful years at State. Best of luck! Social Life: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: C+ Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  Mar 09 2005 4th Year Female -- Class 2004    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=15332&uid=1192'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save Biology  Major Salary, Salary Trend, Satisfaction, Unemployment Bright In this school you are just a number. The school functions in a way that screws over and takes advantage of its students. I wouldn't recomend going here. Campus Aesthetics: A-, Scholastic Success: F Have a Question? Your Response/Question:     To be informed when someone replies to your comment. (private)  More →  Sep 03 2004 2nd Year Female -- Class 2007    Forward  Blog it! Blog about this comment from your webpage or Blog, or MySpace account: Just copy and paste! <script src='http://www.studentsreview.com/active/shared/sr_comment.js?sckey=11964&uid=1192'></script> <a href='http://www.studentsreview.com' style='font-size:8pt;'>Data Source: StudentsReview!</a> Rate this comment: Useless (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Helpful       Save  Prev    Select Page: 1 ... 53  54  55  56  57  58  59  60  61    Next

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