The University of North Texas

CONS
UNT is an interesting school. It is a commuter school cloaked under the guise of a traditional University. In the next few years, UNT will be very similar to the SMU's or the Texas A&M's. Soooo much money is spent on aesthetics ie. (the treadmills in our gym each have their own mini plasma screens for you to view while running), not enough funding is spent towards the development of the student body as a whole. Also, parking is HELL. I haven't bought a permit in over 2 yrs., because there are never any suitable spaces to park. The permits are really just a waste of money...$200 plus sometimes. Also, in some majors, classes fill up quickly...i mean QUICKLY. My GPA is a 3.2, not good but respectable, and I have never failed a class, but i will graduate a YEAR later than expected. Why...because the classes i NEED to take are usually full the first go round, causing me to have to wait another semester to get in. Not good at all.

PROS
Despite the lack of said classes, their sizes are great..like 30 students to 1 professor. I have had classes with only 13 kids, which allows professors to interact with the students on a one on one basis. I had a couple of my professors HOME PHONE NUMBERS. I would call them to get assignments for days missed etc. Don't expect to do that at UT. Financial aid IS a pain as with most schools, but UNT does try to handle its business with regards to distributing grants, scholarships etc. on a timely basis. The campus is pretty safe, and the extracirricular activities are abundant to say the least. We have waaaay too many clubs and organizations here, so anyone is sure to find something to tickle their fancy. There is an Albino Squirrel Preservation Society...nuff said. All in all, UNT is a "B" school with a "C-" cost. In other words, it makes the grade.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2006

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, University Resource Use/ spending: C-

Your impression of UNT is going to vary depending on many factors, including your department, your ability to do research on classes and programs, and your aggressiveness when it comes to paperwork, dealing with offices, getting things done. Everybody's experience will be very different.

This is a huge university, so expect there to be many careless students and bad faculty. It's true that some freshman classes contain 500 students, but some contain 15. I would highly recommend visiting with upper-class students in the department and going to ratemyprofs to make sure that you get a good professor. When signing up online (they have a GREAT student center online!) you can see who teaches the class and how many students may enroll. I asked around and all of my professors for International Studies (mostly Political Science and History courses) have been amazing. No busy work, I learned a great deal, class sizes were small, they were really there for me! I love the foreign language department even more, I haven't found a French instructor that I haven't liked. The department is willing to work with you and get you in to classes that are already full. Class sizes are more than reasonable!

UNT offers amazing online classes. This university rocks when it comes to incorporating multimedia in with school work.

I am now working on my master's for Library/Information Science. I love the little community and the college of lib/info science is very helpful.

I have had many students jobs here... all amazing! They are easy to come by!
Financial aid is SO GENEROUS. Every semester I have had my tuition and books completely paid for. They get a lot of government and state grants, apparently. Many of my friends whose parents make a decent, average income get about half or more of their expenses paid. You get extra if you keep a 3.0 or higher (not difficult).

Parking is terrible, the campus is only so-so when it comes to being aesthetically pleasing. The campus is very small and you can walk across it in fifteen minutes, though, and the bus system is superb.

My only complaint is Denton itself. Seriously, what is up with this crappy town? The good thing is, there are a lot of campus activities.

Can't comment on athletics, not my deal.
My advice is to be self-motivated, research your department and major and be aggressive if something goes wrong. Yes, it is a large university and you will get lost in a sea of students if you don't take care of yourself. However, I have loved my departments (except Journalism, which is why I got out).UNT has provided me with a good, affordable education. They have provided me with work experience and are helping with job placement. They facilitate procedures by offering online options but you must be self-motivated. If you want someone to hold your hand and baby you through every step then you might want to shell out some dough to afford a small, private college.

5th Year Female -- Class 2009

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: F