The University of North Texas

Date: Dec 23 2009
Major: Physics (This Major's Salary over time)
Texas is renown for its university system; with the exception of California, the state has some of the most renown postsecondary institutions in the nation - UT Austin, Rice, A&M. UNT tends to be viewed as the lower end of this elite pecking order, but the university has made great strives towards improving its image and leading the way as a renown "place to be."

The school's appearance is its biggest issue. UNT simply lacks that initial visual appeal which draws many students to attend Rice or SMU. That said, in the past fifteen years the campus has done a remarkable job at remodeling itself for newer generations: the environmental science and chemistry buildings are probably some of the most interesting, techno-savvy places in all of Texas, and the school is currently on its way towards greatly improving the biology building and football stadium.

As far as academics are concerned, I would say most of the professors and lecturers are more than your run-of-the mill academic. One thing UNT does to separate itself from other schools is provide easy interaction with faculty and staff. So while you may feel intimidated in a freshman lecture hall by the sheer volume of bodies, rest assured that you will in all likelihood find more than enough (and prompt) help through office hours or email contacts. The teachers also tend to respect the law of averages by generalizing problems in larger classes while being more demanding in the senior level courses.

I'm technically a physics and social studies double major, but in both instances I've been warmly welcomed into each department. In fact the physics department has so much focus on its student body that it provided for a tour, heh.