The University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Date: Jan 24 2012
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
UNLV is not a terrible university, in fact, it's a very good research university. If you're a science major, you will find no shortage of important, interesting, and engaging research from faculty members that contribute to their fields regularly. If you're here to get a degree in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics, you will find excellent resources, helpful professors from brand-name schools (I've had a few from Dartmouth and Cambridge, along with one from Harvard) and tons of options to expand your knowledge.

If you're just looking to grind out a science degree, you won't be happy, but if you love science and want to gain a thorough knowledge of the field from some of the people who know it very well, this is your place.

The student body is absolutely massive at 28,000 enrolled students; unfortunately, this also means that they're extremely vocal about how much the school "sucks" - this is almost exclusively the chief complaint of business and liberal arts majors. The chief grievance is that the degrees in these majors are not worth much from UNLV and I can see why. As previously suggested, SCIENCE is UNLV's strongest asset because of their extremely active and well-endowed research facilities. As a science major, you will be happy here, and having your name all over published work looks amazing entering any scientific field.

On the other hand, if you're into liberal arts or business, I'd wager there are many better schools for you.

Campus life is very active, if you're into partying, this entire city becomes a party after 5pm, so you'll be fine on that front. The girls are beautiful, and the ethnic diversity is extremely high (from what I've heard, UNLV is among the most diverse schools in the nation).

Before attending this school, I would genuinely consider what you're interested in going to school for, if it's science or if you're a pre-med, this school will do much for you. If you're into pretty much any other major, you'll have to work extra hard to make it worth your while and give you real benefits in the long run.

The classes are actually fairly challenging and many professors at the 300-400 level are very demanding and strict, which cultivates an excellent learning environment if you're not scared of having to actually work for your degree. Also, being a research-intensive university, your classes will oftentimes be amended with some of the latest developments. Several classes I've taken gave extra attention to new techniques and developments in Cell Physiology that haven't even hit mainstream science yet, so you're ahead of the curve there.