Wednesday, March 25, 2009
PelicanHPC
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Impressions of the University of Houston
While in high school, I tried to search for information about the University of Houston from students’ perspectives. Most of what I found was put out by the university as promotional information. The only place where students spoke was on ratings sites, where the reviews went back to 2003 and differed widely and wildly. How was I to gain knowledge and make an educated guess if I can’t tell what the university is really like? After all, just by looking at http://uh.edu/ you would assume that UH is a fine college. So now, after a semester and a half at UH, I will present my impressions of this University (with more to come later).
I come from a background where my friends’ parents, more often than not, paid for their kids’ educations. My parents did not, and so it was that three older siblings graduated college with student loan debts to pay off. I did not feel like leaving college in the same position, and reasoned that if I went to UH, I could hope for a big scholarship. Some other reasons for staying close to home were the great Houston weather and a close relationship with my parents. So I applied to UH, Rice, and UT, and was accepted to UH (Honors College) and Capped from UT Austin to UT Brownsville. I went to UH and got a nice scholarship.
The University of Houston has many students. This is apparent the second you step foot on campus. There are between 35,000 and 40,000 undergraduates and graduates, with at least one thousand more in faculty and staff. There are so many that the University may feel like a small town (I’m exaggerating). UH even has its own police department, which has jurisdiction on all of Texas (since the University is a public institution) and a fire department on campus, as well as a power plant that supplies central cooling and heating. There are over 400 organizations on campus, including many Greek fraternities and sororities, intramural sports teams, and various interest groups. There is something for nearly everyone, and if you don’t find a group you are interested in, create one yourself.
Of course, first you really should get comfortable with the amount of work that college really is, and only later get involved on campus. Some reviews you may see will say that UH is not challenging enough. I would say – define challenging. Is it supposed to mean ‘hard’? Requires lots of time and effort? Encourages independent thinking? You can make college as challenging as you want. Most full-time students routinely take 16 hours of classes a semester; indeed, that is the recommended amount if you want to graduate in four years. Take more if you wish – 18 hours is the recommended maximum, equating to six classes; take classes in the summer so that you can take classes outside the requirements of your major; participate in undergraduate research opportunities, etc.
And if you really want to challenge yourself, join the Honors College. Its required Human Situation course (10 hours total) will encourage critical thinking and essay writing like few other courses, and allow you to discuss the multitude of readings face-to-face with professors, in small classes. Here is the reading list I had in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, respectively: http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/about_us/academic_life/documents/HumanSitAlphaBooklsupdate6_2FALL2008.pdf and http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/about_us/academic_life/documents/AlphaBooklist.pdf. For some of the books, only some sections were read - for example, in the Metamorphosis we read 6-8 chapters – while the Iliad, Plato’s Phaedrus, and Cicero’s Nature of the Gods we read in their entirety. For most freshmen, the first year is the most demanding in the Honors College, since they take many core Honors classes then. Each semester thereafter, at least one course must be taken for honors credit and a 3.25 GPA must be maintained to remain in the Honors College. In addition, the Honors College requires you to take some additional upper-level classes and Honors core classes.
Of course, the advantages to being in the Honors College are numerous. If you live on campus, as most of the students in the Honors College do, you will probably stay in Taub Hall, where (again) most of the Honors College students live. (http://www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/TH.php) You will make many friends in the Honors Commons, a lounge-type area in the Honors College which is also the setting for many speakers and events held often each semester. If you wish you can complete a Senior Honors Thesis in your major during your senior year and graduate with that on your resume, along with “Honors College member”. This presumably looks good for graduate and professional programs. If you are interested, go to the Honors College website, at http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/.
However, there are issues with the University of Houston that many people have problems with. Some problems stem from the students themselves. Unlike at University of Texas, where generations of kids have gone, at least 40% of students at UH are the first in their family to attend college. A majority of students work at a job while studying, leaving them little time to enjoy what the campus has to offer. Indeed, this is why UH is known as a commuter college, in which most of the students commute by car or bus to campus and leave after classes. This greatly contributes to a lack of school spirit among the students, as well as a general lack of social life. People know others from school, and then see little of other students who go home after class. This could be different, but it will certainly depend on whether or not you decide to live on campus. These conclusions stand to reason, for if you are only on campus for classes, and then you go home, how likely is it, unless you are really dedicated, that you will make many friends on campus with whom you will stay friends over several semesters or years or even after college?
Furthermore, the bureaucracy at UH is all-pervading. One must understand from the get-go that the only sure-fire way to obtain accurate information about anything of concern is to walk to the department that is responsible. To put it another way, calling and emailing are rarely going to work. Don’t even think of emailing, you won’t get an answer back. Information retrieval requires actual walking, outside. The best way is simply to steel oneself and get it over with. Part of the problem lies in the public nature of the system, in its being a labyrinth of departments and regulations, and the other part lies with the people. Often, helpdesk workers know little outside of their area of expertise, and will refer you elsewhere, sometimes all across campus, which means another 10 -15 minute walk. People who are well-versed in the whereabouts of things on campus are few and far between. Nevertheless, these problems can be avoided mostly by not thinking about them too much.
I could go on about the advantages and disadvantages about campus (lots of things to do on campus vs. the sometimes unsafe neighborhood right around campus, lack of space due to ever-increasing enrollment vs. the great places to be on campus where there aren’t many people (hint: library)), but that’s for another time and place. In the end, college life at UH is what you make of it. If you want to have a great social life, the opportunities exist for that. If you want to be challenged, take hard classes and/or be in the Honors College. Make the best of your time on campus.
More on the University of Houston will follow, as well as many pictures of the campus and interior of buildings.
Finally, here’s a big hint – parking, which you pay $140 a year for, is at a premium. If you come before 10:30, you are nearly guaranteed a parking spot, even if it is 15 or more minutes from class. Come before 9 (gasp), and you’ll park much closer. Remember – the secret to getting a parking spot is “come early”, even if you don’t have class. Alternatively, you can take the bus, or drive around for at least half an hour looking for a spot.
Tags: university, University of Houston review, University of Houston blog, blog
I come from a background where my friends’ parents, more often than not, paid for their kids’ educations. My parents did not, and so it was that three older siblings graduated college with student loan debts to pay off. I did not feel like leaving college in the same position, and reasoned that if I went to UH, I could hope for a big scholarship. Some other reasons for staying close to home were the great Houston weather and a close relationship with my parents. So I applied to UH, Rice, and UT, and was accepted to UH (Honors College) and Capped from UT Austin to UT Brownsville. I went to UH and got a nice scholarship.
The University of Houston has many students. This is apparent the second you step foot on campus. There are between 35,000 and 40,000 undergraduates and graduates, with at least one thousand more in faculty and staff. There are so many that the University may feel like a small town (I’m exaggerating). UH even has its own police department, which has jurisdiction on all of Texas (since the University is a public institution) and a fire department on campus, as well as a power plant that supplies central cooling and heating. There are over 400 organizations on campus, including many Greek fraternities and sororities, intramural sports teams, and various interest groups. There is something for nearly everyone, and if you don’t find a group you are interested in, create one yourself.
Of course, first you really should get comfortable with the amount of work that college really is, and only later get involved on campus. Some reviews you may see will say that UH is not challenging enough. I would say – define challenging. Is it supposed to mean ‘hard’? Requires lots of time and effort? Encourages independent thinking? You can make college as challenging as you want. Most full-time students routinely take 16 hours of classes a semester; indeed, that is the recommended amount if you want to graduate in four years. Take more if you wish – 18 hours is the recommended maximum, equating to six classes; take classes in the summer so that you can take classes outside the requirements of your major; participate in undergraduate research opportunities, etc.
And if you really want to challenge yourself, join the Honors College. Its required Human Situation course (10 hours total) will encourage critical thinking and essay writing like few other courses, and allow you to discuss the multitude of readings face-to-face with professors, in small classes. Here is the reading list I had in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, respectively: http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/about_us/academic_life/documents/HumanSitAlphaBooklsupdate6_2FALL2008.pdf and http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/about_us/academic_life/documents/AlphaBooklist.pdf. For some of the books, only some sections were read - for example, in the Metamorphosis we read 6-8 chapters – while the Iliad, Plato’s Phaedrus, and Cicero’s Nature of the Gods we read in their entirety. For most freshmen, the first year is the most demanding in the Honors College, since they take many core Honors classes then. Each semester thereafter, at least one course must be taken for honors credit and a 3.25 GPA must be maintained to remain in the Honors College. In addition, the Honors College requires you to take some additional upper-level classes and Honors core classes.
Of course, the advantages to being in the Honors College are numerous. If you live on campus, as most of the students in the Honors College do, you will probably stay in Taub Hall, where (again) most of the Honors College students live. (http://www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/TH.php) You will make many friends in the Honors Commons, a lounge-type area in the Honors College which is also the setting for many speakers and events held often each semester. If you wish you can complete a Senior Honors Thesis in your major during your senior year and graduate with that on your resume, along with “Honors College member”. This presumably looks good for graduate and professional programs. If you are interested, go to the Honors College website, at http://www.uh.edu/academics/hon/.
However, there are issues with the University of Houston that many people have problems with. Some problems stem from the students themselves. Unlike at University of Texas, where generations of kids have gone, at least 40% of students at UH are the first in their family to attend college. A majority of students work at a job while studying, leaving them little time to enjoy what the campus has to offer. Indeed, this is why UH is known as a commuter college, in which most of the students commute by car or bus to campus and leave after classes. This greatly contributes to a lack of school spirit among the students, as well as a general lack of social life. People know others from school, and then see little of other students who go home after class. This could be different, but it will certainly depend on whether or not you decide to live on campus. These conclusions stand to reason, for if you are only on campus for classes, and then you go home, how likely is it, unless you are really dedicated, that you will make many friends on campus with whom you will stay friends over several semesters or years or even after college?
Furthermore, the bureaucracy at UH is all-pervading. One must understand from the get-go that the only sure-fire way to obtain accurate information about anything of concern is to walk to the department that is responsible. To put it another way, calling and emailing are rarely going to work. Don’t even think of emailing, you won’t get an answer back. Information retrieval requires actual walking, outside. The best way is simply to steel oneself and get it over with. Part of the problem lies in the public nature of the system, in its being a labyrinth of departments and regulations, and the other part lies with the people. Often, helpdesk workers know little outside of their area of expertise, and will refer you elsewhere, sometimes all across campus, which means another 10 -15 minute walk. People who are well-versed in the whereabouts of things on campus are few and far between. Nevertheless, these problems can be avoided mostly by not thinking about them too much.
I could go on about the advantages and disadvantages about campus (lots of things to do on campus vs. the sometimes unsafe neighborhood right around campus, lack of space due to ever-increasing enrollment vs. the great places to be on campus where there aren’t many people (hint: library)), but that’s for another time and place. In the end, college life at UH is what you make of it. If you want to have a great social life, the opportunities exist for that. If you want to be challenged, take hard classes and/or be in the Honors College. Make the best of your time on campus.
More on the University of Houston will follow, as well as many pictures of the campus and interior of buildings.
Finally, here’s a big hint – parking, which you pay $140 a year for, is at a premium. If you come before 10:30, you are nearly guaranteed a parking spot, even if it is 15 or more minutes from class. Come before 9 (gasp), and you’ll park much closer. Remember – the secret to getting a parking spot is “come early”, even if you don’t have class. Alternatively, you can take the bus, or drive around for at least half an hour looking for a spot.
Tags: university, University of Houston review, University of Houston blog, blog
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