<p>My D is considering tOSU, but has heard negative stories about the difficulty of scheduling classes or changing majors. In fact, she’s been told that unless you are an athlete - with their special pull - or in some honors program, you are frequently out of luck in getting decent profs or sections. </p>
<p>Are the any current students - or parents - on CC with some insight on this?</p>
<p>As far as changing majors goes, I switched majors each quarter my first year at OSU! I had no problems because my advisors (one for major, one for graduation requirements) were very aproachable and helpful. Of course, I had to initiate all/most of the contact between my advisors throughout the year regarding which classes I should take and so on.<br>
I'm in the Honors Program, so I can't say too much about scheduling problems. I've always gotten into the classes I've wanted to take. Also, I've switched my schedule around when the scheduling window was open to regular freshmen, and didn't have a problem. I guess it just depends on how popular the professors are for what classes you want to take, and how large each class section is. I've had some great and not so great profs, but I've also had good TAs, too. The more credits you have, and depending if you are in Honors, Scholars, or an athlete (haven't met one), the sooner you will schedule. While classes may become full as more and more people have access, the upperclassmen simply won't be enrolling in the same classes as the freshmen. So, in my and my friends' experiences, scheduling early is great, scheduling last is decent. I should also add that professors are very good about allowing more than the maximum number of students in their classes. For example, I was placed into the wrong language level at the beginning of the year, and needed to be moved up. The higher class that I wanted was full, but the teacher let me in anyway.</p>
<p>kstar, are you having a great time at OSU? And what do you think of the academics at the school?</p>
<p>I'm not a current student/parent, but I've done a lot of research on OSU and my older brother currently attends. From what I've heard, scheduling is "decent" (as kstar put it) for regular students but much easier for honors/scholars students, atheletes, special ed, etc as you said. I've also heard that classes can get filled up, but being waitlisted isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you can often attend the first day of class and get the professor's permission/signature to be enrolled. As for professors, my brother has complained most about the science/math classes -- it sometimes being difficult to understand foreign professors, etc. However, there are a lot of good TAs to help with that. I attended a history lecture and the prof was very knowledgeable (and comical, too, as he couldn't get the projector to work and swore it was the cursed ww2 lesson).</p>
<p>dstark--
I am having a good time at OSU. At first, I had to find my niche (which takes a little bit longer to do at such a large school--many niches). Now that I am happy with my major and have a "grand plan" so to speak, I realize just how great the opportunities at OSU are. As President Holbrook told me last school year, OSU is a great school that thinks it's good. The vast number of opportunities here have allowed me to explore every passing interest I have had. </p>
<p>Academically speaking, I have found some classes to be outstanding, mediocre, or just uninteresting (but maybe that's just me). The largest class I had last year was 50 students, but not everyone came to class, so it felt much smaller. As well, I should add that my smallest class had just 4 students. I've found the Honors classes to be my favorite because the class size is small (25 cap) and the professors are highly engaging. I will say that when I first came to OSU, I was so used to the intense rigor of many high school APs and extracurriculars that I found myself wanting/needing to take more credit hours to have a busy and challenging academic year. However, I was able to handle the course work (20-25 hours) because I had consulted my academic advisor and made aware of the expectations before classes began. One nice thing about tuition for full time students is that it is the same after you enroll in 12 or more hours. So, I have taken an extra music class for fun and tried out other classes I wouldn't have if it cost more per credit.<br>
I will second saint_paul's post about waitlisting procedures, it typically isn't a problem. I haven't had much experience in the math dept, but the science dept has some really interesting foreign professors that have done research all over the world.<br>
One caveat in reading my posts is that I guess I'm not a "typical" student, but I suppose there really isn't one at OSU. You make your education worth your while and can enjoy yourself, too.</p>
<p>kstar, thanks for taking the time to post. My son is pretty much done with his OSU app so it is nice to read a positive review of the school. He is looking for a school with a great social scene, and preferably, a great football team. He went to the Michigan--OSU football game last year and had a great time.</p>
<p>He does want strong academics and with a little work, it looks like he can find that at OSU.</p>