Freshman Professors Not That Great?

<p>I was recently speaking with an engineering freshman about his experience at BU and when I asked him to name one thing he did not like about BU - he said it was in general the attention the professors gave to teaching. He said that many of the professors were from the industry (so I guess not fulltime) and seemed more interested in getting thru their material. He felt they were intelligent people but did not seem to be too keen on ‘teaching’.</p>

<p>Can any other engineering students comment on this.</p>

<p>Well I did two years in the ENG program and I have to say they do not babysit you. Many of the lecturers work at Raytheon or other high end companies while teaching. So yes many do not have time. However this is not the case in the freshman courses. Maybe in the EK 131/132 since those courses are only half a semester.</p>

<p>The teachers in th program know how hard it is to keep the ENG students retained due to the material, so they provide many resources for the students to use outside of class. I personally think that they want you to learn on your own, instead of hand holding, so you have a better grasp on the material and what not, because a lot of the basics you learn you will be applying in your upper lvl courses. <em>Matlab will become your best friend without you even knowing haha.</em></p>

<p>I’m a sophomore ENG student and I would have to say that is somewhat true and somewhat false. The EK131/132 classes are ABSOLUTE ********. Do not expect to learn anything in depth in those introductory classes.(Human brain mapping is fun and an easy A! Do not take Auditory if it available. Voigt teaches material far beyond a freshman’s comprehension.) A lot of the teachers that I have encountered have a passion for helping their students out. As you said they do not hand hold, but they do their best to help you understand. If you really needed to, some of the professors/teachers will setup extra office hours to help you understand the material. For each class that is taught, there are always amazing teachers, good teachers, and bad teachers. What you end up depends on how you plan your classes and luck. For chemistry try to get Abarams or Rubio (depending on what chem class you take) if he is teaching. (HE IS AMAZING!). If you are taking calculus DO NOT SIGN UP FOR POTTHARST. He is an sweet and brilliant man, but he cannot teach yet because he has only just started his teaching career. If you can, sign up for Chung. While people rave over Chung, I found his teaching methods to be useless. He is the most callous and uncaring teacher I have met so far. For physics try to get Ludwig or Butler. (preferably Ludwig, but avoid the third professor, I forgot his name, but he is a very confusing man.) </p>

<p>Hopefully I helped, good luck freshman year!</p>