My impressions of Baruch college after my first semester have been mostly positive. All of my classes have been challenging and my professors have both knowledge and experience in their respective fields. My Intro to Psychology class is a large lecture (like 300 people) and two of the lessons now have been taught (poorly) by different student teachers. This is unfortunate but I think to be expected in any large university, and I expect to encounter less of this as I move on towards fulfilling my major requirements.
The faculty at the school is very available for the students for such a large university. I haven’t had trouble finding time to talk with my professors during their office hours. The advisement office is always packed and if you want meaningful advice about what courses to take or really anything, you need to speak to people in your department. Still, I was able to go in during registration and have a meeting with an advisor, and the whole process took under an hour. That’s not bad considering the size of the school.
The culture of the school is kind of bizarre, if you ask me. Walking around in the Newman building feels like rush hour on the subway. There are very few places to sit and study or have conversations with people. The library is dirty and always packed. Good luck trying to find a seat during busy school hours. Also, people go to the library to take naps, which I just find depressing when I am trying to study. The fact of it being a commuter school makes people even more antisocial. I have never been on a college campus, even a community college, where such a high percentage of the people you see are walking by themselves, with a frown on their face, getting from point A to point B as fast as they can, and then going home. I had an experience just the other day where a student offered me a flyer for her club and I didn’t even bother to make eye contact with her- I just kept walking like she was asking for donations on the street or something. I couldn’t believe myself! That is my fellow student, my peer, and I just blew her off like she was nobody! But walking around in the lobby of the school, I fall into the same mindset as walking around midtown Manhattan- cold, closed off, rushing, only thinking about myself.
That being said, you can make friends by going to clubs and joining sports teams etc.
