The University of Cincinnati

This school just plain sucks. I will start with the staff.
Most of the staff are terrible, especially the science departments. Most of them are more concerned with their research than teaching students. I have yet to learn anything from them. Some of the other staff just plain don't care and make it apparent. Lately, the teachers don't allow for any breathing room either. Teachers do not allow you to make up anything anymore and will not bend rules even a little to help you out. They pretty much tell you "too bad." Even if you end up in the hospital, they don't care and don't try to help you out. The worst part is the quality of the education they give. Most of the time, we are essentially told to just read the book and be able to know everything. That might not be so bad if the books the dept heads picked were actually good, but it seems as if the books that are picked are the most expensive ones with the least amount of educational value. Really, I learned more studying on my own and looking things up on the internet than attending lectures and reading their books. Speaking of lectures... No matter how bad the teacher, no matter how little they teach, you are expected to show up for every class. It didn't used to be this way, but now, most teachers take attendance just to make sure you showed up. Ironically, these are the same where the teacher doesn't explain things very well or just reads off of powerpoints. Another annoying point is that the teaching assistants do a better job of teaching than the actual professors. I thought it was the other way around, but its not here at UC. Don't bother going to the teacher if you need help, just go to the teaching assistant.

The UC department policies are just as terrible. I'm a senior working on a biology degree, but out of all the time ive been here, I've only taken 3 biology classes. The rest of the time was attempting to get credit to fulfill the credit requirements outside of biology. For instance, foreign language, physics, and social sciences; all of which are quite useless for what I plan to do. However, one main problem is that the college seems to change requirements around every year. They may require more credit in one section or lower requirements in another. Have to keep close tabs on this.

The requirements are not the biggest problem, the biggest problem is getting INTO the class you need. Most classes fill up almost instantaneously, then you are stuck with trying to get into that class. Some classes (Biology 301, 302, and 303, for example) you are given only one chance a year to get into it. If you miss that chance, you have to go an extra year just to have another chance to fulfill that requirement.

Then we have the college itself; a run-down, poor-excuse for a college. This place is awful. There are numerous buildings that leak, have dysfunctional bathrooms or other facilities, or are just plain falling apart. Oh, let's not forget the fact that there are shootings, muggings, and sexual assaults that occur almost nightly on or around campus. I wouldn't call this the safest or nicest place on earth. These are just a few of the problems that plague UC. In summary, stay away. Find a different college; I wish I did.

5th Year Male -- Class 2012

University Resource Use/ spending: D+, Education Quality: F

I am completely dissatisfied wit the University's Professional Practice office, and their placement of co-ops--particularly within the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. UC boasts about its co-op program, such how it was the first, or they have a --% placement rate, or how much money the students make on co-op. I am a third-year Biomedical Engineering student, and I have YET to secure a co-op. At all. EVER. By now, I should have completed 2 co-op quarters, with my 3rd and 4th quarters in progress. Seeing that I could not completely depend on the Prof Prac office, I applied for positions on my own, to no avail. Beware: The Office of Professional Practice is NOT nearly as helpful as they claim to be!

3rd Year Female -- Class 2012

Education Quality: A-, Campus Aesthetics: D-