(UConn) I was a graduate student in the NEAG School

Educational Quality	C+	Faculty Accessibility	D
Useful Schoolwork	F	Excess Competition	B-
Academic Success	D-	Creativity/ Innovation	D-
Individual Value	C-	University Resource Use	B
Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty	F	Friendliness	C-
Campus Maintenance	F	Social Life	F
Surrounding City	F	Extra Curriculars	F
Safety	A-

Describes the student body as: , ' color='class=grade' > Describes the faculty as: , , , ' color='class=grade' >

Male

Quite Bright

Useful Schoolwork	F

Safety	A-

He cares more about Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty than the average student.

Date: Oct 18 2011
Major: (This Major's Salary over time)
I was a graduate student in the NEAG School of Education. I won't risk the chance of being outed and list the exact program, but let's just say it's not K-12 education focused. I accepted UConn over several more prestigious and well-known graduate programs in education. This place is a toilet. I am not an undergrad, but if I were, I would transfer for the following reasons: 1) Shoddy dormitories 2) Incompetent residential life staff 3) Awful, overpriced food 4) No college town. There is NOTHING here, okay. NOTHING. 5) Lack of an intellectual atmosphere 6) Poor campus maintenance during snow storms (students literally fall and break limbs because the school is too lazy and cheap to hire a decent snow removal/salting company. You literally walk across sheets of ice to get to class. Completely unacceptable). This is not an academic powerhouse. If it weren't for the basketball team, UConn wouldn't even enter the national dialogue. Back to my experience. I was disappointed with my graduate program. I didn't feel challenged or prepared for any kind of degree beyond this. All we did was write and talk about our feelings. It was not a rigorous, research-based program at all. I felt conned. They should call UConn, "U've Been Conned!" Professors told us at the beginning of the year that "grades don't matter," yet WHAMMO! you get your grades back and they are not AT ALL what you might have expected. It doesn't matter if you put in your full effort. Professors in my program picked favorites and graded accordingly. It was complete and utter BS. This education program boasts practical experience. Fine, that's great. But how about decent classes? I took one class that was challenging but it was so poorly taught that it left me completely apathetic about the subject. The professors are "practitioners" but at the end of the day, they are not PROFESSORS. They are folks with busy day jobs who treat their classes as an afterthought. And students like me were cheated in the process. I paid over $250 a semester for awful textbooks that were dull, turgid and didn't even contribute to my learning. Not to mention the fact that a good 50% of the program involved writing reflections and journals. It got old REALLY quickly. After your 50th reflection, you think, first of all 'Am I in graduate school?' and then you think 'Hm. How about looking forward? What can I do with this information?' The cohort model was an atrocity, by the way. I can't speak for other cohorts in the past or present, but the folks in mine were friendly yet ultra competitive and gossipy. I didn't sign up for Junior Year of High School v. 2.0. Constant group work made the experience even more unbearable. Trust no one. Keep your true opinions to yourself. It's not all bad. I did gain some valuable "work" experience. But it's not really "work" if you're a graduate assistant. It's basically bs work that no one else wants to do. But I made the best of it and tailored it to actual job experience during my career hunt. Out of 10 stars, I give my program a 5. It gets a five for the little practical experience we gained, the tuition waiver and for the health insurance that graduate assistants got. It gets docked points for the professors and curriculum. Let's be honest, if it weren't for the money I would have gone somewhere superior, where the professors are too distinguished and serious about their work to play favorites and act petty over insignificant nonsense. In the grand scheme of things, I was fortunate to have received a graduate degree that was practically free. Many people don't have that opportunity. I am grateful. But I am also disappointed. I feel like I should have gone to a school where my contributions and intelligence were appreciated. Whether you're a graduate or undergraduate, don't come here. It's a waste of time and/or money. If you need to go somewhere local and can swing it, go to Yale, Connecticut College, or a school in New York City.

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