Transferring Schools: Preparing for the Differences

[hotcommodity]

Hi, I'll be transfering colleges come this August and I'm curious about the difference in work ethic and classroom material that I may encounter. The school I attend now isn't very science oriented. It's a small school, and hence a small physics department (although it has its hand in some national research projects), and the professors that teach here are usually graduates from this very school. I'll be transfering to a school that is science/engineering oriented, and I'm curious about what I should expect both in and out of the classroom. The majority of the physics professors at this school are graduates from places like Yale, Harvard, etc. Should I expect their lectures to be clear and concise, or might they be the type of professors that expect you to learn all of the material from your textbook alone? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[G01]

One thing that you may experience would be less attention from professors, especially if your going to a bigger, research university from a smaller, teaching university.

At the bigger school, you may have more interaction with TA's etc. and less with your professors.

Also, I wouldn't expect the professors lectures to be better just because they come from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. A professor's "pedigree" doesn't neccessarily determine how good of a teacher he/she is.