Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
Academically, most of my teachers were great and friendly, but I didn't feel like the course work was very rigorous. This would probably also depend on what major you're pursuing. If you're in the biology department, there's a lot of opportunities for field research. Two research opportunities I encountered while I was there was a study on vole populations in Denali and a study on blueberry antioxidant levels with a professor already working in that area, and I wasn't even a biology major. It wouldn't be very hard to find more research and field opportunities there. Also, my sister is in accounting and she seems to be greatly enjoying that.
If someone was studying native Alaskan culture, this would also be a good place to go. It has some native Alaskan languages, there are a lot of native Alaskan events happening it its general area, and I believe it has courses in native Alaskan arts.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
I did not live in the dorms so I cannot accurately rate them. However, my sister lived in a dorm for her first year. At first, she was placed into a dorm that had a poor roommate match for her, but she was able to get a new room. So, the university seems accommodating in this manner, but otherwise the rooms were fairly average dorm rooms: Small.
The area around the dorms seemed safe to me. I could walk around the dorms and the general campus at night and felt perfectly safe.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
The food in the commons wasn't bad in my opinion, but it wasn't a very high quality and some people did complain about it. It felt like pretty typical college food. People were allowed to take some leftover out and the university was pretty reasonable with that, only making an issue out of it when someone tried to stash up for dinner. And like at most colleges, it's cheaper to buy your own food than to get a meal plan.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
The university raises reindeer and musk ox.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Students looking for field research in the arctic or in the general field of biology.
Students who value a close, friendly community.
Native Alaskan students.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
I never felt threatened at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, no matter the hour. I can't imagine that all those campus police patrolling around get much excitement.
Academically, most of my teachers were great and friendly, but I didn't feel like the course work was very rigorous. This would probably also depend on what major you're pursuing. If you're in the biology department, there's a lot of opportunities for field research. Two research opportunities I encountered while I was there was a study on vole populations in Denali and a study on blueberry antioxidant levels with a professor already working in that area, and I wasn't even a biology major. It wouldn't be very hard to find more research and field opportunities there. Also, my sister is in accounting and she seems to be greatly enjoying that. If someone was studying native Alaskan culture, this would also be a good place to go. It has some native Alaskan languages, there are a lot of native Alaskan events happening it its general area, and I believe it has courses in native Alaskan arts.
I did not live in the dorms so I cannot accurately rate them. However, my sister lived in a dorm for her first year. At first, she was placed into a dorm that had a poor roommate match for her, but she was able to get a new room. So, the university seems accommodating in this manner, but otherwise the rooms were fairly average dorm rooms: Small. The area around the dorms seemed safe to me. I could walk around the dorms and the general campus at night and felt perfectly safe.
The food in the commons wasn't bad in my opinion, but it wasn't a very high quality and some people did complain about it. It felt like pretty typical college food. People were allowed to take some leftover out and the university was pretty reasonable with that, only making an issue out of it when someone tried to stash up for dinner. And like at most colleges, it's cheaper to buy your own food than to get a meal plan.
The university raises reindeer and musk ox.
Students looking for field research in the arctic or in the general field of biology. Students who value a close, friendly community. Native Alaskan students.
I never felt threatened at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, no matter the hour. I can't imagine that all those campus police patrolling around get much excitement.