Impressive Active Class Culture and Student-oriented Facilities
By Yang Ji-na, Senior, Dept. of Communication
Quite a long time has passed since I came back, but there are still some things that come to mind when I think of my student life overseas. Students relaxing and studying all over campus; students reading on the grass, taking a nap under the tree, playing Frisbee and people working out. These are the images that fill my head when I think of the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU).
I was so excited to live and go to school in a different country. I spent my last two semesters at MU. MU’s classroom culture, the attitude the students and professors bring to class, differs from the culture here in Korea. Students are not passive but active in classes, and professors have a more relaxed and flexible schedule. The most surprising thing was that even in a big class with more than 300 students, discussions went on. If there were less than 50 students in class, active discussion surely went on. Since I was taking a lot of small classes, I had a chance to join discussions and speak my opinion.
In addition, the grading system in the U.S. differs from that in our country, an absolute evaluation system is used and students are graded by their score, not by the percentage of students in class. Moreover, there are more exams, pop quizzes and assignments given; in most of the classes there are at least 3 to 4 exams per semester. I think the grading system in the U.S. makes the students more cooperative with each other and encourages them to study together. I used to study by myself, but while I was at MU, some of my classmates suggested studying together. It was a good opportunity to help each other, and for me as an exchange student, it was a good chance to make friends as well.
The facilities at MU were convenient. Frankly speaking, I still miss some of them. The well-facilitated Recreation Center is one of the specialties at MU and I enjoyed working out there and thanks to the Recreation Center I could stay healthy. The libraries were also good and a laptop checkout service was provided for students and I personally thought that this service was helpful for students. Also MU provides free wireless internet service practically everywhere on campus and in many gathering places which made it easier for students to get together and work on projects. One of the services I used frequently was the writing lab service. If I signed up for a writing tutor, I could get help writing essays and get feedback on my paper.
I took a lot of business classes, especially upper level classes and writing and speaking class as well. Of course I sometimes got stressed out writing essays and joining discussions and giving speeches in front of American students. But as time went by, I felt more relaxed and comfortable. I enjoyed my life at MU, as an exchange student and learned a lot. I do think it is a good opportunity to study abroad, and an excellent challenge for even the best students.
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