University of Missouri at Saint Louis Reviews

"I received a thorough education and left prepared to be a teacher. The programs that UMSL had in place for teaching at other locations in surrounding counties was excellent. This allowed me to be able to attend UMSL close enough at home to be able to work and save money on gas, but still provided me with a quality education."

"The school as a whole has a very caring, student-oriented nature. There are an abundant of "free" (your tuition pays for it) services and items, like Retention Services and Metro passes. The Office of Residential Life is a rip-off in more ways than one, though. These are the living areas: Oak Hall, Villa, Villa North, Mansion, and Meadows. The first three are residential halls; the last two are apartment buildings. I lived in Oak and Villa North and, through working two different ResLife jobs, have gone through each area and dealt with complaints. Oak and Meadows are better; Villa and Mansion are worse. The prices are all horrendous and one of the reasons we're a commuter campus. It is worth mentioning that Oak is the only residential option for anyone under 21 and the most expensive housing plan. If you live in Oak, you are required to have a meal plan, which is, at the cheapest leave, another $1,300 dollars. Nobody I knew lived there without a scholarship. The only good thing I can say about ResLife is that repairs for any housing-related damages are free and usually done within a day. Aside from ResLife, there are plenty of good things here. We have the only optometry school in Missouri. I hear we have an awesome College of Education and an intense nursing program. Most of the people I meet are nursing or some sort of science major. We have a huge population of international students, mostly from Asian cultures. We're heavy on student involvement. (We have the official Office of Student Involvement to prove it.)It's fairly easy to start an official club, but there are about a hundred to choose from. There are several events throughout the year that encourage students to bring their families. I honestly think the only downside of this place is all the goose poop you have to avoid.Read Less"

"The program demanded a lot of busy work but the assignments weren't incredibly difficult. The professors were very knowledgeable but difficult to get in touch with when needed. The coursework is very rigorous, and I do feel like I learned a lot. The advising is awful."

"Great learning in a highly competitive environment at an affordable price. Sometimes the workload is a bit much but I would say the University of Missouri at St. Louis is an excellent school for a great price."

"I graduated from the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) in May of 2007. I am extremely satisfied with the education I received there. The required coursework and practicum experiences were invaluable. Further, the College of Education staff and instructors were supportive in every aspect of the program. I had multiple offers for employment and was hired by the school district of my choice before graduation. I began my first year of teaching with confidence in my own ability and found the effectiveness of my first year of professional practice exceeded that of many of my colleagues with more experience. My undergraduate education prepared me well for my first years of teaching, as well as provided a strong foundation for continued growth as a reflective practitioner and graduate and post graduate work. Additionally, I am particularly proud of the fact that my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education is a Bachelor of Science. Not only did I enter the field with a broad content and pedagogical knowledge base, I was adequately prepared to incorporate 21st Century Skills across subject areas while advocating for STEM education in my school/district.Read Less"

"I believe there are a lot of pros o my graduate program but the most valuable is the education and the quality of teachers. I have attended three schools prior to University of Missouri St. Louis(UMSL) and the professors I have studied under at UMSL have by far been the most reliable and personnel. Being a single mom and working two jobs my schedule is not always the same and my professors have always been very understanding and accommodating in regards to early testing and outside of class meetings. The education I receive from UMSL I feel is preparing me for work as a CPA and I believe that the classes are well organized and the content is advanced. Although I see many pros within my graduate degree there have been many hardships throughout as well. The classes although at appropriate times such as evenings are not offered very often. Many classes are offered only in the Spring and Fall and due to finances and workload I am only able to take two classes at a time which leaves for little options as far as class choice is concerned. My largest hurdle has been the payment for classes, although UMSL is not overpriced it is adding to my building student debt as I have paid for both my undergraduate and now my graduate from my finances and largely from student loans. Although the financial aid department is very helpful I have received little help in terms of options for alternative ways of funding my education. Thank you for taking time to read my opinions on the pros and cons of my graduate school.Read Less"

"The academic competitiveness of my graduate program was excellent. The workload provided great hands-on experience rather than just "busy work." Faculty members were very helpful and supportive in my educational pursuits; they were easily accessible outside of class. I was able to develop professional relationships with several of my instructors. However, I was not pleased with the financial aid process; they offered more loans than scholarships and grants and made the entire process generally unpleasant. Overall though, I am very satisfied with my academic experience at UMSL.Read Less"

"I think it is a great school for Business and Nursing degrees, but probably not the right school for me if I had to do my pre-med degree over again."

"Overall, the education I received at UMSL prepared me for teaching. The classes were beneficial for the most part. I do think that all universities should include, in their elementary education courses, more classes specifically focused on teaching kids how to read. There need to be more focus on different strategies such as phonics versus whole language. I received these in my reading specialist certification classes. However, i think ALL elementary teachers should have those classes. I do think the advising program could be better organized.Read Less"

"The program is rigorous and needs to be paced appropriately. Most of the professors that I had were working professionals. This was really helpful because they had first hand knowledge of what it would be like when you received your first job as an administrator. Many of the professors were easily accessible if you had questions or wanted to speak with them further regarding the content. The books that align with Pearson will help tremendously on the state exam for your principal certification. Overall, I feel like the program gave me a lot of preparation and content knowledge that I will need as an administrator and I would recommend the program. I have heard that UMSL is changing the program into a cohort model. I believe this will help with their lack of advising that they have in the College of Education. If students are able to register and know exactly when courses are offered, and they can take two in one night, it helps eliminate driving to and from campus multiple times per week.Read Less"

"PROS: The faculty and staff are readily accessible and available. In spite of their academic and professional accomplishments, they have not forgotten what it takes to achieve those goals. CONS: The amount of class sections offered during the day are very minimal. This is not conducive to the non-traditional student who has an evening work schedule."

"I think UMSL was a good value for the money, but does not prepare students very well if you are pre-med. It is a wonderful school for nursing, business, and regular sciences, but it did not help me very much being that I wanted to go into medical school."

"The UM-St. Louis MBA program has challenging and qualified professors and excellent networking opportunities, especially in St. Louis and surrounding areas. The University charges way, way too much for parking because it is a mostly commuter school--and the university capitalizes on that. I really enjoy the diversity of students, but because it is a largely commuter school, you won't have much of a social life. Not many people just hang out on campus for social purposes. Combining affordability, quality of education, and career support, I don't think you can get any better in the greater St. Louis area.Read Less"

"The pros of going to the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) for graduate school (or for any other degree) are: 1. It is a state university. 2. Their degrees are respected. 3. One would have great access to technology and other things around campus by having a student ID. 4. After graduating from UMSL a person WILL feel like they’ve EARNED their degree because of all of the challenges that one faces at UMSL both in and outside of class.. 5. There’s not as many distractions like one would get at party schools. The cons of going to UMSL are: 1. The education that one may get might not be great. I got the sense that most of the professors there are underpaid, and thus, many are not happy, many don’t care; are unenthused and are outright rude at times. Hence, the school gets what it paid for. And some of that negative energy that the professor at UMSL exhibit could also make YOU feel unenthused and drained too while you take your classes. 2. Things are not cohesive at UMSL. Departments don’t talk to each other. Thus, one may find themselves going back and forth around campus trying to get simple answers to simple questions, sometimes the answers that you might get could be wrong, sometimes their site might say one thing and their department, a professor, an advisor, or SOMEONE may say something different and there are many of these types of blunders at UMSL that leads to unnecessary, unanticipated and sometimes huge inconveniences. Thus, make sure that you know absolutely EVERYTHING you need to know about a course or what is required for everything you do, because it could get as serious as someone dropping you from a course simply because their website (or department person or SOMETHING) might say one thing, but something or someone else might say you need XYZ. Such inconveniences would be THEIR fault, but they still might hold you accountable for THEIR errors. 3. The environment is bland. That is, there are not enough activities that go on around campus. Most people just take their courses and go home and social life around campus is not the best. vs. other schools that I have been to. 4. There’s not much school spirit and I didn’t feel as enthused at UMSL as I did at other schools. 5. Some of the buildings that they teach classes in have poor ventilation; are stuffy, hot, and are the kinds of buildings that could make a person field tired upon walking in them and yet, you have to take classes in such buildings. 6. I personally felt safe at UMSL and I personally haven’t had any encounters with criminals, but know that UMSL is surrounded by a high crime neighborhood and things do happen there. My advice: use common sense, be aware of your surroundings, and just avoid the high crime areas as much as possible. But then again, do this anywhere you go in life. Thus, my overall feeling about UMSL's (for graduate school or otherwise) is it’s JUST a respectable school to earn a respectable degree; especially if there is nowhere else to go. UMSL serves the above stated purpose very well. Thus, such is all I can say about UMSL.Read Less"

"My program has excellent teachers and academic support for emerging writers. I fear, however, that there are not enough minority students in this specific program, despite the diversity of the UMSL community as a whole. I often feel along, as a black woman, an LGBT community member, and a first generation American (Middle Eastern roots)."

"Pros are the great teachers who have created a great educational community. Cons are the limited classes available from semester to semester with some being mostly offered to fine arts majors versus standard master's degree majors."

"Working with the same cohort of students throughout the program is great. They become your best friends and really provide a great network of support and motivation."

"The teachers really want you to succeed but the programs here could be more organized especially undergrad nursing programs. Prices are much lower for Grad school though."

"I attended quite a while ago and continued on to earn my M.Ed. in Counseling after a BA in Psychology. Had transferred many credit from SLCC prior. At that time, I was in my early 30s which felt like I was old compared to the students around me. It did not matter really except in STEM type classes I was at a disadvantage compared to students just out of high school who had taken lots of math and science. They were bored with class as they had just studied it and yet I was overwhelmed although I studied very hard and still got mainly A's and Bs. UM-St. Louis is a very good school, constantly adding new facilities and technologies. Less prestigious than the big, private schools but well worth the tuition. All the professors were excellent! Especially in grad school. I would attend there again. Feel proud of your degree from there. Study hard, definitely get internships or work experience while you attend or you will have a harder time getting a decent paying job when you graduate. In psychology, get a master's degree too, but don't bother if you aren't gaining experience in the field while you are getting it. That is critical to compete. Older students of all ages can make it, but do some prep work if needed at the community college in STEM classes you need. They will transfer over and you will have fewer students in the class and get more individual help, such as in College Algebra which I took at the Community College after dropping it in an auditorium type class at UM-St. Louis. Most other classes after that are normal size. Loved returning to college!Read Less"

"UMSL does a great job challenging it's Executive MBA students, while also keeping their full-time jobs in perspective. The program is accelerated, so is fast-paced and students must take it seriously to succeed. Some classes seem to be like busy work, but overall the education is high quality and the teachers assigned to the classes are experienced and well-liked by students."