Should I Go To University of Central Florida

Should I Go To University of Central Florida The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Lisa earned her bachelors degree in political science at University of Central Florida and is earning her masters degree in secondary education at Grand Canyon University. Shelivesin Orlando and specializesin French tutoring, history tutoring, geography tutoring, and several other subjects. See what she had to say about her experience at University of Central Florida: Describe the campus setting and transportation optionsat University of Central Florida. Lisa: The campus is covered in greenery and landscaping with a magnificent fountain and has a city-wide shuttle connected to all of the university housing. It runs on 15-minute routes. On campus there are more than 50 food vendors to choose from, including a Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks! You can also purchase any of your student supplies or grocery needs in the Breezeway shopping street. Biking is also a valid option because of the accommodating pathways off and on campus with many available bike racks. The campus is an urban city scape with its own patrol and Orange County Police Department right on campus! That being said, watch out, because you will get city code-enforced tickets for parking or driving infractions; also, dont jaywalk! Another safety measure is emergency polls throughout the campus; just push the button the response time is under 90 seconds. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Lisa: I rarely had teaching assistants in my classes at University of Central Florida. Although we are the second largest school in the country by students, only a few core classes are in an auditorium of 100-300 students. The program classes have anywhere from 12-40 students. So, there is no major need for a teaching assistant. However, the professors are friendly and wait after class for a brief time so you can talk to them. They have office hours throughout the week and have an open door policy. The academic advisors are also available five days a week, full-time, with an open door policy. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Lisa: Dorm life is a great way to feel home at University of Central Florida. We have brand new dorm facilities that are very posh, like living in NY or LA. There are eateries, shopping and cafes below the housing, but there is so much more! A Resident Assistant is living on each floor and takes care of all the students. There are so many events year-round to socialize. There is a carnival, a grand student hall with many ballrooms, a campus activity board with hundreds of clubs and events promoted every day outside the student union area, free concerts, and outdoor movie nights. The dining hall offers the best food with more than 50 options every meal. Which majors/programs are best represented and supportedat University of Central Florida? Lisa:University of Central Florida is known for engineering, research and bimolecular technology, and there are opportunities for students to intern with facilities like Lockheed Martin and the military. I graduated with a degree in political science international relations and comparative politics and minored in French. The classes taught me more than I could have ever asked for, and I am very happy with my education. I did not feel that in this particular area there was a great opportunity for internships or job placement. There are career fairs year-round, but they did not really accommodate my major. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman?Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Lisa: It is very easy to meet friends on campus because everyone hangs out around the dorms. We have a two-story gym with an Olympic-size pool and rock climbing wall with over 20 free classes each day, like yoga and kick-boxing. Through all these hang out spots you are bound to meet people with your interests. Greek life is a part of university life. University of Central Florida has a Greek Row of mansions set on the far end of campus. The Greek life does not highlight the overall culture, but rather positively contributes, to the university life. How helpful is the Career Center and other student support services? Lisa: The career center is available every day of the week. They have many resources and available staff, but have generally been unhelpful by just sending me to resources. There are career fairs year-round, but the representatives do not accommodate all available majors. There are reputable companies with the engineering and technology fields. How are the various study areas such as libraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Lisa: The student union is a busy and noisy place to study, but there is outdoor seating there, which is nice. The library is five floors and has many available private rooms where you can also rent a laptop. There are many students, over 80,000 at the university, but there never seems to be overcrowded space because of the spacious campus and facilities. We have a free print lab which is saturated with students, and the wait is incredible. The dorm rooms all have a study lounge, and it is never crowded. Describe the surrounding town. Lisa: The surrounding town is Orlando! There is every kind of food or restaurant you can imagine on the connecting University Blvd. We have an amazing caf two minutes walking distance off campus. There are many clubs and bars as well. We have all the theme parks and tourist attractions. It can be very fun, but also expensive! University of Central Florida has a ticket booth for discounted student tickets for all attractions, including Cirque du Soleil and dinner theaters. There are over 10 natural springs and parks 15-45 minutes away. You can never be bored in Orlando. How big or small is the student body at University of Central Florida? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Lisa: We have the second largest campus and student body in the country (about 80,000). Class size is always under 300 in general education classes and typically 12-40 in program classes. There is never a feel of an overcrowded classroom. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one you regret the most. Lisa: A memorable class I had was Advanced French Conversation. As a class, we had a project to take a trip to Paris from our classroom. We each needed to research an apartment for rent and contact them about the price as if we were going to rent it. In order to pick the correct French Paris district, we planned our living around a school we would choose to study at, like La Sorbonne. It was a fun experience learning about the different areas of Paris and communicating with the Parisians as if we were really living there. Check out Lisas tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Improving Your Singing Start With Your Posture

Improving Your Singing Start With Your Posture Suzy S. Want to instantly improve your singing? One great tip for learning how to sing better is as simple as establishing good posture. Read on as Philadelphia voice teacher Emily E.  offers some helpful advice Many students come to me wanting to improve their singing voice and expect me to focus on their throat and the two little magic pieces of tissue that come together to make a beautiful sound. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: really excellent singing is all about using your entire body effectively so that your vocal folds (a.k.a. vocal cords) do as little work as possible. In order to begin to get the most out of your body â€" and therefore out of your voice â€" take a moment to look at how you stand to sing. I always evaluate a student’s stance at the beginning of the first lesson, and I love how making a few changes almost always immediately makes them sound better. You can do this at home in three simple steps: 1. Stand on two feet. Sounds silly, but if you’re shifting your weight onto one foot or another, leaning against the piano or the wall, or standing with one foot behind the other, you won’t have a strong, steady foundation from which to sing. 2. Stand with your feet hip width apart. “Hip width” means that your toes should be under your hip joint, NOT the outside of your hips. Find the points of your hip bones and draw an imaginary line down to your feet. Or, see if you can fit a fist between your feet â€" your stance should be a little wider than that fist. Now your body is balanced and better aligned. 3. Soften your knees and your hips. This is the most difficult part of the stance to find, develop and master, because it relates to how you breathe to sing. Locking your knees so they’re stiff, rigid, and/or inflexible also locks your lower back, which prevents you from taking a full, deep, strong breath. Think about softly bouncing in your knees, wiggling your hips side to side, or “tucking your tailbone” if you know that concept from yoga classes. This will create a more energized and engaged lower body that can better support your breath and your voice. Every body is different, and every person will encounter different challenges when preparing to sing. But you wouldn’t start construction on a house until you’d laid the foundation, right? The same thing applies to your voice! Emily E. teaches singing, Broadway singing, music performance, music theory, opera voice and speaking voice lessons to students of all ages in Philadelphia, PA. With a Masters degree in Musicology Performance from the University of Oxford, Emily joined the TakeLessons team with over 7 years of teaching experience. Learn more about Emily, or search for a teacher near you! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Jlhopgood