TechWife Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Are we doing college visit reports this year? I hope so, here's one! We visited Appalachian State yesterday for their fall open house, which was like drinking from a fire hose! Why we visited: It is one of two of our state universities that offers a major in Industrial Design, so it is high on the list for ds. App State is #9 in the US News & World Report regional universities for the south. Great reputation among many of our friends who have either gone there, sent their children there, or both. Impressions: Beautiful campus, very well maintained buildings & grounds Well organized open house Chancellor spoke & recognized the visitors who had birthdays by name - I thought that was a nice touch Safety: App recently lost one of their students, with a cause of death to be determined (it appears to be a possible suicide, but murder has not been ruled out). The chancellor addressed this in a very upfront manner and the student ambassadors were diligent to point out the safety precautions that the campus has in place. The announcements running on screens in the student union included messages such as "Silence is not consent" and other safety messages. Books: The book rental program is $130 per semester and includes all hardback textbooks the student needs. They can write in them and take notes in them (it is possible they will receive used books). Lab books and other consumable books must be purchased. Novels are not included. Dining: A lá carte - All items are charged as individual items, no buffet. Three dining facilities. Library: Open 24/5 with shorter hours on Friday and Saturday. Has a "loud area" for group meetings & group study and a quiet area. The writing lab is in the building, which sounds like the typical assistance program. In addition, they have a research lab with assistants who will help students get started on research and research papers. Dorms: Several - Apartment dorms are reserved for upperclassmen; two dorms are not air conditioned. They have traditional and suite dorms. They have 30 Residence Life Communities, an honors college and a residential college. Misc. facts: 46% of their students have some type of international study experience. These include week long, faculty led trips, summer & spring break service trips and semester exchange student programs. The local dog rescue group brings dogs to campus once a semester as a fundraiser. For $5, the students can rent a dog for 45 minutes. I thought that was cool! Academics: The first year seminar looks really good. It is an academic seminar designed to teach students how to write, how to research and how to do research writing. There are about 50 topics to choose from, they vary by semester. Students write about five papers during the class, including one research paper. They focus on creative & critical thinking, communication (written, oral), research tools & methods & developing community (within the university, local town and globally). Average class size for this course is 16. Average class size for other courses is 25. Industrial Design, Department of Technology and Environmental Design, College of Fine Arts I'm relying on DS and DH for my information on this, they did the departmental tours. This is a very hands-on department. The professor they talked to was very knowledgeable. There are several shops in the building - wood, metalworking, plastics, paint and 3D printing. There is a studio area for students to use for their out of class work - it is circular in shape and the outer perimeter houses faculty offices, each having a window that overlooks the studio and a door into the office from the studio. There is reportedly a lot of interaction between faculty and staff outside of class hours. Graphic Design, Department of Art, College of Fine Arts This is ds' second choice major, perhaps a minor. The department head gave ds and dh a personal tour as it was nearing the end of the open house hours. They did like her a lot, but didn't have time to discuss specific programs. Among the things that they saw were the computer-controlled loom and the forge (yes, you read that right, a forge!). There was also a metal working area for jewelry design. They did learn that there are four different design majors - a BFA through the Dept. of Art; a BS in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology - Cross Media Production; a BS in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology - Packaging Production; and a BS in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology - Print Production. The last three are through the Dept. of Technology and Environmental Design. We will be scheduling a return visit as soon as possible. The first round of applications is due November 15, with 70% of the class coming from that round. There are two more rounds. We have to get on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I love Boone. Such a neat college town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks for the visit report, TechWife. App State sounds as though it has much to offer! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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