Every university has its quirks and special things that need to be considered. This is a rundown on some of the things that you need to do in order to have a smoother experience while attending Portland State University:
1.) You Must Have an Amazing Amount of Patience When Visiting Neuberger Hall
When dealing with business issues at Portland State University,such as admissions and financial aid, you have to go to the business office at Neuberger Hall, which is like going through Dante’s 9 levels of Hell. The lines snake around each other and you discover that you’ve been waiting in the wrong line for 20 minutes.
On top of that, the people who work there seem overworked and aren’t the friendliest of people. Trying to navigate through the process of taking care of your affairs is notoriously complicated and gives you the impression that the administration must hate the students.
2.) Get Ready for the University Studies Requirement
For a well-rounded education, you must fulfill the University Studies Requirements. These classes follow a certain theme that you choose at the beginning of your freshman year, and you have a peer mentor to help guide you through the process. For example, my University Studies classes focused on popular culture.
Other themes include environmental sustainability and social change. Many people end up stretching out their degrees to 5 years because of this requirement. This involves taking a Freshman Inquiry class, Sophomore Inquiry, and Junior and Senior Clusters, plus a Senior Capstone.
I can’t say that I didn’t like these classes, but many people would rather take the core general education classes than commit to a path that you chose at the beginning of freshman year.
3.) Register for Those Hot Classes As Soon As Possible
Hot classes include the fun ones like screenwriting, improve acting, film classes, and the required classes that you must take to graduate. If you need one class and find it is full, you might have to stretch out your degree to one more term. As a student pursuing a Bachelors of Arts, you have a specific Arts requirement that you can fulfill by taking a script-writing class or something less exciting, like classical music appreciation, which is obviously less popular.
If you don’t register in time and find the class full, there is a slight chance that you can get into the class by showing up on the first day with a late registration form. But there is a good chance that ten other people have the same idea. Register early!
4.) Hang Out in the Park Blocks and Make Friends
When the weather is beautiful, and even when the weather is cold and rainy, people are hanging out in the park blocks. Sort of an outside,living room for Portland State University students, there are live bands that play on a regular basis, events, and food carts. This is where you can meet friends and run into your classmates.
People flirt, lounge, play games, and study here. They also do their best to ignore the crazy religious zealots who sometimes set up camp and deliver impromptu sermons that would make even a religious person a bit offended. Don’t try to argue with them, it rarely ends well.
5.) Become Well Connected Before You Graduate for Better Job Prospects
I cannot stress this one enough. Often, people go to school, hang out, and take it easy. Then when their graduation looms in the near future, they start thinking about maybe doing some networking for job prospects. Then, when they are ousted from the academic womb into the cold cruel world, they can’t seem to find a decent job.
This is a problem in Portland. With college educated people moving there in droves to find that slice of life they thought existed in the world of Portlandia, you are up against a huge pool of talented people for limited and coveted jobs.
Even if you think you will go for the easy to get jobs, you’ll find yourself competing against hundreds of other people for that barista position at the neighborhood coffee shop. The other option is to move away from Portland after you graduate. It is not an easy road ahead, but you have been warned.
J. Emanuel Stuart, originally from Las Vegas, NV, attended Portland State University from 2006 to 2010. He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Studies, and was a member of an Honor Society. He enjoyed the urban campus at Portland State University and currently lives in Los Angeles.