火爆社区

Located in northeast Missouri, Truman State University is a public university that combines the fundamentals of a liberal arts education with specialized programming and hands-on learning, offering 鈥渁n amazing education at a great price.鈥� There are 52 majors available, with all students completing a core curriculum (called the Dialogues) that ensures they develop proficiencies in areas such as writing, speaking, and social perspectives. Truman undergrads also take part in the Truman Symposium, an educational endeavor in which they participate in projects and shared experiences that benefit the students, the university, and the Kirksville community. This is 鈥渁 very academically rigorous and challenging school鈥� with 鈥渋nteresting classes galore,鈥� and 鈥渋f you plan to attend any form of graduate school, this school definitely prepares you.鈥� Every student 鈥渉as to actually attend classes in order to get something out of the experience,鈥� but 鈥渢he workload is manageable.鈥� To keep students involved and engaged, many classes are discussion-based and include projects called Facilitations, where students lead the class in a discussion related to a specific topic. Students appreciate the just-right size of the university and say 鈥渟tudent-professor relationships are great for mentoring purposes and for future networking opportunities.鈥� Many professors have daily office hours 鈥渁nd even more answer emails outside of normal hours or even give students their personal contact info鈥�; they 鈥渢ruly care about individual students, but in a tough love sort of way.鈥�

Motivated students will do well here as Truman is 鈥渁 collective place for ambitious individuals.鈥� The 鈥渕ajority of students here are focused on their academic studies鈥� and are 鈥渄riven, smart individuals who also value community.鈥� Although the school 鈥渋s not racially diverse,鈥� there are 鈥渜uite a few international students,鈥� as the overall population comes from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. 鈥淢any work a required campus job necessary for scholarships, along with taking heavy class loads, and being involved in multiple extracurriculars.鈥� Whether or not you鈥檙e one of the 鈥渕ainly liberal students鈥� the atmosphere seems to be one where we are 鈥渁ll in this together.鈥�

Making your own fun is a real thing in the small town of Kirksville, but 鈥渟tudents here know how to make the most out of it.鈥� And because 鈥淭ruman offers so many clubs and activities, that between those and classes and homework, you鈥檒l probably never get truly bored.鈥� In fact, Truman has well over 230 clubs and organizations, so it makes sense that 鈥渟tudent organizations are the main source of socialization here.鈥� The Student Activities Board also provides events and entertainment for the students, including a Mario Kart tournament, entertainers like Josh Peck, and even bringing hot air balloons on campus. The university promotes school spirit with weekly events like Purple Friday, where faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to wear school colors, and there are activities and events in the student union and on the Mall. Not all entertainment is school-related; students also note that there is a 鈥済reat Greek life鈥� for those that want to partake. When students need some downtime, there is 鈥渁 state park close to Kirksville where you can go hiking and go to the lake,鈥� and 鈥渨hen the weather is nice it鈥檚 such a mental health support being able to just sit on the Quad.鈥� There are various housing options for students, including the Living Learning Communities for students that want to share living space with others with similar academic interests. Kirksville is a college town, so every year the school has a community service day called The Big Event, and students show their appreciation of the surrounding community by performing volunteer services such as cleanup and maintenance tasks.

The school encourages high-impact learning experiences such as internships, research, and study abroad (more than 500 study abroad programs are available in over 60 countries). Numerous school-sponsored (and even paid) internships are available both on-campus and around the world, including the Truman in Washington program. This program offers 鈥渨ork-experience opportunities in such areas as foreign affairs/diplomacy, government affairs, [and] criminal justice,鈥� among others. One student shares, 鈥淭he Missouri Government Internship had me work full-time in Jefferson City and the Missouri Capitol; it was quite a great experience.鈥� The Career Center has plenty of resources for those looking for these types of experiences and opportunities. The center also provides career coaching, biannual Career & Grad School Weeks (including expos), r茅sum茅 critiques, and an Alumni Mock Interview Day in which students can practice with alums from across a range of industries. And since nearly 40 percent of graduating seniors enter graduate or professional school, the center keeps a robust library of guides and test prep books. According to PayScale.com, 48 percent of Truman State alums report that they derive a high level of meaning from their careers, and graduates earn a median starting salary of $57,100.