The University of Houston

At UH I endured bureaucratic bullshit, full-on abuse from professors, and violations of the ADA. students were mean and stupid, professors the same, and houston is an unforgiveable shithole. all would be forgiven if this were a cheap and easy way to get a degree, but, in its attempts to improve the caliber of the school uh also seems to be dead set on weeding out the students with other significant obligations. I paid a couple thou plus travel expenses to be miserable, frustrated, and depressed. how do these so-called educators get away with being so extremely mediocre? if this is tier one, I hate to think what it's like to attend a 'bad' school.

1st Year Female -- Class 2019

Campus Maintenance: C, Education Quality: F

I give UH 2 out of 10 stars for effort.
Before I explain my experience at UH, I must admit that I was never interested in attending this school in the first place. The plan was to attend UH as a preliminary school in which I could establish a good GPA and increase the financial feasibility of attending my university of choice by obtaining scholarships.

That being said, the summary of my experience as a commuting undergraduate engineering student at the University of Houston has been almost universally negative. Aside from being a student to handful of great engineering professors, it is difficult to think of even one positive experience I've had at this horrible school. It would take a book to explain all of the problems with UH, so instead I have decided to create a list of the primary pros and cons below. Keep in mind: this list describes my experience only, and I can't speak for anyone who might have had better luck at UH.

Pros:
- A few outstanding professors, primarily in the electrical engineering department
- Inexpensive to attend (Or at least used to be)
- Close to home
- The university seems to be putting a solid effort into improving
Cons:
- Campus is VERY dangerous at night, and campus security is far too sparse. Robberies occur frequently

- Quality of professors is far below average; the majority are shockingly ineffective at explaining concepts. Sometimes are rude and arrogant

- Faculty is generally incompetent, professors and administrative staff alike
- The financial aid office is exceptionally incompetent!
- Roads are in very poor condition
- Campus is ugly, run-down, and dirty; has a tendency to produce nauseating odors (some areas smell like sewage)

- Flooding problems and poor drainage. Wear sandals!
- The only guaranteed way to get a parking spot is to buy expensive garage parking (now costs nearly $500 for two semesters; used to be cheaper)

- Website is confusing to navigate, and there are far too many logins that you must manage in order to attend school here and have access to all the resources you need

- No sense of community; people drive here from across town for class and then return home
- Computer engineering internship opportunities are all but entirely absent from the engineering career fair.

- No career help whatsoever
- Garages are subject to day-long shutdowns for football game parking, leaving you unable to use your parking pass or drive to school that entire day

- Tuition has increased dramatically due to overspending (Did we really need a $128 million football stadium?)

- Campus layout is very disorganized. I almost never had engineering classes in the actual engineering building

- Lots of rude and unfriendly students
- Drivers are incapable of driving, and pedestrians are incapable of using a crosswalk. I've witnessed people being hit by cars, and far too many close calls

- Not bike friendly. Far too few bike racks, and citations are given to those who don't use them.
- If you fail a class and then retake it and receive a good grade, the failing grade is not removed from your GPA. I don't know if other universities do thisSo, there is a brief synopsis of my experience at UH. This school is a perfect representation of everything that is wrong with dysfunctional higher education institutions these days. I recommend avoiding UH and seeking other opportunities at all costs.

4th Year Male -- Class 2016

Collaboration/Competitive: C, Faculty Accessibility: F