Students Rate Pros and Cons of the AUC Experience

By Assil El Bialy and Reem ElSabeiny

AUCians have a generally positive collegiate experience, according to a survey conducted in September by students from Professor Scott MacLeod’s JRMC 2201 Mass Media Writing course in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Although some of students voiced complaints about professors and the registration process, others cited having helpful professors, a range of extracurricular activities and an engaging campus community as reasons for their happiness. 

Out of 150 students surveyed, a slight majority of 51 percent said that they enjoyed a generally good experience at AUC,  40 percent said they had an overall negative experience and nine percent said their experience was neutral.

Seventy percent of the surveyed students said that the diversity of people in the university has allowed them to find many new friends that they want to ‘hang out with.’ 

Moreover, 85 percent of the students surveyed said that the extracurricular activities offered at AUC were a huge factor behind their positive experience—with many noting that the activities expanded their circles of friends and improved their social lives. 

Clubs, such as the events and entertainment committee of the Student Union (SU) and Cairo International Model United Nations (CIMUN) are amongst the many examples of social life highlighted in the survey; the university hosts more than 60 student organizations and clubs.

“One of the best aspects about AUC, in my point of view, is the fact that there is a variety of extracurricular activities that I can join like the SU, CIMUN, Mashrou’ Kheir, and many others,” said Nadine Fadly, a graphic design sophomore.

Students noted how AUC’s clubs taught them about dealing with a crisis in the real world as opposed to the theoretical classwork. 

“The SU has taught me about the outside community and day to day operations more than any class ever will,” said Iman El-Fiky, a business junior.

“Participating in clubs such as CIMUN and SU helped me gain practical skills such as leadership, public speaking and problem-solving.  I also made many new friends that became really close to me,” said Yousef Hashem, Economics sophomore.

Students also spoke of the way AUC brings people from different backgrounds, mindsets and cultures together in one place. 

“It is a very wide and enjoyable and diverse community, it is nice to experience people with different backgrounds and mentalities,” said Malak Amr, Economics sophomore.

A large majority of students – 70 percent of those surveyed, complained about AUC professors citing unfair grading and favoring some students over others to gender discrimination. 

Respondents said that some professors are too strict in class, even forbidding students from taking a bathroom break. Others said professors were never available outside the classroom and did not respond to emails either.

One of the complaints about grading was inconsistency – meaning that a good effort exerted by students was no guarantee of a good grade. 

“It is not the best feeling when someone gets a higher grade than you and they are not doing any work,” said Mohamed Bedda, a Computer Science senior.

“The worst thing about AUC is the fact that we have either very good and easy professors or very bad professors who give awful grades,” said Sara Gindy, an Economics and Business senior. “This causes a discrepancy in the grades.”

However, 30 percent of students expressed satisfaction with professors, with many stating that they are extremely credible, trustworthy and helped them.

 “I am not exaggerating but the number of great professors here is one of the main factors that has changed my life as a student,” said Mohamad Abed, a Mechanical Engineering senior.

“Professors at AUC are all a trusted source of guidance and advice to me. They help in aiding and weighting my life decisions,” said Youssef Al-Shereef, Finance graduating senior.

 AUC students also cited the registration system as one of the obstacles they face with 80 percent saying that it was their main complaint about AUC. They expressed frustration about the limited number of places available for specific courses that students demand.

“Last semester during registration, I only registered one course out of the five courses I wished to register, and I had to go back to the departments in order to join the courses I want, which were already full,” said Hania Mahmmad, Integrated Marketing Communication sophomore.

Other students described the registration process as draining.

Kenzy Tarek, Biology sophomore, complained about the policy of giving upperclassmen  priority in registration over underclassmen. 

“The registration process is very stressful and time consuming and the fact that people have an upper hand in joining certain classes seem a bit unfair,” he said. 

“The registration process is so irritating and difficult to navigate through. You also usually never get all the classes you want,” said Nadia El-Rabie, Business Administration junior.

 AUC students also cited the advising system as one of the obstacles they face. Forty percent of the students surveyed cited it as a problem at AUC. 

Shahd Ahmed, a junior, said that her advisor guided her into a choice of major that she now regrets. She had wanted to major in Business Administration, but ended up in Management and Information Communication Technology. 

“My advisor lost hope that I would declare my desired major after two semesters and advised me to change majors. I wanted to try harder, since I came to this university only for this major, but she convinced me to switch and I regret it now,” she said.