My university forces me to get weird classes and our professors are really harsh on us... Is this normal?

I'm a BA student at the best university in my country. According to our professors, the university is better than most Ivy League schools but won't get recognized internationally that much because it's not an American or British school. Most of our professors have PhDs from the top schools in the UK and the US.

Firms like McKinsey, JPM, Bain, PW come to our campus every year to network/hire students. But, the most interesting thing about the school is the classes we have in the curriculum - they're hard too - and the way we get treated by our professors. At the beginning of the year, one of our professors told us that they are trying to give us 'Ph.D.' experience by treating us like one of their peers to make us emotionally and mentally ready for the business world. This is my first year and I feel like half of the answers I'm giving during the classes are wrong because our professors are questioning our answers from different perspectives and sometimes be harsh on us - even if our answers are true. We feel like we compete against our professors.

We have to take sociology, psychology, world politics, ancient history/philosophy, business law, and literature classes along with our 'normal' classes. As I said, this is my first year and I had to read books from Niccolò Machiavelli, Plato, Freud and write essays and blogs about it. I knew that curriculum was different and harder than other schools but never imagined that it was going to be this hard and complicated.

I have a CS major friend and he told me that 99% of people in that major are depressed. He also told me that, last year, he along with his friends sent a mail to their professor asking them to postpone (1 day) their homework because they had to sleep 2-3 hours every day to finish it. The professor sent them a message saying 'Thanks for your concern, but I believe that it won't hurt to sleep 3 hours for 2 days.'

How would you compare my and my friend's experience to yourself and the students at the top Ivy League universities? Is this normal?

5 Comments
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Brother - I share the same sentiment. Education isn’t what it should be. Education is essentially sharing of knowledge. 2 years to learn your chosen field and building a skillset for it is actually worth the cost. 4 years is bullshit and is strictly just for profit. You could pick up books on any subject and become knowledgeable for a fraction of the cost. SB’d.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Et nemo corporis molestiae quidem nulla. Quaerat ut ut sint ab repellendus. Consequatur totam rem laudantium iure quia. Placeat distinctio voluptas eum nobis.

Inventore omnis dolorem voluptas laboriosam provident consequatur. Odit delectus quo quo numquam sunt. Fugiat sint aut inventore voluptatem dignissimos.

Sequi velit ea dolorem delectus. Ab iusto corrupti asperiores sequi reiciendis sed et. Possimus excepturi voluptatem eligendi non qui.

Quis et harum et quia eum. Pariatur illum quia rerum eum nobis libero.

 

Esse non in qui sed ad ullam odio. Consequatur voluptatem quia fuga vitae et culpa non. Ut expedita et velit dolores sit repellat est. Voluptates aut voluptatem dolores ut. Esse voluptatem officia omnis et. Quaerat et similique rerum consequatur. Et quo aut nobis voluptas quidem.

Fuga ex neque similique asperiores. Quae tenetur delectus et aut vero. Et dolor aut nulla mollitia neque.

Molestiae repudiandae facilis debitis accusantium. Nesciunt quia sint possimus cum temporibus deleniti libero.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”