<p>I thought my intro physics classes were fairly decent although a lot of students struggled – I tutored a number of students (I had A+ both semesters). I didn’t think it was an issue regarding the quality of teaching (this was two years), but honestly, physics just isn’t easy for a lot of students – especially if you are the liberal arts type. It takes a lot of work (Redskin, I’m not saying you aren’t doing that because it certainly looks like you are). Many of the people that complain, though, were folks that just didn’t put out the effort.</p>
<p>I advise sticking it out. I’ll bet you that most other schools have a number of ESL physics instructors. You don’t see a lot of American grad students in physics.</p>
<p>For premeds, per the latest prehealth advising email:</p>
<p>“If applying to medical school, you should avoid taking your premed requirements at community colleges. Although almost all medical schools would accept the courses to meet prerequisites, they will view these courses as less credible. Also, most medical schools prefer and some s**trongly prefer that all **premed courses are completed at your home institution (home = degree granting institution which, for you, is UVa).”</p>
<p>BTW, my scope is fairly limited, but I have never had an instructor who didn’t have time to help his/her students. I hang out at Professor Elzinga’s office all the time. Also, I don’t know if this is unusual, but my instructors in biomedical engineering and SEAS are typically rather young (in their 30s or early 40s). I have had very few instructors that aren’t native English speakers. Those that weren’t English speakers have been overwhelmingly helpful.</p>