<p>Okay, the title is a little dramatic. But I'm completing my 1st semester here at Columbia (as a 3rd year transfer) and am looking to take a full summer course load.</p>
<p>I want to take Intermediate Micro and Intro to Stats with Calculus (meaning a Statistics course that involves use of Calculus) in the first 6-week term (5/28-7/05) and then Intermediate Macro and a light Music Hum. course in the second 6-week term (7/8-8/23).</p>
<p>The first term (with Micro and Stats) is what I'm more worried about. I've heard horror stories about Intermediate Micro and I've never taken any statistics courses before.</p>
<p>I would really like to get at least a 3.5 this summer, ideally 3.6-3.7. I don't plan on working or interning because I realize that I won't have any time to with my full course load, but is it realistic of me to expect to get an A or A- in my first term while taking both Intermediate Micro and Stats w/Calc?</p>
<p>On a related note, I've heard from people that the quality of the students in summer sessions tends to be lower than that of Fall/Spring terms because of the fact summer courses are operated by the School of Continuing Education, which opens their doors to non-Columbia undergraduates as well. Can I expect to perform better (with regards to the curve) in summer courses as opposed to regular term courses?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s impossible. It will, however, be quite challenging. I can’t speak to Micro or Stats specifically, but I’ve taken Philosophy, Bio, and Art Hum courses over summer session and the pace is obviously really quick, and all of the material quite condensed. But I also find summer courses to be easier in the sense that it’s a lot less challenging at the end of the course to recall material from 6 weeks prior, as opposed to the typical final exam in which you cover 15 weeks of material.</p>
<p>I would just look very closely at the syllabi and what the workload will be and try to be honest with yourself about the schedule you’ll have to keep.</p>
<p>I haven’t found the quality of student to be an issue in summer sessions. In the summer classes I’ve taken, there have been very few visiting students, most were Columbia undergrads. And those that were visiting were doing so from Yale, Sarah Lawrence, Penn, and some other schools of obvious academic quality. So I wouldn’t get my hopes up as far as visiting students and the curve is concerned.</p>
<p>Which classes did you take, and what were your grades if you don’t mind me asking? I think it’s definitely possible to keep my schedule if I put in enough time, but I’m afraid that my GPA will suffer…and in the long run I don’t think it’s worth trying to squeeze in an extra class or two over the summer if it will negatively affect my GPA.</p>
<p>I took 2 philosophy coursesone on Nietzsche and the other an Ethics coursein one summer session a couple years ago. Another summer I took an Aquatic ecology/biology course (EEEB department) course and Art Hum, but in two different sessions. Grades were all A or A-, but these courses were mostly well within my comfort zone. I have no experience with quantitative classes during the summer.</p>