<p>Hi, I'm an incoming sophomore transfer w/ a few questions:</p>
<p>I'm planning on taking ballet in the fall, and have taken it on and off my entire life (I'm a little rusty at the moment). What is the difference between levels II, III, IV, V? When is pointe required (I quit pointe for good a few years ago due to foot problems)? How advanced is level V.. do most who audition get in? Would level II be way too easy for someone with a lot of ballet experience?</p>
<p>On a different note, I'm a non-math person who has to take stats (I know, it's easy for most people.. I'm really quite terrible at math though). Which stats class would be considered the easiest? There's Econ 190, Gov 190, Math 245, Socio. 201 (leaning towards this one)..?</p>
<p>Also, I'll probably end up taking 20 credits fall term, counting that ballet class and two labs (stats and biology).. is that excessive for my first term?</p>
<p>Also also, my advisor is not in the department I'm planning on majoring in. Should I switch advisors when I arrive in a week, or just stick with the one I was assigned until I'm actually registered in my major?</p>
<p>TheDad can probably give more detail about ballet, but the best way to know your level is just to try out when you get there. </p>
<p>If you “have to” take stats, is it for your major? If so, then you should (and you may have to) take the stats class your major department offers. I really liked Gov 190…in fact, even though I hated math in high school, I ended up taking several more stats classes at Smith! If you have to take stats for premed or something similar, I would suggest talking to Nick Horton and perhaps trying to take one of his. He likes biostatistics and public health stats a lot and is a nice guy with a great teaching style. I really enjoyed his experimental design class (don’t freak out just because it’s in the math department!)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take 20 credits my first term at Smith. Even if you’re transferring from somewhere just as demanding (and you won’t know that til you get to Smith!) you’ll want some time to socialize and get used to a new place. Since you’re already rusty on ballet and it sounds like you have a bunch of requirements, maybe swap dance for an exercise and sport studies 1-credit class? The grading is pretty easy as long as you show up and do what’s asked of you…my understanding is that dance is NOT like that and that is requires more work. If it turns out that you can handle 17 credits easily, go for 20 in the spring.</p>
<p>I’d stick with your premajor adviser until you’re sure of what you’re majoring in and have a chance to get to know some people in the department, so you know who you want to advise you. It would be unfortunate to pick someone right now and realize there was a better person–but it could also be awkward to switch within a department. Some depts do a “meet the professors” tea or lunch, which is a great way to figure out potential advisers.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks so much for your advice! I’m planning on majoring in Environmental Science & Policy, which does require a statistics course. There isn’t a stats class offered by the department, so we just have to choose one from any other department. I was thinking Gov 190 wouldn’t be as relevant since I’m not that interested in political science, but the Soc 201 course might be because it’s taught by Leslie King, who I think is interested in environmental sociology?</p>
<p>Oh, and I’m transferring from NYU, which is probably comparable to Smith in rigor? I’m guessing.</p>
<p>So would 16 credits (that’s plus the dance course) be too few to take? That’d just be 14 credits of non-athletic courses…</p>
<p>The ballet levels are misleading: three levels x two semesters = six ballet classes, I-VI. D found the ballet pretty easy, even at the highest level, but she came from a very competitive pre-professional studio. She had to bite her lip more than once because some girls thought they were hot stuff and D had danced with better, far better, some who went on to become pros.
Iirc, there wasn’t a lot of pointe work. D had broken a foot and wasn’t full strength and got by. Note: grading can be a bit arbitrary and include attendance as a component, which is ***** if you have rehearsals in something else, meetings that can’t be skipped, etc., so if protecting your GPA is an issue, you might want to think about taking it P/NP. </p>
<p>I’ll have to ask D which stats course she took, whether it was one in Gov or one in Math. </p>
<p>As for the units, I wouldn’t take 20 that includes two labs. D often took 20 but that was with 2-units ballet and 2-units musical instrument, only 16 units. Even so, the work nearly swamped her because the 2-unit courses soaked up time even if there weren’t substantial longer assignments.</p>
<p>My D needs stats for potential bio major and all upperclasswomen told her to take the sociology based class since she is not a mathy person - they recommended that Prof too.</p>
<p>III and IV are the same level.
V and VI are the same level.</p>
<p>They have different names because there’s a limit to how many times you can take the same ballet class for credit (I think twice). </p>
<p>I’ve taken ballet II, III, and IV at various times (I first learned ballet at a very well-respected dance school but when I came to Smith I hadn’t taken ballet in three years). I took ballet II because I was out of shape and wanted to regain my ballet skill. The class had students who had prior ballet experience (some very extensive), and some who were taking it because they had taken ballet I and liked it. Ballet II is usually taught by a dance grad student. Some dance grad students really know and understand ballet, and others have taken ballet to be well-rounded dancers but don’t really understand it. I took ballet II twice and had an instructor in both categories. </p>
<p>Ballet III and IV is usually taught by a full professor who really understands ballet (Rodger Blum). He is great but can be really tough if you’re taking ballet for a grade (yes, there are papers). The first semester I took ballet III he was on sabbatical and I had a grad student (the same one who I had had for ballet II and really understood ballet). I think it’s meant to be an intermediate class, but this class has students who have taken years and years of ballet, dance majors and grad students who need ballet to be well-rounded, and people who have taken ballet I and II.</p>
<p>If you really aren’t sure of your placement, go to the academic fair during orientation and talk to the faculty, or try to take a few of each class to figure out which feels better for you. Ballet classes do tend to be on the fuller side, so try to get a spot in class or on the waiting list during registration to ensure your spot in class (people will drop, but a lot of 5 College students take dance at Smith so you’re not just competing with Smithies for spots in the class!).</p>
<p>It seems like the Econ or the Soc stats classes would be most relevant to your interests, I was a gov major and the Gov class is going to be full of people who are very oriented towards politics, current events, and political polling, particularly because this is an election year, so obsession with the midterm race polling is going to be at a fever pitch. If that’s not the kind of classroom conversation you think you’d find stimulating, I’d try one of the other courses.</p>
<p>As for rigor, I think you’ll find Smith more challenging/rigorous than NYU, but you should find yourself pretty well prepared. Keep in mind that there’s lots of help available if you need it, but you have to reach out for it. If you do find yourself struggling at any time, act early to get help (even if you just talk to a professor, they’re mostly very nice and willing to help), don’t wait till it’s too late. This would be my advice for everyone, by the by, not just transfers.</p>
<p>Postscript re Rodger Blum: D found some of his combinations to be odd from a choreographic standpoint. Ballet has a vocabulary and a grammar…it’s as if now and then he had weird sentence structures.
Okay, block that metaphor!</p>
<p>I found Rodger Blum to be very a helpful & understanding instructor; for such a large class (I took Ballet III with 25-30 people of varying levels), he did an excellent job of making sure that everyone was appropriately challenged. And he had no problem with me modifying to work around a back injury–basically he trusted me to know what I could and couldn’t do. Too bad he’s on sabbatical this fall! I’m not sure who will be taking his place.</p>
<p>TD, I wonder if your D’s evaluation had anything to do with her specific training? I didn’t find Rodger’s combinations particularly strange, but I suppose I might be used to “weird sentence structures,” having had teachers from widely varying backgrounds.</p>
<p>C, I’m not a dancer but I recall D’s critique, which I could follow at the time, as making sense to me then. Her background is a fusion of Balanchine & RAD.</p>
<p>July, i remember that on one forms which Smith sent to us about advisor has a blank where you(transfer student) can write which department you expect your advisor from. I wrote economics so I got Kaufman from economics. Anyway, you can just wait and talk to your assigned to see if he/she can help you realize your academic plan.
BTW, have you done with transfering credit?</p>
<p>Yeah, TD, I have noticed that you’ve praised Kaufman for several times in this forum. I am so lucky! Really looking forward to meeting him in person.</p>