<p>I am starting to get the vibe (from college review sites, testimonies, etc.) that Goucher isn't very challenging and students don't often learn much in classes. Can somebody give me some insight into this?</p>
<p>That’s an interesting question/observation, but it’s probably impossible to answer. My d (who is completing her 2nd year) was a very strong student in high school with strong SATs, AP & SATII scores, etc. She has indicated that a couple of classes at Goucher were really easy. But on the whole, my d is pretty self-motivated, strives for excellence and has found her teachers to be superb. She is double majoring and is also in the International Scholars program. She takes challenging courses and has been reading and writing extensively. Her professors are accessible. Without a doubt, she’s learning a great deal! Perhaps it depends on the area of study. Maybe you can sit in on a class and see for yourself.</p>
<p>I have to say: my daughter (who was an excellent student as an undergraduate at Dickinson) has been floundering ever since she started working towards her Masters in Historic Preservation at Goucher. She had majored in Science, Technology, and Culture while at Dickinson (3.75 GPA, by the way) and thought that she’d be prepared for graduate work at Goucher. I’d have to say in retrospect that she was MORE than prepared: she was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the students in the program and has spent the last year and a half bored out of her mind and questioning her decision. When she’s taken her concerns to the graduate program director, she’s been rebuffed time and time again.</p>
<p>As much as I’d like to stand up for my daughter, I know that she is at a point in her life as a graduate student that she has to fight her own battles. However the lack of support, the lack of information, and the incompetent administrative help she’s received in her graduate program has been appalling to me. Add to that the fact that the so-called “limited residency program” really means that she’s getting most of her degree chatting on on-line discussion boards (with a brief period of very poorly-run ‘residency’ overseen by staff obviously stretched beyond their limits) and I’d have to say that it’s been a horrible experience for all of us. I would highly recommend that any parent who is considering paying for their child’s graduate education at this school should spend some serious time researching the program and definitely questioning the head of the graduate school in order to determine if the program is worth their child’s time, effort, and money.</p>
<p>Jasmom: thanks very much. Were the easy classes the basic required classes, like freshman writing, etc., or were they more advanced classes?</p>
<p>Gouchergraddad, thanks for the feedback. I’m not looking at Goucher for graduate school (rather, I’m looking at where GC sends its grads to grad school) but the information is still helpful. Do you think that your daughter’s problems with Goucher lie within the graduate studies department or the college itself?</p>
<p>xcat, apparently the really easy classes she referred to were the introductory classes.</p>
<p>gouchergraddad, Ouch. With the time and costs involved in schooling, what a disappointment for you and your daughter. Your point about researching grad. programs carefully (no matter what college/university) is really a good one.</p>
<p>Xcat,</p>
<p>The idea that classes are easy is quite subjective and a somewhat unfair assertion to make. Every department, professor, class, and student is different and one can’t generalize. I don’t know much about the graduate programs here, but they are pretty separate from the undergrad part of the college. Unfortunate as it is that someone is having a less than optimal experience, I hope you won’t use that same impression when you think of Goucher College as an undergraduate institution.</p>
<p>To introduce myself, I am a senior French major here at Goucher… and I LOVE it here! At the risk of tooting my own horn, I have always been with the top of my class since elementary school, I was accepted into the International Baccalaureate program in high school (I believe less than 10% of applicants were accepted my year into that particular school), and I took a good number of AP classes. Naturally, I, too, wanted a school that would continue to challenge me and keep me engaged as opposed to leaving me bored. </p>
<p>I can honestly say that I have found Goucher to be very challenging most of the time and I have no complaints of boredom or classes being too easy. As I mentioned, different professors conduct classes differently. For example, my introductory english class was only assigned 4 short papers the entire semester- each one slightly longer than the last. So as far as out of class work, I wasn’t too stressed. However, in class we learned so much about how to properly construct a college level paper, along with tips about how to do in class presentations, analyze a book, and avoid plagiarising. Though these may seem trivial, the information was invaluable and I know I would not be as successful in my other classes had I not sat through this relatively easy class.
On the other hand, I am taking Introduction to Psychology this semester. My professor will be grading the students on in-class participation. She has informed us that she will quiz us almost every class on a single chapter of the book (a good 30 or so pages per chapter in a big textbook), so we DO have to read. We have to participate in an out of class psych experiment at some point, do multiple in-class presentations, and at least 1 hw assignment a week pertaining to the current chapters. On top of that, we are expected to take detailed notes in class because she will test us on information that she tells us that may not have been mentioned in the book. As you can see, this class is much more involved than the english course. For the most part, my classes mirror my psychology course. </p>
<p>I have been, and will continue to be challenged here at Goucher College. And though it’s cliche, it’s very true that you will get out of your classes what you put into them. So, if you choose to study and participate in class and pay attention, you WILL learn a great deal. I find myself even learning from my friends every day through conversations at dinner about our classes- I could tell you at least a little bit about almost every department at this point!</p>
<p>I highly recommend sitting in on a class if you can make it over to Goucher sometime. I also suggest doing an overnight visit- they’re fun and informative 
We love when prospective students come and visit, just give Admissions a call to schedule a tour or visit or class visit. 410-337-6100</p>
<p>Let me know if you have more questions!
Good luck in your search
-Nina</p>