<p>eve is correct, my S did not have a stellar GPA, but did write a great essay, had good EC's and had good test scores, and was admitted.</p>
<p>Eve, can you tell me anything about Maclean House? I want to live in Pierce (I really like the community atmosphere I felt when I stayed there), and I hated Max P so I put shoreland down as my third choice. For some reason I randomly put Maclean as my second, evne though I know nothign about it.</p>
<p>My parents have to take time off from work to travel to chicago in the fall. The calendar states that orientation starts saturday the 17th and classes not till the 26th.
I was wondering when you should arrive and how long do parents hang around since the it is such a long orientation. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>We drove our daughter to school last fall. We helped her move in and get unpacked Saturday morning, then had lunch with her in the dining hall. Then there was the welcome event with speeches, etc., in the chapel. After that, there is a procession in which the new first-years go through the gates and head off to have their class picture made. Parents are herded off in another direction for a reception (lots of crying moms). The next morning, we stopped by to drop off a case of water and a case of soda, then headed back to Texas. Really, it's best if parents leave the next day. Students are very busy all week with orientation events, dorm meetings, placement tests, etc. It's hard, but it's time to go.</p>
<p>idad
I understood that the prospies could only sit in on discussion groups, which were mostly run by the Grad. students. Did your son actually sit in on lectures by professors?
If they were all discussion groups, it is not surprising that there was no note taking, but disappointing that there was minimal participation.</p>
<p>My son sat in on a math lecture by a prof last fall - had some of the material discussed in Godel Escher Bach so he was able to follow it. The students listened to the prof, questions as appropriate, and discussed the material and other topics as they were leaving class. Seemed fine to my son. What he didn't like was at Tufts, where he sat in on a CS lecture (for non-cs majors). The students chit-chatted the whole time - that turned him off to the point that he never did apply there.</p>
<p>chocoholic: All classes he attended were taught by professors, which he liked. He was just surprised by the lack of note-taking. This, however, was also his experience at another elite college as well. His friend who is deciding between a major Ivy & Chicago has reported similar experiences there. Perhaps it is a trend, a trend that makes little sense even in discussion groups.</p>
<p>i went to only one class, which was a psych class for both undergrads and grads. there were about 11 students there, all of them had a notebook or a pad out, and all of them took notes during the pertinent times of the discussion. the class went like this: the prof gave out some examples of how wone could deem some sets of circumstances. the students participated when there was an opportunity, and generally took notes after a consensus was formed.</p>
<p>This is good to hear, I'll pass it along to my S.</p>
<p>It's too bad prospies don't always understand the different kind of classes offered in college. A lecure course, like you often find in the sciences, is just that - you won't find a lot of discussion. You may or may not see much note taking, depending on the style of the class: does it have advance reading assignments? does it carefully follow a syllabus? are lecture notes available on line? etc. A seminar is for discussion, but you will often find little or no note taking. The purpose of seminars, after all, is to learn how to argue, discuss, interpret etc., none of which lend themselves to notes. Finally, there are discussion sections, often TA led. </p>
<p>None of these forms are found much in HS, so I'm not surprised at the disconnects. So I'm all the more pleased to see some kids pick up on the other factors, like the Tufts kids not paying attention. </p>
<p>Personally, I've always questioned the value of class attendance in picking colleges, because I don't think most HS kids even know what to look for.</p>
<p>While I agree with the observation that HS kids have a somewhat limited evaluation repertoire, I still find the observations of interest. As a TA, I taught at Chicago and helped prepare the exams. Believe me, note taking during all forms of interaction was quite beneficial. A question might be, "Though not discussed in your text or review papers, in a recent discussion it was suggested that one could approach (....X) by considering only the observed variables, another pointed out that unobserved relations might be applicable. Describe and extend the two lines of argument presented and the arguments used to support it, then present evidence from your readings and lectures to support one position or another, or present one of your own that might differ is some way to those discussed."</p>
<p>These were not uncommon, and answers often filled more than a one "Bluebook." Students who took good notes where decidedly at an advantage.</p>
<p>rejectedryan: If you liked the social atmosphere of Pierce. you'll like Maclean. It's another tight-knit dorm that's filled with a lot of interesting (read: a little crazy, but fun) characters. The only caveats are that it might be difficult to get work done, and it's not as close to the action as Pierce is.</p>
<p>[sorry it took so long to reply]</p>
<p>goalie: sillystring is right. Beyond the first day, O-week is pretty strictly for you, not your parents. You'll be very, very busy with events and activities, and it's a lot easier emotionally and practically if they leave at the end of the first day or the beginning of the second.</p>
<p>chocoholic: Just for the sake of clarification, I'd like to point out that prospies can sit in on whatever classes they'd like, as long as it's okay with the professor. They're by no means restricted to classes taught by grad students.</p>
<p>eve, have you participated in the study abroad program yet? Could you explain how it works, as far as getting credite, and also missing out on the sequence of core requirements, that you may then have to wait a whole year to have available again?</p>
<p>eve, thanks for the comments on maclean! i chose that as my second choice on my housing form because i liked the location and the fact that it had singles (and i love norman maclean)...i didn't know what the social scene was, so it's nice to know : )</p>
<p>Do you have any suggestions for what one should review over the summer in order to increase the likelihood of placing into honors calculus?</p>
<p>yes! good question!</p>
<p>Eve: "if you're going for a job and your interviewer has never heard of U of C, you'll make an impression by the skills you learned there even if not by the school's label, and I think that's the most important thing."</p>
<p>I think any recruiting/job interviewer will immediately recognize U of C due to the strength of the business program (2nd in the world according to Businessweek).</p>
<p>Faithfully Submitted,
Cesare de Borgia</p>
<p>Another question concerning orientation: would you recommend parents taking the trouble to go at all? (We live I think more than a full 24 hours drive away). And if so, by car or by plane?</p>