<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>As an incoming freshman, I'm very curious to learn about your (past or current students) favorite freshmen classes and why. I would greatly appreciate it if you could include the teacher name as well.</p>
<p>In case you don’t get a lot of input from current students through CC, there is a lot to be had on Middkid.com in the course evaluation section. Even if you aren’t someone to depend a lot on 1 to 5 ratings or percentage ratings, there are sometimes tidbits in the comments that are helpful (“greatest professor I’ve had at Midd”, “super enthusiastic” etc.)</p>
<p>Thanks Hitch! That was actually very helpful. I just wish that the Midd forum was more active though.</p>
<p>Students recently finished final exams and are just getting home for summer vacation. It’s actually kind of a good thing that they’re not spending all of their time on this site.</p>
<p>There are a couple of blogs by some rising sophomores. One is just about spending the summer there and not at the language schools: [English</a> Spoken Here](<a href=“http://englishspokenhere.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]English”>http://englishspokenhere.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>And one seems more about a rehash of freshman experience with some pretty generalized observations from one point of view. S doesn’t necessarily agree with some of what’s been written here (at all) but agrees that everyone is entitled to an opinion! [Snapshots</a> of A Life](<a href=“Private Site”>http://tohuynh.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>Also… I know the facebook class of ---- is generally a good resource. Last year there were definitely people who eagerly responded to questions and stuff.</p>
<p>As an aside: Except for Calc II, my son really did love all his classes and professors. Was incredibly impressed with how accessible his teachers were and is even more sure of that by talking to friends with completely different experiences.</p>
<p>Agreed about Middkid.com. Its very useful and usually accurate. I wish I had paid more attention to what others were saying when I chose my classes. Other things to think about: Most people really enjoy their intro language classes, especially the more “unusual” ones. I haven’t heard as many good things about Spanish and French, but don’t let that deter you if its what you want to take. I’ve heard really good things about the German department and the kids that take Chinese seem to bond a lot. Maybe that’s just because of the workload…</p>
<p>Most people don’t enjoy the intro science classes, but if you’re a science person, taking these allows you to take the (more interesting) upper level courses. If you’re taking science only for the distribution requirement, avoid Cell Biology and Intro Chem (depending on the professor). You can get the requirement done with Physics (easy, but supposed to be boring), Geology, or Enviro Sci.</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about Armanios (History), Mayer (Geography), Mitra (Economics), Abbot (HARC), and Berg (ENAM). No personal experience, so do with that what you will.</p>
<p>Also I would recommend taking a variety of classes. Don’t take more than one course in one department, even if you already think you know what you want to major in. Keep your options open! And if you get to registration and you don’t get your top choice classes, don’t worry! Sometimes the random classes you kind of get thrown into end up being really interesting. Take classes you’re interested in, but a bad teacher can ruin a subject for you. Conversely, a great teacher can make even the most boring subjects interesting!</p>
<p>Panther: if you have any more specific questions… I’ll try and check back in a couple of days.</p>
<p>middkid.com is pretty reliable, yeah
otherwise, my freshman class suggestions would be:
communism/fascism and modern russia with james west: definitely a professor who changes your life. if you’re even slightly interested in history or russia or germany, take a class with him
intro economics courses: take macro if you want a general idea about econ
languages: one of my biggest academical regrets in midd has been not to start a language my freshman year - especially the harder ones like russian or chinese. the russian department is pretty awesome and not all that challenging, but chinese is ridiculously difficult from what i hear/see.</p>