<p>Sorry, I guess I was just referring to the Brown Bureaucracy, I just didn't know what to call it exactly...The facilities worker for my dorm has been REALLY REALLY nice though. Seriously, she's the sweetest person I've met at Brown so far.</p>
<p>I'm probably just too stressed right now. I'm in the midst of the dreaded organic chemistry.</p>
<p>Yeah, the students and the custodians who work in their dorms often become pretty close. Its quite nice.</p>
<p>Anyone have a clue how you sign up for labs along with science courses? Got my registration stuff and I can't find anywhere to put it. Do they just assign a lab where it fits?</p>
<p>The registrar will assign you a lab in your schedule wherever it fits, but that doesn't really mean anything. In class they will offer you a bunch of different lab options with different days and times and thats when you'll sign up for real.</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick response. I was getting nervous not finding a spot and worried that I was going ot be stuck with Friday 2-6. If I read this right, you have to take 50min prelabs before the lab, so one day a week i'll be stuck with 12-1250 pre lab and 1-5 lab... Correct? Is this the same for all Chemistry (if so, that blows...)</p>
<p>Woohoo, thanks bunches, Moat. Good to know that it has the opposite effect. My faith in Brown is renewed!</p>
<p>No not correct. You can go to any prelab you want during the week. Some people don't go at all.</p>
<p>MTM---I'm having a little trouble with course scheduling, particularly with a French class. I want to take an Advanced Placement Calculus class and a Writing and Speaking French course (II), however, their examination periods conflict. Should I go ahead look for another course, or would I be able to maneuver my exams around and keep my desired courses?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, professors are usually not ok with moving around exam times (since that would mean they'd probably have to make two different exams). However, there is a two week shopping period at the beginning of each semester when tons of people are going to lots of different classes, asking questions about the classes, and then adding and dropping constantly. I reccommend finding some other options, but still go to the Calc class and the French class, and see if maybe one of them doesn't have a final. If the French class doesn't have a final exam (mine didn't last semester) then you'll be fine. You could also try asking about moving exam times, it wouldn't hurt to check, especially if you ask early its possible. Use it as a last resort so that you can show the prof that you did everything you could. Good luck.</p>
<p>It's weird that Brown has no self-scheduled exams and they feel the need to make up different exams if students don't take them at the same time. Every other college I ever looked at boasted about the responsibility of the students to not cheat and be academically upstanding.</p>
<p>Well they don't always make up differnet exams. I once took an orgo test early and it was the same as everyone elses, and that's orgo which is one of the most competitive classes at brown (due to all the premeds). The prof simply asked me not to say anything about it to anyone else. So maybe I was wrong in saying they'd have to make up different finals, but the point is its a huge inconvenience for the professor. I think the reason they don't do self scheduled exams is because with so many different classes, if professors got to pick their own final exam times it would inevitably conflict with another class. Even if the students tried to work it into their schedules, a class like Intro to Econ has so many students that there would be inevitiably be a conflict unless students knew from the beginning when the final would be and scheduled accordingly. I think its a pretty standard procedure at most schools.</p>
<p>What is the level of difficulty in dealing with the administration to switch to/from the B.Sc and B.A degree programs? I'm hoping you have some background on this issue because you're taking IR while keeping med school in mind..</p>
<p>Students have to declare their major by the end of their Sophomore year, which I guess would determine whether they would be receiving a B.Sc or a B.A. After that, I'm not sure how difficult or easy it is to change your concentration, but considering its Brown, I'm sure its pretty easy to do. Humanities and sciences are both difficult in different ways, especially if you have strengths and weaknesses in both areas, so its difficult for me to say which is harder or easier. Its sort of like trying to decide who of two people is smarter, there's different kinds of intelligence and its hard to decide once and for all who is the smarter one. So far at Brown I've taken more advanced science classes are more intro humanities classes (mostly because I had more AP science credits) so I've been more challenged by the science, but thats only because I haven't yet gotten into very advanced humanities. However, I expect that they will be equally challenging. Sorry I wasn't too much help here.</p>
<p>How do you feel the difficulty level is overall? Especially in science classes: do you essentially get a grade roughly correlated with effort, or is it a situation where everyone works really hard and the most intelligent are the ones who get the A's?</p>
<p>Again its hard to say. I was satisfied with my grades this year, I could have done a little better, and hopefully next year I will, but freshman year is a period of adjustment and college takes some getting used to. There were no classes where I felt that I had worked harder than the grade I received deserved. Then again, maybe its different for other people. Everyone works very hard, and the most intelligent are the ones who get the A's, yes, but I think thats sort of the situation in all classrooms. For MOST classes my perception is that if you're reasonably talented in the field, doing the work and studying will get you a B, but you have to work hard to earn the A. Then again, gut classes are much easier, and courses like Orgo are much harder and and sort of break these general rules. These type of questions are difficult to answer as there's really nothing for me to compare it to and its going to be different for everyone. Additionally, you should go to college where you want to go and not base it off of what your grades may or may not end up being there.</p>
<p>As for switching from an AB to ScB, it's very easy. While I don't think this is what you were referring to, even switching full concentrations is easy. To register for a concentration in the first place, you fill out an application detailing your course of study, and meet with your department advisor to have your plan approved (what courses you are taking, what department requirements they fill, etc). In order to change it or add one, you basically just fill out another one and go through the same process. While you have to register for the first one by the end of soph year like Moat said, you can register a change in concentration anytime before spring break of senior year (although by that time you would have to have already completed or be currently enrolled in all the requirements in order to register, obviously).
But, I think what you were referring to, RaoGBIV, is just keeping the concentration the same and changing from an AB to ScB within the same course of study, for example, you can get a bachelor of arts OR science in Bio. The time frame is the same--you can switch it all the way up to your senior year. Once you decide you want to major in something that has options for both AB and ScB, your concentration advisor will give you all the details on what the differences are between the two programs so that you can decide which is right for you. A LOT of people switch from ScB to AB if they decide they want to take on a second concentration or that they want to take more courses outside the major (since the ABs generally require fewer courses and fewer lab courses in particular), or conversely, switch INTO ScB if they get really into their concentration and want to do more scientific research/exploration of a particular topic. It's a common and easy switch to make.</p>
<p>What's the weather like in Providence? Cold, wet, humid?????</p>
<p>Also, is the campus spread out and on a hill or is it compact on flat land?
Thanks.</p>
<p>The weather in Providence is sort of like the weather in Boston, but usually a bit milder and there's sometimes a nice sea breeze. In the fall its hot until about the end of October, where it starts to get cold. Sometimes it snows in December, and its wintery until March, which is crazy back and forth between niceness and wintery until April where it starts to get consistently nice again up to May when its pretty much always nice. Basic New England weather.</p>
<p>Brown is on top of a hill, called "College Hill" in Providence. Its not too spread out on the hill, I think its about a 20 or at most 30 minute walk from one side of campus all the way to the other side. But most of the time everything you need will be within a 10 or 15 minute walk of your dorm (unless you need to go to a specific building thats way on the other side of campus from where you are). Most people walk and do not use bikes to get around, if that gives you any idea. Right now Brown is more focused on developing the land it has than on expanding (though I think we are exploring some options in the revitalized Jewelry District).</p>
<p>Speaking of gut courses, could you name a few of them?</p>
<p>The most famous is Engin 9. However, its also considered one of the best courses Brown because the professor, Hazeltine, is probably the most beloved teacher at Brown (not just because its an easy class). One story I've heard is that whenever someone answers a question, he runs up and shakes their hand. Other things like that make him extremely popular. I think Intro to Akkadian is also supposed to be very easy. But honestly I don't really know many, sorry.</p>