<p>Oh, if I'm <em>somehow</em> wrong about this and you are only qualified for French 50, but its too easy for you, you could just talk to the professor and explain it and they'll put you where you want pretty much.</p>
<p>Asterstar......I'm in a similar situation......I got a 5 on French Language and a 780 SAT 2 but ultimately decided to stick with the French 50 because it's a CAP course. Considering I intend to major in French I really wanted an advisor in the French Department. Although it might turn out to be somewhat simple, I view it as an opportunity to get used to college French and hopefully get an A. Plus, if you plan on spending any time abroad like I do, there will be many challenging courses ahead of you.</p>
<p>Hey MoatToMoat! THanks for all the valuable info. you shared with us.
I'm also planning to major in IR, probably double concentrate with Econ.
So, here goes my questions. :)
(1) What courses do you recommend for IR in specific? I'm particularly inerested in East asian IR-CHina. I heard THe chinese decomcracy movement in the twentieth century taught by Xu wenli was great, but the course is supposed to be a senior seminar.. then, do I ONLY have to take it during my senior yr? In other worlds, can I take a senior seminar a little earlier?
(2) I plan to take EL0011 Critical Reading and Writing 1: The Academic Essay in my first semester; someone highly recommended taking a writing course in freshman yr. Have you taken it? Or do you know anything about the course? Do you recommend it too?
(3) What are some other courses you might wanna recommend (even those not relevant to IR) that would support my concentration? (PS? EC? SO?)
Thanks tons in advance. :D</p>
<p>I planned on taking el11 my first semester because my parents wanted me to take a writing course. I showed up first day, got the syllabus, and said ick I don't want to do this. My advisor then told me not to take a course unless I really wanted to take it....so I didnt take it. I think it was good advice, I haven't had any problems with my writing anyways.</p>
<p>Take ps11 with tomasi, it is such a good course.</p>
<p>How are freshman dorms and roomates assigned? Is it by arbitrary computerized sorting? Or is there some rhyme or reason to it? Are common interests, course selections, or personal background taken in to account?</p>
<p>froshbrownie:
1. I definatley recommend history of China with Professor Davis. HI41. I haven't taken many other East Asian IR classes as its not really my region of interest, but there are a ton in the course catalogue. You can take a senior seminar early, but I wouldn't think about it til sophomore or junior year.
2. I haven't (yet) but I do recommend it.
3. Well there are several required ones that are good that you'll end up taking anyway, but I additionally recommend intermediate micro/macro econ and "ethics and public policy" in particular.</p>
<p>Supertara:
I've heard that everyone who preregistered for ES11 is in Hope College but I don't know if thats true. I think generally they try to make you and your roomate have a diverse interests, so science majors with humanities, etc, but that might also just be a rumor.</p>
<p>Froshbrownie - Sorry for the shorter reponse yesterday I was very busy. I thought more about what you asked since then. A good way to find courses that would support your concentration is to look at courses from the other tracks of IR. Brown divides IR into four "tracks" (though all the diplomas just say IR and they all have the same basic core, you just have a few extra classes that specialize you). They have fancy names and descriptions but they are basically IR + Poli Sci, Econ, Anthro, or Environmental Studies. It seems like you would probably be most interested in the first two. If I were you I'd also look at the classes taken by the second two tracks, as they would be an excellent supplement to your IR major. Also, just take random classes for interest or curiousity. As I said before, one of the best classes I've taken is Intro to MCM, even though it has NOTHING to do with my major.</p>
<p>Moat, this isn't a question about Brown in particular but college in general: In your experience, would you say that the academic aspect or the social/location aspect of a college has more impact on a student's happiness and overall positive college experience (I know it depends on the person, but in your opinion).</p>
<p>Ah, what an interesting question ParisKM. These are my thoughts:</p>
<p>I have a friend who is going to be a freshman at a very good school this fall. He is incredibly excited and talks about it non-stop, its extracurriculars, the classes he's going to take, funny things about the campus culture, etc. I'm happy for him, since he's looking forward to it so much, but at the same time I'm worried. He speaks as though these things are going to MAKE him happy, to change him maybe, or provide a new world. What he hasn't realized yet is that just because, say, your college has a great athletic program and an awesome sports team, it doesn't ultimately change the person you are or the life you are going to lead at school. Even if its something that directly affects you, like if you love to write and there are a ton of campus publications, I think ultimately life returns to sort of the way it was before, your overall satisfaction level goes back to where it was, etc. Most of what makes people happy comes from within. Most of the things that sound cool about a college, even if they are pretty cool, don't end up having a huge impact on you or really make you all that much happier or sadder. I'm concerned that my friend is going to college with an expectation that its going to make him happy, when in reality he needs to rely on himself for that. Until this realization comes, he might be pretty UNhappy. Now certainly there are things about college that can make you UNhappy, like if you wanted to be in a city and its on a farm, or if you absolutely needed sunny warm weather and its in Maine, you want to study abroad but your school makes it difficult, or if you end up at Bob Jones and you aren't religious. Ultimately; however, I think that no matter where you go, you are going to end up about as happy as you were before, or about as happy as you would be anyway. When you arrive on campus the things you were most looking forward to - or were most dreading - will probably give you a "boost" or a "drop" in your overall happiness, but within a few weeks or even months you'll return to where you were before, or where you would be anyway because of the kind of person that you are. They did a study once where they monitored people's self reported happiness levels over their life times, and they found that even after HUGE events (like winning the lottery or divorce), people ultimately rebounded to where they were before. The only two things that permenantly changed happiness levels seemed to be the death of a spouse or losing a job. I'm not sure if this applies to the discussion but I think its interesting. They say that there are "happy schools" - Brown is considered by many to be the "happy Ivy" - but I think thats more a reflection of the students and less about the school. Perhaps students self-select for that sort of thing, I don't know. Still, in an attempt to answer your question, I'd say that the social/location aspect would have a greater impact, if either thing was going to, since thats the thing that you are most going to "feel." At the top 20 or 30 schools, you can really make up any difference in undergraduate education with hard work, dedication, and passion. But if there's something social/locale-wise that's upsetting you, even though 99% of the time you WILL adjust and be satisfied again (or as satisfied as you would have been anyway), if you can't change it, it can probably be pretty unhappy.</p>
<p>OK, thanks.</p>
<p>M2M, did you order carpeting for your dorm? We 09-ers just got a mailing about it...Is it worth it?</p>
<p>Some dorms already have carpeting (like the NPs) while some do not (most others). I'd probably wait until you know where you are living before you order carpeting. Once you do, getting a carpet isn't a bad idea.</p>
<p>I just wanted to comment that Moat's response about happiness in college is spot-on and very insightful. That's just based on an experience with a close friend who had emotional issues before college, staked all of her hopes of happiness on finally being around people "like her", and then was immensely disappointed once she arrived. This is at the Ivy with a bit of a reputation for depressed and unhappy students. Another friend at this college also told me how she had to find her own way once she came...exactly what Moat said, she had to find her happiness within herself.</p>
<p>I have a little something different to ask. What about magazine subscriptions? Too much of a hassle to keep changing where they should send them too?</p>
<p>Well you have the same mailbox all four years at Brown, so you might want to change them. I didn't but I keep meaning to...</p>
<p>M2M, Ive heard some rumors that nicer rooms tend to be distributed to more wealthy students(in a subtle, under the table way, of course), and that scholarship kids get shoddier accomodations in general. Of course they would not explicitly state this as policy, but is it all true? Have you noticed this pattern at all, or seen it disproven?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your time Moat... Its reassuring to get a candid portrayal from someone whos walked the walk! (much advice you find on these boards, though great, is hearsay and speculation)</p>
<p>I have 100% not noticed that at all. I have heard that high-profile students (like the Versace heiress and JFK Jr.) get certain dorms which are more secure or private, but thats all. I think maybe a decade ago there was a scandal because the Brown Student ACLU had done studies and found that there was some sort of pattern (I'm not sure if it was economic or what), they mobilized the entire student body, and now it is for sure done only at random. You can check out the Brown University ACLU website for more details on that campaign. Just another great example of the power Brown students have over their education and their university.</p>
<p>Supertara, thanks a lot. I've noticed that too, which is why I try not to comment too much on other schools unless I also know about them from firsthand experience.</p>
<p>I, for one, would not recommend ordering carpeting through Brown Student Agencies. If I remember correctly (this was two years ago, but I doubt the prices have dropped radically since then), the carpets were extremely overpriced and many students who ordered them ran into a variety of obstacles. Even if they knew their dorm room was not going to be carpeted, either they had a problem picking a size because they weren't sure of the exact measurements of the room, there was a complication with delivery or a mistake in the order, or they ran into an issue with the roommate either in that they didn't communicate about whether a carpet was even wanted in the room or in some cases both roommates ordered...the list goes on. But above all these things is the cost and the not knowing whether there will be a carpet already. Many dorms that don't have "carpeted" rooms still have carpets in the rooms; my freshman dorm room did, but others in the dorm didn't, so we would have had no way of knowing until we got there.</p>
<p>Wow, I don't know what inspired me to advise at such length on such a random topic, but long story short, there is a bed, bath, and beyond in the mall downtown and a home depot and a target both 10 minutes away. I would suggest waiting to meet your roommate and then figuring out whether you even want a carpet and if so, getting something there that is inexpensive and taht you know from your own measurements will be the right size. :) Also probably a bigger selection in the store.</p>
<p>Lisa2005 is probably right. I actually never ordered a carpet because my roomate already had one. I'd trust her.</p>