<p>Assuming a freshman meets the prerequisites, is he/she allowed to take graduate level classes? If not, what is the earliest year an undergrad can take grad courses?</p>
<p>From what I got from the accepted students chat, you take whatever courses that you have the prereqs for and want to take. You can take courses in any of the grad schools (don’t quote me on that, but I was interested and I think it was in an article on the uchicago site).</p>
<p>The main thing is that you are prepared for the course. That said, why do you want to move so fast? Why not just take classes with your fellow undergrads and make friends for the first year? You can have years of grad school to take classes.</p>
<p>I asked the question for my son. He will certainly take most of his classes with his fellow undergrads, but he is very advanced in his area of interest. Because of the Core, I didn’t know if UChicago have any restrictions on undergrad taking grad level classes.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think any first years are prepared for graduate level courses, except perhaps language courses (which shouldn’t really count as graduate level courses anyway). In the math department, only about five 3rd-years take graduate classes, maybe 10-15 fourth-years, and zero before 3rd year. I imagine it’s about the same in other more scientific departments, although I have heard of students taking graduate classes as 1st years in more humanities-based departments. In any case, I think it is smartest to wait at least until 2nd year, because most incoming students could use some tweaking of their writing and analytical skills.</p>
<p>Please do not take graduate courses in your first year here. You’ll have enough trouble adjusting to the workload and grading system with the standard core classes. The first year classes are completely manageable, don’t get me wrong, but you should wait to take graduate courses until you’re at a level where you can get more out of them.</p>
<p>I really doubt you will want to take graduate level courses your first year. You can imagine all you want now, but, upon arrival at campus, your plans are likely to change.</p>
<p>Ignore the others. My D took a grad level seminar the summer after 1st year in her major (bio) and did fine, one of the best in the course, in fact. And no, she had not exhausted all the bio offerings. </p>
<p>Whether to do so or not will be a decision between your kid and a faculty member. The one great thing about college is an infinite level of flexibility for the kids that can take advantage of it. Most can’t, because of ability or motivation, so they don’t even realize what can be done.</p>
<p>OK. Just to explain my post a bit more, I’ll describe my situation.</p>
<p>I have been taking classes in math and chemistry at the local university for the past three years. I am in junior level classes now, and if I wanted to, I could take grad level classes at Chicago from day one. That said, there are many classes that aren’t in my science major that are required as part of the core that I’d like to take my first year. </p>
<p>I think that’s what Chicago is about- exploring what you don’t know and learning how to learn. Taking grad level classes in your major is all well and good, but the beauty of Chicago is that you are supposed to have time to explore without pressures of a major.</p>
<p>Do you really want your son to miss out on the true Chicago experience by classifying himself into a major so quickly? That would be disappointing to miss out on that self exploration.</p>
<p>Instead of taking a grad level class, why not get a position in a research lab? I am doing an internship now, and working with grad students has helped me explore whether grad school is for me waaaay more than grad level classes. </p>
<p>Try to preserve the journey that is Chicago.</p>
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<p>Yes, but let’s face it. The majority of students who think they’re qualified for graduate level courses at Chicago aren’t. In fact, upon matriculation to Chicago, everyone and their brother wants to take Honors Analysis, but usually only 5-10 people in the entire school are qualified to take it.</p>
<p>It is true that certain undergraduates can do well in Chicago graduate courses, but they are few and far between. The motivation, work ethic, intelligence, and experience it takes to compete in one of these courses is rather high.</p>
<p>phuriku, </p>
<p>What you say is true. But we don’t know what the OP’s background is. </p>
<p>It is also true that few courses at other universities are anything like the theory oriented courses at UofC, so having taken advanced O Chem, for example, at State U may not prepare you for a higher level UofC course. </p>
<p>But each person’s experience is unique, hence the flexibility. </p>
<p>FWIW, my D also gave up a bunch of AP credits in Chem and Bio in order to take the strong UofC courses. It was a good decision on her part.</p>
<p>I’m a UofC student, and in my first year, I took graduate classes in a subject in the Physical Sciences department, which includes Astrophysics, Chemistry, CompSci, Math, Physics, and Stats. (To preserve some shred of anonymity, I’d prefer not to say which.) Moreover, I did quite well in those classes.</p>
<p>I took a graduate class not to fix myself into a major (in fact, I’m majoring in a different subject than what I took the classes in!), but because it was a natural course for me to take – that it matched my interests and was at the right difficulty level for me. You may find that it’s not actually more stressful than your Core classes. I agree that you shouldn’t take a staggeringly difficult graduate class at a time when you should be taking your Core classes, but <em>I</em> can’t rule out the possibility that this class wouldn’t be difficult for your son. (I know of graduate classes that really smart undergrads – even younger undergrads – have breezed through.) </p>
<p>The point is that there’s a big difference between taking graduate courses from day one and choosing your major from day one, if you just think the graduate class is interesting or appropriate for you!</p>
<p>That said, by and large, kitkatkatie and phuriku are right. Few people who think they’re ready for a graduate class freshman year actually are, and for most people, fixing upon a major from day one will only be their loss (though that’s not the same as taking graduate classes in that major). Neither of these are universally true, though.</p>
<p>So here’s what I’d suggest. Your son should talk to the professor of the class, and if he can convince the prof that he’s ready – then he should actively consider it. If he can’t convince the professor, then the professor is probably right – your son isn’t ready. (In fact, getting the permission of the professor is sufficient to get you signed up for a class, regardless of prerequisites, in most departments. Therefore, you’ll have to take this approach anyway.)</p>
<p>My daughter took a graduate course in English in the first quarter of her second year. She probably could have taken it (had it been offered) the spring before. She did fine; she was well-prepared for it; one of the grad students she met in the course became a mentor through the rest of the time at Chicago. So overall it was a successful experience.</p>
<p>I will say – and this probably applies to the humanities more than to most other areas – she found the course somewhat disappointing. The graduate students were each intently focused on his or her own research. She thought they tended to talk past each other rather than with each other, and most of the time none of them listened much to what any of the others had to say. One of the things she learned in the course is that she preferred to take courses with a decent number of undergraduates in them.</p>
<p>Thanks to all the comments. I now have enough points of reference to make meaningfuly suggestions to my son.</p>
<p>arkleseizure, thank you for sharing your experience. If my son finds an grad class he likes, I’ll let him know he can speak to the prof for possible placement. </p>
<p>newmassdad, thanks for sharing your D’s summer experience. My son is also into bio.</p>
<p>JHS, thanks for sharing your daughter’s experience. I would never have guessed…</p>