<p>Here's where we can discuss what we plan to study, what classes we've heard are good and bad. Any input from current Tufts students would be greatly appreciated. How should we choose classes? Based on when the finals are, lol?</p>
<p>Premed for me-- the usual bio, chem, phys, orgo classes.</p>
<p>I based a lot of my class choices on what looked interesting and on which professors/courses had good reputations. <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5B/url%5D">www.ratemyprofessors.com</a>, and <a href="http://www.tuftsreviews.com%5B/url%5D">www.tuftsreviews.com</a> are two good sites that help with that. </p>
<p>Start taking requirements early, if you leave them for too late, you might get stuck with something you don't want to take but have to to fill the requirement.</p>
<p>Also, if you wait too long to take your distribution requirements, you'll have to take something whenever it is scheduled, even if it conflicts with other classes that you would love to take. </p>
<p>Consider taking AP credit, if possible, to free up room in your schedule.</p>
<p>If you have ANY inkling that you would want to study language in depth (or something else requiring a lot of prerequisistes, such as math or physics or chem), then take those courses early on. You don't want to realize that math would be a great major for you, but you have to take three courses in one semester so that you can graduate on time. Basically, some majors have required courses that have a ton of sequenced pre-reqs, so you have to get started early.</p>
<p>Re-cap for the new people on the board: I'm an '03 engineering graduate who did a second major in liberal arts.</p>
<p>Your advisors and peer advisors during orientation will help a lot with this stuff and if they don't volenteer the info, just ask! Or ask any upperclassman as well.</p>
<p>yeah i've def. heard that about requirements. which kind of sucks, because even though i'm interested in IR and Poli Sci, i feel as though there is SO MUCH i could potentially study...but like, i really don't feel like continuing Calc. if i can get out of it with my AP credits, what can I take instead? wouldn't they just put me in the next highest Calc class?</p>
<p>Because...i still shiver at the mention of "Taylor polynomials" (shudder lol)</p>
<p>you have to complete 2 math requirements. If you pass out of one with ap then you have to just take one more. You can take a comp sci course, any stats course (some are offered in other depts like psych and sociology), and many other math courses. Unless it is a prereq for some other class you want to take, you don't have to take calc.</p>
<p>Fulfill the requirements early!!! I can't stress that enough. :)</p>
<p>I went to a private hs with a lot of distribution requirements and like you advise, plowed through most of them early. I am not a math and science person so I focused more on getting those out of the way and didn't worry too much about the areas I knew I'd want to study later on regardless. I was hoping to do something similar at Tufts. Can we meet dist. requirements and major requirements with the same classes?</p>
<p>(Here's wishing I took AP exams...)</p>
<p>It really depends on your major and what classes you choose. It did work for me: for example, my sociocultural anthropology class fulfilled both a humanities distribution requirement and a societies/culture requirement for my MAJOR, international relations. If you plan it correctly, you can make it work. As for the courses I took to fulfill math, they didn't count, naturally, for anything but math distribution.</p>
<p>Gah you freshman are SOOOO lucky! Professor Morse left Tufts! Now chem 1 and 2 are no longer harder than the honors chemistry...damn luck!</p>
<p>Wow. Where is Professor Morse going? Do you know who is teaching chem 1 and chem 2 now?</p>
<p>By the way, how did you find out?</p>
<p>According to the registrar, he is still teaching chem 1 and chem 2 though. Did he just abruptly decide to leave?</p>
<p>News of his leaving spread like wildfire within hours of his departure via AIM. Within a few days (during the summer!), most people who had his class knew that he was gone. Not quite the equivalent of the "ding dong the witch is dead," but more of a disappointment that the tradition of chemistry 1 and 2 suffering has now been broken. Apparently he wanted a job with more promotional development. He invested like an immense portion of his time in undergraduate teaching and almost nothing on research, which makes it virtually impossible for him to get tenure. The system for college profs suck, but that's the way things work.</p>
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<p>Not quite the equivalent of the "ding dong the witch is dead," </p>
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<p>lol</p>
<p>Do you know if Tufts is hiring a new chemistry professor, or are they getting someone else from the chemistry department to teach it?</p>
<p>"He invested like an immense portion of his time in undergraduate teaching..." </p>
<p>Was he a good teacher? I wonder if all Tufts profs invest a lot of time teaching and how many are actually good at teaching undergrads.</p>
<p>I would advise not to try to group all tufts profs just like you shouldnt group all tufts students as bitter ivy rejects. Profs have different styles and different backgrounds. Your experience may not be the same as the person next to you in class. You just need to jump in and take some classes. Opinions are valuable, don't get me wrong, but make sure you don't make decisions before you even jump in. Give new things a chance, that's what college is about.</p>
<p>I was just talking to my mother today about my experiences so far in my 3 years of college, and the conclusion I came to is that so far, I've had 3 professors I've disliked out of almost 30 classes. I think Tufts does a pretty good job at selecting dynamic professors yet sometimes doesn't retain them well (the sociology department just lost a phenomenal teacher as well). Please don't worry about professors' devotion to students, for the most part, they're very good.</p>