<p>So...I already know which colleges have no distribution requirements at all..and there aren't many! Which ones have minimal requirements that are easy to fulfill?</p>
<p>You should not choose a college based on its distribution/core class requirements… I didn’t seriously consider such requirements when I was evaluating schools. A lot of these distribution/core class requirements are blessings in disguise; they open your mind up to classes that you would never consider taking otherwise. Who knows, maybe you will find that some of these classes that are part of the distribution requirements will lead you into your major, your job, and your life’s passion.</p>
<p>This is true…but…I already feel like I know what I want to focus on, and I know I must sound like a naive high school student saying that. But I feel like I already know so many things that I want to learn, and those pesky distribution requirements would just get in the way of my learning the things I truly love. I didn’t enjoy science classes in high school, and I really think that if I am forced to take them in college, they will just be more classes that I don’t care about and that I only work hard in for a grade. And I hate that feeling.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, URochester? All have distribution requirements, some laxer than others, but I believe none require lab science.</p>
<p>I have the same desire to define my own liberal arts education, whether that is sociology or statistics or both or neither.</p>
<p>If you really want a school with looser distribution requirements, I would definitely look at Rice. Rice requires 12 credits in three distributions: English/Humanities/Art, Social Sciences, and Science/Math/Engineering. You can fulfill many of the requirements with AP credit; for example, with a 4 or 5 on AP Euro or the AP US History exam, you can get 6 credits to count for your social science distribution requirements. If I get at least a 4 on the exams, I will have 24 credits that can be applied for the Science/Math/Engineering distribution by simply taking AP Bio, AP Physics B, AP Calculus, and AP Stats.</p>
<p>Check out their AP Policy: <a href=“http://registrar.rice.edu/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=520[/url]”>http://registrar.rice.edu/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=520</a></p>
<p>Although it is a research institution focused on science/engineering, Rice’s humanities and social science departments are also top-notch. Rice University is similar in size to many LACs, enrolling around 3300 undergrads.</p>
<p>^^ Grinnell doesn’t have distribution requirements; only one require class your freshman tutorial which is a writing base class. The rest is up to you</p>
<p>Grinnell does have a form of distribution requirements, by limiting the number of credits in any single academic division and any single department.</p>
<p>Not as familiar, but IIRC Rice does have a lab science requirement. Generous AP policy is a plus, but the OP may (like me) not come in with many/any science APs. If you want to avoid science in college, chances are good that you didn’t take AP Bio and AP Physics in high school.</p>
<p>I was actually already looking at Rice! I took AP Environmental Science this year and I’m pretty sure I got a 4 or 5 on it…does Rice give credit for that class? Also, does AP Psychology count as a science credit? Or as a social science?</p>
<p>Looks like AP Psych counts as socsci and APES doesn’t receive distribution credit, which is on par with most colleges’ treatment.</p>
<p>oh… : (</p>
<p>Rice also offers science/math distribution credit for less intense science lab courses… no matter where you go, you’ll probably have to take a calculus class and a statistics class for your major, and that fulfills the science/math distribution (D3 credit).</p>
<p>Be sure to keep Rice on your list… I turned down many awesome universities for Rice. BTW, Rice is ranked #2 in quality of life and #15 in happiest students according to Princeton Review.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>BROWN.</p>
<p>Open curriculum=no distribution requirements/core. Intellectual heaven right there.</p>
<p>^^ I have no idea where you got that assumption from… if you are a non-science major, chances are you will NOT have to take calculus or statistics for your major. Stats for the socsci people, perhaps. I’ve researched a LOT of English, Comp. Lit., French, and linguistics department websites; not a single one has required math as part of the major. Because math is largely irrelevant to a humanities specialization and is left to the college/university’s GE requirements.</p>
<p>A brief/imperfect list of open curriculum schools, although you probably know all of them already: Brown, Amherst, Hamilton, Vassar. Grinnell and Rochester offer a lot of flexibility. Smith and Wesleyan have open curriculums ONLY if you are willing to forgo Latin honors (“optional/highly encouraged” distribution reqs). Hobart & William Smith has an interesting curriculum with Goal Petitions (so you define how you learned about scientific inquiry, not necessarily within the context of a class) plus disciplinary major/interdisciplinary minor, disc major/interdisc major, or disc major/2nd disc major/interdisc minor. ([HWS:</a> Curriculum](<a href=“http://hws.edu/academics/curriculum.aspx]HWS:”>Curriculum | Hobart and William Smith Colleges))</p>
<p>Everyone knows Brown is famous for their rather open, pass/fail curriculum.</p>
<p>^ Doesn’t help when one is looking for safeties/matches, though.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ll definitely apply to Brown…but getting is a different matter entirely. I really like the flexibility of U of Rochester’s curriculum. But for some reason the college itself isn’t appealing to me…the campus looks a bit ugly…hehe, not to be picky/shallow.</p>
<p>Have you visited Rochester yet, eliana? When I did, I was surprised by how green and unified the campus was–quads and brick. The library is gorgeous.</p>
<p>Nope, I haven’t. The pictures weren’t appealing to me, but I should definitely visit because I’m sure it’s different to see it in real life. I really love the academics…the only thing that I don’t like is its lack of Arabic, but I could find some way to take that at another college over the summer or something. What other places are you looking at? I love Hampshire College’s open curriculum and self-designed major, but the campus is SO ugly because it was built in the 70s :(.</p>
<p>Err, are you one of those folks that need pretty buildings to learn and have fun? You might have an easier time finding a college if you concentrate on other characteristics of a college.</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot about Hampshire. Along those same lines are Marlboro, Bennington, Bard. They may or may not have distribution requirements; I’m not sure, as that style of school is a bit TOO alternative for my taste. OTOH, I know a Marlboro senior who is very quiet, wears cardigans (not preppy ones–I think of her as old-fashioned nice), and loves her school. Pretty campus if you like nature and isolation.</p>
<p>My own college search started with the open-curriculum criteria, but my current top choice is Swarthmore–which has a relatively strict distribution requirement with lab science. Other factors should be the make-or-break.</p>
<p>It seems like you’re looking for linguistics and a smaller college (LAC/small U). At LACs, linguistics should be the deciding factor. I’d recommend looking very closely at the Five College Consortium wrt proximity to UMass-Amherst; I think Amherst and Hampshire should be close enough, but Smith and especially Holyoke are a bit out there. Do you really want to sit on a bus for 2 hours a day, several days a week, for major classes? The Tri-Co consortium is a bit better, since Haverford offers introductory linguistics, Swat’s program is very strong for an LAC, and you also have Penn’s amazing ling/foreign lang. resources. Also consider Pitzer, Pomona, and Scripps of the Claremont Consortium–the two Ps have, IIRC, a joint ling department, although it’s Pitzer’s interdisciplinary speciality. Claremonts are actually within walking distance and share a catalog (Tri-Co does as well), which makes cross-reg so much easier.</p>
<p>Carleton and Macalester, up in snowy Minnesota, also both offer linguistics majors; both are in nominal consortiums, but I don’t know what the ling/language offerings are like. Look into possibly taking obscure languages at Mac through UMinn-Twin Cities.</p>