<p>Remember that Latin is a year-long commitment: you don’t get the credits unless you complete the whole year. D was unsure of major(s). In addition to Government and Math, she was at least thinking about Bio, English, and Classics. At the thingy on the quad during orientation where students can talk to faculty reps from different departments, D was ruthlessly but accurately told that if she skipped Latin first semester, that was announcing “I’m not going to major in Classics.” </p>
<p>She was pretty upset and as she talked to reps from other departments, I borrowed a schedule from one of the faculty members who had nobody talking to him and tore D’s schedule apart and put it back together, inserting Latin and dropping the course she decided to drop instead, thus assuring her that her plans weren’t completely wrecked.</p>
<p>Those who are accustomed to sophisticated narratives replete with irony will see what’s coming: by the end of first semester, she knew she wasn’t going to major in Classics anyway. She doesn’t regret taking a year of college Latin but I have a sneaking suspicion that in the long run she might have traded those two semesters for an additional Econ class and either an additional English class or maybe a second additional Econ class.</p>
<p>But S&P pointed out earlier: it’s very likely there are far more classes that you would like to take than you can take in your four years. Learn to let go with grace instead of desperation.</p>
<p>Caveat, especially about second semester. Especially if first semester went okay, you might start feeling a little cocky. Beware being one of the only or 2-3 first years in a class full of upperclasswomen. They’re fully used to the speed of the pitching and the level of writing…you’re still getting your feet wet.</p>
<p>^The sooner they learn that lesson, the happier Smith students they will be </p>
<p>Sorry, didn’t mean to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. I know how exciting a time this is and how much fun it is to imagine your new life at Smith in any way you can. And how much fun planning classes can be. Just you know, don’t drive yourselves too too crazy.</p>
<p>Voice of Courtesan and Lover - I presume that is Peter Bloom’s. He is not the easiest person to get along with. And he will work you - HARD! However, he is among Smith’s most famous professors, and, in terms of what you are likely to get out of the course, my d. would likely say among the best.</p>
<p>I attended Smith many years ago as a pre-med biology major. To this day I still regret not taking the Art History Survey course so if it’s still offered I would highly recommend it! Good luck and congratulations new freshman!</p>
<p>S&P - Not to call you out, but just so that you don’t give incorrect information to others - the policy for Geneva, at least, has changed (the website says that the new changes go into effect this fall). There are three tracks, one doesn’t require any previous knowledge of French and the other two require 1-2 years of “college-level” French. I’m not sure how AP/IB credits play into that.</p>
<p>Oh, I know that I won’t be able to take everything I want to take. I was able to choose many of my high school classes, and so I think I’ve already learned how to choose them well and how to prioritize and get the ones I really want. There are classes that I’d like to take and ones that I would LOVE to take, and it’s getting all those “love” classes in that I’m trying to do in my mental scheduling :)</p>
<p>^ TC: Oh, that’s great, I didn’t hear about that! I would check with a French prof or your advisor, but I’m pretty sure that “college-level” French means French taken at Smith or one of the five-colleges, with language credits they tend to be pretty strict and they don’t let you count AP/IB credits as college level. But you know, as we can see, things do occasionally change.</p>
<p>Just an elaboration on the two languages idea: if you plan to major in one of the humanities and if there’s a chance you might want to go to graduate school, you’ll need two languages under your belt (or at least, started) by the time you graduate. S&P is correct in saying that it would be difficult to START two languages; however, you’ll have to juggle your schedule to include both. If you test out of, say, French language classes, make sure that you take at least one upper level course in it to prove on your transcript that you know it. My daughter took both Japanese and French at the same time her first year, but one was a language course and the other was literature. But, as with TheDad’s D’s case, she switched majors and never needed them. She was ready, though, just in case.</p>
<p>MWFN, my daughter, who most likely will be an English major with a need for two languages for grad school, got some different advice from her advisor. My daughter took an advanced Spanish class last year so she’s got one language nailed. However, her advisor said she shouldn’t spend her undergrad time getting a second one under her belt. She felt that my daughter should take other courses that she really wants to take, including additional English courses, because this is the one time in her life that she can delve into anything she wants, that she can always develop a second language in grad school when she knows which language would be useful for her graduate work. For her second language, she’d probably need to learn French or German or maybe Latin. As my daughter’s a STRIDE working in the Archives, her pre-major advisor is Susan Van Dyne, SWAG Chair. This is definitely a different way of looking at the double language issue!</p>
<p>I tend to lean with CarolynB’s advisor, languages are just such a time drain and they can be a big scheduling drain as well, keeping you from taking other courses. BUT that being said, I don’t think MWFN’s daughter was wrong to be thinking ahead like she did. Doing a second language in undergrad will help you get a jump on others in grad school, if that’s your eventual route. It’s a good idea that if you want to study abroad or go to med school or something like that with specific requirements that you keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Carolyn, I suggest that your daughter look at the grad programs now that might interest her to see whether this is really the case. My D’s advisor told her that she didn’t really need calculus since she had taken stats, and was dead wrong – my D needed two semesters of it to be competitive. And some of the advisor’s other suggestions were wrong, although not as critical as the advice not to take more math. </p>
<p>Here’s my suggestion for you: pop over to the graduate school forum on CC and ask whether a second language should be started in undergrad as preparation for an English graduate program. Humanities profs and graduate students hang out there, and they will have well-informed opinions. Graduate admissions has gotten much more competitive in recent years, and your D’s advisor might or might not know what is needed to help an applicant stand out. If the advisor is right, then nothing is lost. But if she’s wrong, your D still has time to rectify any shortcomings. My D had to change her entire senior fall course schedule to address the shortcomings she discovered over the summer.</p>
<p>Cell Bio is a very difficult class. I have not taken it, but I have seen some of my hardest working and smartest friends struggle with it. Also it is only offered at 8 am and is 4 days a week. This may not seem early relative to high school, but in college this is the earliest a class is offered, and it will most likely feel like 6 am relative to the 8 o’clock high school start time.</p>
<p>Linear algebra isn’t particularly difficult as far as math classes go (disclaimer - I had a background in linear algebra entering the class though). However, it is very proof heavy and the reason discrete math is recommended as a pre-req is that it teaches you how to write proofs, whereas linear algebra skims over that. I took the class with Ruth Haas last semester and she was very energetic, but the material was dull and the textbook was horrible.</p>
<p>Computer Science I is really meant as a complete beginner course. If it makes sense to you it will be incredibly easy, but if it doesn’t the class will be very hard. I took the class with Judy Franklin last semester and the lab was very enjoyable, but the class was slow.</p>
<p>Italian Cinema FYS 185 is definitely designed as a transition to college class. There were two four page papers during the semester and another two for the final. There was very limited reading and it was graded easily. It has the potential to be a very interesting course depending on the class dynamic.</p>
<p>General advice…</p>
<p>Two or three labs are definitely doable in one semester, just be careful about which labs you want to double up on as all labs are not created equal. Also, if there are multiple sections of the same lab, take the earliest one in the week that you can because if you have to miss the lab you can make it up at a different lab section later in the week.</p>
<p>Don’t repeat classes that you have taken the AP for even if you think you didn’t get anything from the class. It is much easier to register for the higher level and drop down than to be stuck in a class which is entirely repeat material for you or move up and be behind. This happened to me with physics and I did move up, but I was three weeks behind on material and there was a steep learning curve.</p>
<p>If you can fit either of two sections of the same class into your schedule choose the one with less students.</p>
<p>If you’re maybe vaguely interested in learning about computers/don’t have any background in programming or HTML but always been interested, I really recommend taking How Computers Work and How the Internet Works. They’re each a two credit class, you can take them in a sequence or just take one. They don’t take up a lot of time, each one only meets half the semester, and they’re a fun way to learn about the machine you use and learn some very basic programming and HTML skills (you make a website, you disassemble old computers). If you take both courses it’s an easy way to get a Quantitatve Skills credit for Latin Honors if you’re a little math-phobic.</p>
<p>There is a one-semester course in Reading German that students often take in the spring of senior year that is meant to prepare for a basic graduate school language reading exam. </p>
<p>My d. did two languages at Smith, four years of Italian, and a year of German, both started at Smith. When she got to Princeton for graduate school, they waived the Italian test entirely based on her saying she was from Smith, and scored a “high pass” on the German exam. Next year, she is directing the Italian Studies program there (though she is in the music department.) She reads French as well. She also now has to learn medieval Latin - but she plans to do that on her own.</p>
<p>Looking back at it, it was likely her extended language preparation in a single language that she planned to use in graduate studies that set her apart from dozens of other applicants. </p>
<p>No graduate students in her dept. are allowed to take their general exams before passing two language exams, one of which has to be German.</p>
<p>This thread is making me excited all over again for picking out courses! I compiled the following in April or so:</p>
<ol>
<li>High Intermediate French</li>
<li>Women and Gender in Modern Europe, 1789-1918 OR The Making of the Modern Middle East</li>
<li>Aspects of British History: Britons Abroad and Foreigners in Britain OR Colloquium: “Dressed to Kill”: Gender, Fashion, Power OR Aspects of American History: Anatomy of a Slave Revolt </li>
<li>Refugee Politics</li>
<li>Fencing I (I should be all right taking five classes if this is the fifth, right?)</li>
</ol>
<p>OR OR OR…
6. Writing for the Theatre (but this seems to be offered every semester, so I probably won’t bump one of my other possibilities to take it in the fall)</p>
<p>I suppose we’ll see how many of the above are actually still available when I get to orientation. I almost hope one or two are full, because it’s such a difficult choice otherwise!</p>
<p>re cell bio - my D really recommend s taking one of the bio core courses first to get a feel for how hard the bio classes can be. You will probably need them for the major anyway.</p>
<p>^^ A student who tests out of introductory biology should contact the department to see whether the intro course also needs to be taken at Smith; if not, then they may substitute another course in the major requirements. Smith does not give course credit for AP tests, although it does allow students to buy down credits, upon request. That means that you can use your AP credits to give yourself a lighter course load (but what Smithie really wants to do that???!!!) but not to get credit for the course itself.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that your level of French will be determined when you take the placement test on campus. My D was surprised twice when she took those exams. Although she had completed intermediate Japanese at another highly ranked university and had done an exchange program in Japan, she had to repeat intermediate despite having advanced speaking skills because her Kanji/vocabulary was different from Smith’s curriculum. When she took the French test, the opposite happened – she was told she should take 300+ level French classes only and had to get special permission from the French department to take a 250 or so level course that she had really wanted to take. Language placement is a wild card since even the AP tests don’t determine which classes you can take. Make sure that you have alternate plans when it comes to selecting your first semester language courses.</p>
<p>Yeah, I took a look at the website for placement tests, and what strikes me as very odd is that different languages have very different placement tests. Some of them are just reading and writing, some are just oral, and only some are both…I, for one, know that with one language I want to take the placement test for I’m a much better reader than speaker, and vice versa for the other one.</p>
</p>