<p>Hi!
I was just wondering how much of an academic adjustment you guys found Vassar to be. (WAY harder than high school, easier than high school, about the same? etc.) I'm currently doing the IB Diploma program at my school and finding that to be a very good level for me academically (very challenging/ time consuming, but not so much that I can't do well if I work hard). How does the work at Vassar compare? The classes I've been thinking about for next year are Linear Algebra, 200 level Bio (whichever class I would be in given I test out of the intro class), 100 level Film (cannot wait!), and whichever writing seminar I pick. It if matters, I'm currently planning to follow a pre-med track.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a sophomore at Vassar. My experience is probably going to be a lot different than yours - I came from a spectacularly mediocre public school system, and I’m a history major who avoids things like film and biology like the plague… but anyway, for me, the biggest issue is getting used to the massive amount of reading. I’m great at busy work, and high school for me mostly consisted of just that, so I thrived. Now that I actually have to put thought into the work I’m doing, it’s a lot harder. Honestly, a lot of it is just forcing yourself to get things done. It’s easy to get by doing just enough of the reading to write the papers and make a couple comments in class, but you get more out of the class if you do all the work and do it well. (This is a conclusion that I have come to in theory but not in practice…) So I guess for me it’s harder than high school, but mostly because of the motivation/not being a lazy bum factor.</p>
<p>Hey there! I’m a sophomore at Vassar as well. I came from a private school which actually did prepare me pretty well for college: while I agree with dc89 about the more reading, less busy work idea, I didn’t find the shift to be too much of a challenge. Don’t be intimidated! As long as you’re ready to work hard and be challenged, you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>In terms of your schedule… it looks pretty typical for a Vassar student. I do have a couple of thoughts on it, however. One is that I’m not sure you can get into a 200-level biology course without biology-106 (the Introduction to Biological Investigation laboratory course) or special permission. I took the 106 course my freshman year and found it a bit tedious at times, but not particularly challenging. It was, however useful in that it gave me some background on how to write lab reports (a good thing to know how to do for 200-level biology, I found out the following semester). So yeah, you should definitely determine whether or not you’ll need to take that course… I’d personally recommend it because of the basic laboratory techniques and writing skills it teaches.</p>
<p>Another thing I can tell you is that, if you really want to do pre-med, you should definitely plan on taking chemistry your freshman year as well. If you’ve taken AP Chemistry and gotten a four or five on the exam, you can sign up for Chemistry 125. If you haven’t, take Chemistry 105-106 (appropriately titled “General Chemistry”). Like Biology 106 this is an introductory course which is one of the foundational ones for science-related majors. Unlike Biology 106; however, it is a full-year course. Taking it allows you to take Organic Chemistry your sophomore year, which is a prerequisite for several 200 and 300 level biology courses.</p>
<p>I guess I’d recommend that you sign up for Biology 106, Chemistry 105-106 or 125 (depending on your AP situation), Linear Algebra, and then either the Freshman Writing Seminar or the Introductory Film course (I’d probably go for the Film course, unless there’s a seminar offered first semester that sounds just awesome). If you’re planning on a pre-med track, you should really try to get the 100 level foundational courses (Biology & Chemistry) out of the way as soon as possible, in my opinion, so that you don’t run into a lot of requirements your sophomore, junior, and senior years. Of course, you could also get in touch with professors at Vassar to discuss this if you have concerns and check out the pre-health advising office website: [Vassar</a> College || Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.vassar.edu/epage.php?pageURL=http://fellowships.vassar.edu&returnURL=applyprospective_faq.html?vi=true]Vassar”>http://admissions.vassar.edu/epage.php?pageURL=http://fellowships.vassar.edu&returnURL=applyprospective_faq.html?vi=true).</p>
<p>thanks. Would it be a good idea to do the foreign language requirement my freshman year as well?</p>
<p>Hi, I’m going to be attending next fall, and I wanted some information on the number of classes usually taken per semester and the way the course numbers work. thanks!</p>
<p>I’ve heard that despite the lack of core curriculum, or maybe because of it, requirements for a major tend to be pretty intense. I want to double major and also have a minor (definitely English major but deciding which to major and minor between Education and Media Studies). Do you think its possible to do this and still take some totally random interesting classes?</p>
<p>@afaceinspace: That’s really up to you. If you’d like to study abroad or are interested in a major (like history) in which knowledge of a foreign language would be useful, I would recommend it. If, however, you’re not interested in getting up to a high level in the language and are more taking it to fulfill the requirement, then it might make sense to wait until you have an extra space in your schedule. </p>
<p>@nmatth: Usually, a first semester freshman at Vassar takes four courses. After that, students usually stick to a schedule of four or five courses a semester (if you have more than five, you have to get special permission to take more). </p>
<p>There are three different categories of courses at Vassar: introductory, intermediate, and advanced. As the name suggests, introductory courses are open to everyone, intermediate courses usually require previous work in the department (if not a specific course), and advanced courses require previous intermediate work in the department (if not a specific course). To figure out which courses are which level, just look at the number: if the course is a 100 level, it’s introductory, if 200, it’s intermediate, and if 300, it’s advanced. As a first semester freshman, you’ll probably be signing up for primarily 100 level courses, although if you have AP or IB credit, you might be eligible for 200 level courses. I hope that helps! If you have any questions about specific departments, classes, or whether or not the schedule you’ve planned out for yourself sounds good, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>@MZ2009… At Vassar, English majors are required to have 12 units (most classes are 1 unit) in their major. This might sound a bit tough, but it’s really not too bad if you consider that you have a full eight semesters to take 12 classes. </p>
<p>Education isn’t actually a major at Vassar. One option you have is an Education minor which was recently created by the school. It’s six credits (so six courses) and is designed for both students getting certified in education and students who may not want to teach, but are interested in the subject. There are two different types of minors offered: Human Development & Learning and Educational Policy & Practice.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in getting a teaching certificate through Vassar, there’s a special track which doesn’t actually end up with you majoring in Education (I have a close friend doing this). Instead, it works more like the pre-med program at Vassar in that you major in something else (a lot of Education students pick psychology, but pretty much anything goes) while taking classes in the Education Department and getting experience in the Poughkeepsie school system as a teacher’s aid and, during your senior year, as a student teacher. There are two different tracks for this as well: Elementary Education and Adolescent Education. Getting a certificate is much more intensive than the Education minor in that it’s ~10 credits and consists of both classes and student teaching. Because it’s so intensive, the certificate program is really only for students who know they’d like to be teachers. If you think you’re interested in this, I’d recommend that you start finding out about the program as soon as you get to Vassar by getting in touch with the department. If you spread your certification work out it’s not too bad, but if you don’t, things can get a bit hairy (my friend is dealing with this now because she didn’t plan things out as well as she could have).</p>
<p>Something else to keep in mind… if you’re interested in the certification program, there’s actually a study abroad program in Ireland you could consider doing. It’s a one semester program in which you actually teach in a school in a local Irish village.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I believe that the Media Studies department only offers a major. It’s 14-units (14 classes), but because the major is interdisciplinary, this is less onerous than it sounds. If you major in Media Studies, you’ll be taking courses in a variety of different departments, so you won’t need to feel like you’re taking everything in a singular subject area. To see a list of courses cross-listed with Media Studies, check out this link: [Approved</a> Courses - Media Studies - Vassar College](<a href=“http://mediastudies.vassar.edu/courses/approved.html]Approved”>http://mediastudies.vassar.edu/courses/approved.html). One of the things that is nice about a Media Studies-English double major is that there are several courses that can count for both majors. </p>
<p>So, now that I’ve gone over all that, here’s my conclusion: I’m not sure a Media Studies-English major with an Education minor is feasible. It’s technically doable (32 credits overall), but it won’t leave you much of an option to take “totally random interesting classes,” unless those courses are just about all on the list of “Media Studies approved courses.” Since you know you’d like to major in English, I’d say do that, and depending on what your goals are in regards to Education, either pick the certificate program, the minor, or just take courses in the department. For Media Studies, I would recommend that you take the courses that interest you, but not worry about majoring in it unless you’re really set on doing that double major. Double majoring at Vassar is definitely possible, but to do so you really need to plan on it early on, have two very clear passions, and be willing to take fewer “randomly interesting courses” than students with only one major.</p>
<p>I’d recommend you check out the course catalogue for next year to get a sense of what each of your departments of interest look like: <a href=“http://catalogue.vassar.edu/[/url]”>http://catalogue.vassar.edu/</a>. In addition, be sure to visit each of the department sites: Media Studies (<a href=“http://mediastudies.vassar.edu/[/url]”>http://mediastudies.vassar.edu/</a>), English (<a href=“http://english.vassar.edu/[/url]”>http://english.vassar.edu/</a>), and Education (<a href=“http://education.vassar.edu/[/url]”>http://education.vassar.edu/</a>).</p>
<p>Uhm, thank you so much =) This really gives me a lot to think about!</p>
<p>is there a page that has Vassar’s AP/IB Policy? On the the bio website it lists the major requirements and it says bio 105/106 or 4 or 5 on the AP Bio exam. I’m taking IB HL Biology, which should be worth almost same amount of credits as AP. Would I still need to take bio 105/106?
Also, would it be a good idea to take an intro chem class at a community college this summer? I have never taken chemistry before.</p>
<p>@afaceinspace… the Introductory Chemistry class is, I believe, designed for students with minimal background in Chemistry, so I think you’d probably be fine without having taken it before. As for information about Vassar’s AP and IB Policy… here’s a website link for some information: [Transfer</a> Credit Policy - Registrar - Vassar College](<a href=“Registrar – Vassar College”>Registrar – Vassar College). Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like IB has as specific a guideline as AP credit, so it sounds like you’ll probably need to talk to someone in the biology department about it. My guess, however, is that you won’t need to take BIOL-105 because that’s what students with an AP score of a 4 or 5 get out of taking.</p>