<p>This year seems to have more current students floating around on this forum than last year. So it might be helpful for current students (and prospective students looking to get an idea for what Harvard classes are like) to see this information.</p>
<p>Talk about things like workload, teaching style (professor-led seminar? extensive use of TFs? can you ask questions in lecture?), usefulness, was it a requirement or not, etc...</p>
<p>I'll post mine later this evening after class.</p>
<p>I think it is perhaps a fine idea to post such a thread, even though we might all have fundamentally limited perceptions of our courses at this point.</p>
<p>Before I proceed, I should first state that I am a current freshman and have ambitions of pursuing academic work in biology as a profession. I will provide a list of each of my four courses with basic comments detailing my current impressions and experiences:</p>
<p>Life Sciences 1a</p>
<p>For many freshmen who have aspirations of pursuing a chemical or life science oriented concentration, this is a conventional necessity. Life Sciences 1a is chemistry/biology quasi-hybrid course that teaches fundamental biological questions in the context of the underlying chemistry and applies the related science to contemporary, rather than canonical, medical issues (e.g., cancer, HIV/AIDS). I entered here with a fairly robust science background and was recommended to Chemistry 17, Chemistry 20 (both organic chemistry) or MCB 52 (Cell Biology) as a first-semester science course based on the results of my placement exams and SAT II’s in the relevant subjects. However, I had no ambitions of accelerating to the point where I would be taking graduate-level science courses as senior. Of course, it would be quite gratifying to boast of one’s enrollment in cell biology and/or organic chemistry as a freshman, but in college, it is scarcely an advantage to take the most rigorous courses available in the curriculum. </p>
<p>In general, I find Life Sciences to be a review course and a relatively engaging introduction at the exemption of any sizable academic challenge. I would say that I am genuinely enjoying it. Naturally, there are often reservations about taking this course (even if it is a requirement) since it has one of the largest enrollments of any lecture course at Harvard. But sections (weekly classes with a Teaching Fellow which entail a blend of discussion on practice problems and principle concepts and facilitates laboratory work) usually range from 15-20 students. Lectures are indeed very large, but such a condition isn’t necessarily detrimental to the learning process. And there is a de facto mandatory attendance policy since a personal electronic clicker question may be randomly administered during the lecture, which are ultimately factored into computing one’s final semester grade. </p>
<p>Moreover, there is a rather extensive support network and various office hours held by the professors (three jointly teach the course) at relatively convenient locations. I haven’t felt the desire or need to attend any of these supplemental assistance opportunities but other students seem to believe that they are helpful. Almost all students form study groups (although I am not associated with one).</p>
<p>Historical Study B-45: Darwinian Revolution</p>
<p>This course explores the historical progressions of the theories of biological transmutation, it’s controversies, social and political resistances, and modern influences, including evolution’s designation as a unifying theme of the biological sciences. Of course, much time is spent on the biographical details of Charles Darwin himself. Rather than using a textbook, the course highly prioritizes the use of primary source materials to ascertain the relevant history, which are aggregated into two volumes. I am the only freshman or sophomore in the class, since this course fulfills a Core Curriculum requirement. The liberal arts component of the undergraduate education was revised beginning with the Class of 2013, and students now enter under the guidelines of the Program in General Education (which is fundamentally distinct from the Core Curriculum although there is often some course overlap). Hence, I am taking this class as an elective. </p>
<p>The workload is perhaps moderate to high from my understandings of the ordinary requirements typically associated with history courses. There are five papers due throughout the duration of the course, each of approximately ten pages in length, including a title page and bibliography (I have completed two thus far, with grades of A- and A, respectively). There is one midterm, which consists of four short-response style prompts and a longer, analytic essay wholly based upon an excerpt from one of the primary source documents. I found the exam rather undemanding and I am expecting a highly favorable grade. The course is a thrice-per-week arrangement, with two one-hour lectures and a one-hour section to discuss the week’s readings in greater detail and in discussion oriented format.</p>
<p>*Spanish Ab<a href=““Level%202””>/i</a></p>
<p>I elected to take one of the easier courses in the Romance Languages department although I placed into an upper level Spanish course (Spanish 30-100) and consequently placed out of the language requirement with an AP score. I had taken only one year of Spanish in high school (although I had pursued it at the highest level available), so I felt the need to consolidate and better fortify what I had learned. Overall, I am pleased with the course. The class size is small – ten students, including myself – which encourages the participatory interaction imperative to learning a foreign language. Overall, I think the class has been useful in refining and enlarging upon the foundation from my experience last year and from previous study of foreign languages. </p>
<p>However, if I may permit myself to generalize, there are two main drawbacks to introductory language courses. Firstly, the class meets almost every day of the week (four days per week for standard introductory courses and five days for the intensive varieties) and typically early in the morning. It is rather difficult to fit the class in at a suitable time in the afternoon, which is almost surely bound to be occupied by other courses. Secondly, the workload tends to be heavier (though not torrentially intense), with rather extensive online assignments that can become quite nettlesome and tedious to complete. But if I had the opportunity to select a language course over again, I would probably still determine this to be most suitable rather than a higher-level course that has a greater specialization or rhetorical focus. However, if one has proficiency in a foreign language (as determined by the placement test score or alternative testing results), I would probably recommend an upper-level course, particularly if one has hopes of studying a culture in which the language is spoken or to better one’s fluency in expression or communication.</p>
<p>Freshman Seminar 21s: Germs</p>
<p>This last course is taught in seminar format, where usually a quite esteemed member of the faculty teaches a group of anywhere from 5-15 freshmen (there are ten in my course, which tends to sit around the average enrollment in such courses) about a specialized theme pertaining to a particular topical matter. This seminar, which concerns the world of microorganisms, discusses microbiology in terms of its historical growth as a science, its relevance and implications to other branches of science, microorganismic biology and the roles of the various players in infectious disease, microbial ecology, genetic engineering, and so forth. From what I have gathered, particularly with regard to anecdotes from other students, “Germs” tends to be one of the more rigorous – if not the most rigorous – in terms of workload. The reading assignments are both high in volume and length and are largely extracted submissions from primary literature in the field. So, understandably, the readings are regularly quite technical. For purposes of the course, these readings should be assimilated to the point where one has acquired the facility to have an academic discussion on the matter. However, the class is rather reticent, in my opinion, so the instructor assumes a more profound role in presentations and the ensuing discussions. There will be a 20-25 page paper due at the end of the term on a topic of individual student interest. The course is graded on a pass/fail system, as are all seminars, with the paper and one’s discussion contributions determining the final distinction.</p>
<p>Essentially, I have a schedule composed of one requirement and three electives. Grade-wise, I actually find Harvard a bit easier than my high school experiences thus far, particularly because I have fewer classes, a lower work volume, and far more time to invest into assimilating the material (although not always, of course, as I regularly saturate my time with numerous diversions aside from academics). Moreover, I haven’t found the prevalent charge that Harvard is substandard in terms of undergraduate education to be very well-founded. While all experience is relative, I have felt a certain level of individual attention in each of my courses. If this personal ministration is absent for some reason, it should be readily accessible from multiple sources. But assuredly, close acquaintanceship becomes more tangible as one ascends through the requirements and deepens the course of study within the concentration.</p>
<p>I thought I would contribute, as I’m a graduate student TF for my first undergrad class this fall. </p>
<p>The course is SCRB 180 (Repair and Regeneration in the Mammalian Nervous System), which is an upper-level elective with about 25 students. There are two professors, and they teach lecture with lots of discussion and questions from the students. The other TF and I teach a once-weekly section where groups of students present papers from the scientific literature and everybody discusses them. The goal of the course is to present information about development and injury in two neuron populations (corticospinal motor neurons and spinal motor neurons), then brainstorm strategies to repair these neurons in spinal cord injury or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).</p>
<p>I can’t answer whether it’s fun or useful for the students, but I certainly hope it is, and I think the format is very conducive to learning how to think about biological problems. I’m definitely having a lot of fun being a TF for the course.</p>
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Disgusting!</p>
<p>I’m taking Life Sciences 1a, Phil 3, Latin Ac, and Expos 20: On Liberty.
I’m enjoying all of them.
I would highly recommend Latin Ac for anyone with a moderate Latin background but who is rusty or wants to strengthen their grammar base before diving into reading. The teacher this year is a grad student, but is really fantastic. The class can either be very intense or rather slow, depending on your Latin background; I have more background than most people in the class, so I’m not finding it too difficult. We’ve finished with formal grammar (after a month or so) and are now moving onto translation techniques.
See Mifune’s discussion above for LS1A; I agree with most of it. Note that although I didn’t have a rigorous chem/bio background, I’m still not finding it too hard.
Expos is expos; a mandatory writing class. You do get to preference your topics, and I’m happy with the one I’m in, but it can be very hit-or-miss depending on your preceptor.
Phil 3 is pretty good so far. It’s a fairly interesting class, though not quite as intense as I expected. If you’re a potential phil major, you might want to think about phil 7; I am, and I’m starting to wish that I’d taken 7. But in general it’s fine, and it might be good to start freshman year slowly.</p>
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<p>Initially, I had thought that the workload was quite modest relative to the typical history course, but apparently I don’t have things as wonderful as I had previously imagined. Furthermore, the prompts are usually only issued four days before the due date. (Not that I would be more proactive if they were distributed any earlier, but that provides me with something to regularly complain about.) I would personally much prefer one or two longer assignments. I tend to produce better quality work when it is the culmination of a prolonged effort.</p>
<p>5 papers (and a midterm… and a final?) just doesn’t make sense to me. I went to Harvard under the Core, and the average core class had 2-3 papers, a midterm, and a final. If you did some sleuthing during shopping period, it wasn’t hard to find classes with less work than this (I took a great Buddhism core that had 3 papers, no midterm, and no final).</p>
<p>5 long papers, a midterm, and a final is an absurd amount of work, speaking as a to-be history concentrator.</p>
<p>about how many papers do you guys write in the required freshman expos?</p>
<p>Three papers for Expos, with required drafts + revisions.</p>
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<p>Haha, I’m sure mifune wouldn’t miss a class on Darwinian Revolution no matter how much work it is :).</p>
<p>I’m taking Life Science 1a as well, and also math 21a, a freshman seminar, and a gen ed course that I found to be enjoyable and fascinating.</p>
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<p>Yes, I am certainly interested in the subject. To a large extent, a passion or knack for the material compensates for taking a course with a theme that I do not find sufficiently inspiring (although the workload may, at times, be comparatively lighter).</p>
<p>I am taking four classes, and I really can’t say that I enjoy any of them.</p>
<p>Life Sciences 1a:</p>
<p>Well, this was a mistake on my part. Granted, it is one of the requirements for my prospective concentration (Environmental Science and Public Policy), but it is not really enjoyable. Lectures are not stimulating, section is informative but not much else, and the teaching quality could stand some improvement. However, as posts above mine have indicated, there is an extensive support network for the class - there’s no reason to fail.</p>
<p>Spanish 40</p>
<p>I was recommended for Spanish 60 but opted to take 40 instead, as I was not that confident about my language skills. Thus far, my grades have vacillated wildly, ranging from unspeakably low to decent. It’s a movie class, and I enjoy the way it’s structured. As for support, I don’t really see how any would be needed, but the TFs have office hours and are fairly responsive to emails. The book for the class provides a comprehensive grammar review as well. Overall, I like the class.</p>
<p>Expository Writing (The Art of Representing the Other):</p>
<p>I should preface this by saying that the preceptor for this class is absolutely brilliant. My self-confidence withers in the face of his eloquence. This is a great class if you’re looking to avoid work, write a whole lot about nothing, and spend discussion time slinging grossly inaccurate statements about and arguing over the placement of adjectives. However, I despise the material, which makes writing the essays unenjoyable. </p>
<p>I’m still cool with my preceptor, though. He’s my dude.</p>
<p>Math 1b:</p>
<p>I cannot express my disappointment with this course in words. My TF’s English is atrocious, so I did not understand the first week of lectures. Then, he went to Japan (he doesn’t speak Japanese either!) to receive some prestigious award, and the course head served as a substitute. He chose not to teach, telling us stories about the crab apple tree in his backyard instead. As I was still adjusting during that time period, I did not yet know that I could have lessons practically re-taught to me at the Math Question Center, so I suffered: 6-9+ hours per problem set.</p>
<p>(Kids, don’t try that at home.)</p>
<p>And though things have stabilized now, I have not yet recovered from the ravages of the first two weeks. My midterm grade is going to make me cry.</p>
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<p>Although I find it regretful that you are not genuinely enjoying your academic experiences at the moment, I couldn’t refrain from finding humor in the above statement.</p>
<p>you guys are hilarious.</p>
<p>
This is a little off-topic, but I disagree, if you’re intending to go into a biology PhD program. There’s no need to jump into cell bio or organic chem as a freshman, but taking graduate courses as a junior or senior is pretty standard for an applicant to top PhD programs. It’s not that you need to take the most rigorous courses available, per se, but it’s an advantage to be exposed to seminar-style courses that rely heavily on primary literature as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Graduate school admissions committees will have people who know the standard courses at the relevant top feeder schools, and people with stellar grades in low level classes will not be their first choice.</p>
<p>I am sorry that things have not gone very well academically for you, ksarmand. </p>
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<p>Yes, this was my impression, so I was a bit surprised by mifune’s comment.</p>
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<p>I intend to enroll in a dual M.D./Ph.D. program and I have invested a substantial amount of time into hashing out tentative four-year plans for seven separate science concentrations (although my options are more realistically limited to two). With this interest in mind, these layouts necessarily require the integration of general education necessities, pre-medicine requirements (which include the standard set of courses in addition to biochemistry, statistics, an additional English composition course, and perhaps physical chemistry), and electives that serve to both fulfill my scholastic interests aside from science and better diversify the workload. Based on these course projections as compiled within the standard 32-course format, I will not be taking a graduate-level course as an undergraduate, even if I had the genuine desire to do so. I will be enrolling in tutorial-style courses (e.g., research-oriented undertakings designed to culminate in the senior thesis, thesis seminar, and an additional year-long tutorial) after the completion of other concentration/pre-medicine/gen-ed requirements, but that will be primarily limited to senior year.</p>
<p>To large extent, cumulative GPA takes precedence over course rigor, and even more so if the additional rigor comes at the expense of compromising one’s GPA. I am not arguing that course rigor isn’t considered or even merely a marginal factor, but like many with similar educational ambitions, I simply cannot prioritize graduate-level courses given the requirement-heavy circumstances that I already have. Ideally, however, one would obtain a sensational GPA in addition to a rigorous course selection that prepares one well for the graduate program of interest.</p>
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<p>I’m very sorry as well.</p>
<p>At least my local community college is still soliciting applications.</p>