<p>ok ive decided im going to attend BU…yay… but I have no idea which dorms to pick, and I tried looking through the livejournal threads, but no help really. Can someone kind of summarize the top 5 dorms for freshman and why…like the pros and cons of each… im sure there are others who want this information…</p>
<p>also, today I got a letter from BU about the core…I was looking through it and thought the Science Core sounded really interesting…now, will i still have to take english/writing classes? or would it all just be about this science core thing…and what about my “major” or “focus” classes…do i get to take any classes partaining to my major freshman year? and what about math classes? (where and when do i pick my schedule???)</p>
<p>I personally think the core is an incredible program. The professors are phenomenal, and are simply great people. If you like to read great books, this is the program for you, unless you are doing pre-med or something that has a lot of requirements. If you are a humanities major, I highly, highly recommend it. Not only does the completion of the program give you credit for divisonal studies, it also waives the requirement of taking boring WR100 and WR150 classes, as well as a lab science. At orientation it will be extremely clear what the trade-offs are. However, I can assure you that the discussions you have in these classrooms are literally life-changing. When you're done, you'll be able to cite Virgil, criticize capitalism, know the origins of life and the universe, and have a taste of eastern philosophy too. I cannot even begin to explain the profound affect the core has had on my intellectual development. Anyone interested in the history of ideas wrongs themselves by not participating in this program (unless of course, you don't like reading).</p>
<p>As for dorms, I'd recommend the core house or Warren, as you'll be with people in the same boat as you, who are looking to make new friends, too.</p>
<p>Yes. But I am going to appeal the natural sciences requirement. As much as I'd like it, I want to cram chem and bio into my freshman year. Does anyone know biology majors who take core? I won't major in bio, necessarily, but I'd like to be on equal footing with those who study science through divisional studies.</p>
<p>@JJPeerless: Divisional studies is what most students do. You select individual classes to fulfill prerequisites. In divisional studies, you take specific natural science, writing, history, and social science courses. These classes may or may not have anything to do with eachother. Core classes are more investigative and integrated. Topics overlap between core classes but are presented in different contexts.</p>
<p>@Hippodrome123: If you would like to harass me, send a PM. Please don't hijack threads.</p>
<p>yeah. You have to take writing as a separate class (or two) in divisional studies. I am only taking Core as a unique way to fulfill requirements, including WR100-150. That's all it is. The program isn't supposed to impact your major. When completed, in many cases, Core provides more equivalent prerequisites than divisional studies is capable of offering. If that wasn't clear, then take the following example. It is possible to take the 8 Core classes and receive 12 classes worth of prerequisite credit (but still only 32 academic credits). As I said, I'm still looking into how Core fits in with a mainstream science curriculum.</p>
<p>All of this aside, Core is a small program. Few kids choose it and even fewer secure a spot.</p>
<p>The Core brochure looks kinda weird. It's all classes about Plato and philosophy and such. Humanities are my #1 downfall - they are my worst classes (though I ended up getting a 5 on AP USH, and AP Lit. is eh...) and I really want to focus on specific courses to my major (biochem) right away rather than take a year of "everything" in my freshman year. If I want to take a philosophy course, I'll do it later on when I have some classes open or whatever - I don't want to take college level philosophy courses when I'm not really excited about that stuff anyway, so I don't want to get Bs and lower because that could affect my fin. aid package.</p>
<p>I was told that during summer orientation the staff advisor sits down with you and discusses the options at length. I am starting at CAS but what I liked about BU was that there was flexibilty so if I decided to switch to Management I can do so unlike at PENN where it was impossible to do that and I hear kids change their majors a lot so I don't want to get stuck. I went inside the school of mangement last visit, its all new, and what a different setting inside that it looks like from outside. All moderrn with cool set ups for talking and presenting in small classes. Still I'll probably stick with CAS but maybe try a business course there. The Core aws interesting but a little too esoteric for me and too focused on Latin & Greek culture and I want to learn more about non-Western thinking in college.But I guess a lot of kids really like it.</p>