<p>Have any of you admitted SCEA been contacted about Directed Studies? If so, what were your stats? Thanks!</p>
<p>If they do notification like last year, don't expect to hear anything about DS pre-admission until sometime in April (after RD decisions are out, but before Bulldog Days).</p>
<p>DS students are told in June. Don't worry: if you really want to do DS and you aren't accepted at first try, you can still get in at the beginning of the year.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you. I thought it might be after RD, but wasn't sure.</p>
<p>I only got interested in DS after I sent in my application. If I get admitted, is there someone I can contact to try and get into the program?</p>
<p>I've looked into this quite a bit... apparently, a fair number of students are "pre-admitted" into the program in April, based on SATs and some other factors. But only around half the program is made up of these students- the other half apply in June. The application consists of an essay, and it's apparently fairly selective. That said, come shopping period, some students may get a taste of DS and decide it's not for them, and drop out, and so if you're on the waitlist, and are still interested once school starts, there's still a possibility of admission.</p>
<p>Yep. It's an interesting process. I got waitlisted at the beginning, got in at the beginning, but decided to stick with a schedule I had come up with during the summer. (Which was AWESOME...but I wouldn't suggest the workload to anyone. I worked like, 3x harder than all the freshmen I knew. I = 60 pages of papers during Reading Week)</p>
<p>That said, if you WANT to do DS and you are at Yale, there is nothing stoping you from doing.</p>
<p>What's also interesting is that the Literature dept and Philosophy dept. have the equivalent of a DS year long two-course series in their dept's that cover the material in DS, but in a lecture course.</p>
<p>Ferny and I have had many a discussion on DS, and will likely have a few more... ;)</p>
<p>I was waitlisted for the program and was pretty crushed, but consistently made clear my desire to stick with the program, and so got in even before the first class. My FroCo actually set me up with a friend of hers who was a DS superstar (and who won the Rhodes later in the year, no less!) and she ended up meeting me for coffee and writing a lengthy recommendation on my behalf - it was an amazing welcome into the Yale community. Again - don't worry, you don't need an "in" to get off the waitlist (though I can't imagine it hurt). Just about everyone who I know of who really wanted off the waitlist got in at some point. </p>
<p>Yale, as you might imagine, attracts a pool of reasonably competitive students. I think many people accept an offer into DS, or apply for it, because it's a selective program, and we enjoy being selected for things. Once people realize that it's a lot of work and not a lot of flexibility (so you'd better really want it!), lots of people who were accepted drop out, and lots of people who were waitlisted realize they really don't want it that much, and so don't push it very hard. So the people who really do want it have a tendency to get in off that waitlist, so long as they make that desire clear.</p>
<p>Best,
DMW</p>
<p>Who wrote you the recommendation, you little weasel? Dm-dub, you are the shiznit :0 He's got all the hook up with the powerful Yale women :0</p>
<p>That said, yeah, if you get in, take the chance and do it. I wish sometimes I have done DS. It's a great program and you have a chance to take classes with the most famous of Yale professors sometimes. </p>
<p>PS: DMW, I'm going to send you an email. I want to be on docket for next debate, first aff. (Yes, I know, a little strange for me to want one world government)</p>
<p>debate (first aff :)) and yale speak is why this forum keeps distracting me from my government paper. i love it. </p>
<p>anyway, is Directed Suicide really another nickname for DS? and how much validity does that title hold?</p>
<p>Bah, this is secretely a plot by Al-Qaeda to disrupt US education :0</p>
<p>That said, Directed Studies does not have to equal Directed Suicide. But you really do have to understand what you are getting yourself into. I live with a DSer, he's a varsity athlete as well and starting to get active in the YPU via PoR and Cons. (Definiing Yale speak: YPU = Yale Political Union | PoR = Party of the Right (in the YPU) | Cons = Conservative Party (in the YPU)</p>
<p>It is heavy reading sometimes. It involves a paper every week. Can you handle reading a lot? Then DS won't be a problem for you.</p>
<p>That said, there are ways to make your freshmen year a lot more work-heavy than DS :)</p>
<p>Do something like my freshmen fall semester:</p>
<p>HUMS 320 - Introduction to the Middle East (Eh, about a 2200 page course packet and 8 books, 3 papers, and a 15 page term)</p>
<p>HIST 269 - Holocaust in Historical Perspective (Eh, not as much, but still heavy. About a 1200 page course packet, 4 books, 2 papers, a term paper (15 page)</p>
<p>RLST 176 (or 520, as it turned out to be in my case. Yes 520 = grad) Religious Pluralism and Philosophy: Most difficult reading ever, 5 papers.</p>
<p>SPAN 300 (Cervantes Don' Quixote), Amazinc class, read Don Quixote, write 6 papers about it. And do it in Spanish for the fun of it.</p>
<p>You can think of many ways to make your Yale experience heavy on reading. DS is just one of them. The benefits are, however, that the class is seminar base and its predictable :) </p>
<p>What's your government paper on, btw? :)</p>
<p>affirmative action in higher education (which is why it's so easy for me to justify perusing CC while i should be writing it "CC is about college...and college has to do with affirmative action...so i'm kind of being productive...")</p>
<p>Ah yes, an interesting topic. Perhaps you should look at the minutes of the YPU debate where Al Sharpton was in attendance:</p>
<p>That said...interesting situation. I'm personally a fan of economic AA, not race based.</p>
<p>oh if only hershey/laurent could read that last line. </p>
<p>anyway, thank you so much for the minutes! i need all the ideas i can get to fill the next 2 pages...</p>
<p>LOL, you are right. </p>
<p>The minutes should help. I should eventually go to sleep. I'm in New Haven for the Spring Break, working at the library, but I'm reading a fascinating book on the Japanese Educational System.</p>
<p>haha that explains why you keep inserting "then we'd be the Japanese. And you don't really want that." into your posts of the past few hours. i was kind of curious about that...considering that i'm half japanese myself, i didn't know whether to take it personally, but now i don't. because i understand perfectly. japanese + education = :(</p>
<p>Yeah...you don't want the Japanese Educational System. From top to bottom, it is an unmitigated disaster. Don't get me wrong, it gets great
"stats".</p>
<p>Imagine education systems around the world applying to...the Yale of Education Studying of Education Systems.</p>
<p>Japan comes in: "2400! I studied for hours."
Yale: "Essay?"
Japan: "Umm...Essay...<em>looks at his feet and hands a written piece of paper</em>
Yale: "Interview Question #1:.."
Japan: " I DON'T KNOW!" <em>runs away</em></p>
<p>US comes in: "Gah. I blew that last SAT. I only got a 1800. I'm sorry."
Yale: "Essay?"
US: "Oh sure, *submits a typed, organized three page paper"
Yale: "Interview Question #1: Why?"
US goes on a great ten minute rant on why.</p>
<p>Which one do you take? :)</p>
<p>PS: And now I should go to sleep! Good night.</p>