<p>Can anyone give me examples of exemplary freshman or first-year experience program? Specifically, how were the classes taught and what kind of content was included? Many thanks!</p>
<p>UChicago's got a Core Curriculum, which is demanding and goes beyond the first year, but the academic experience is enlightening. Taking humanities and social sciences core classes ensures that even as a first-year, you'll be in small discussion classes with quality professors. The Core is founded on great books, so you'll have a chance to delve into Aristotle, Marx, Plato, etc. It's not always easy, but as a result you re-learn how to read, write, and ask questions, which you will need to be able to do regardless of major or future career.</p>
<p>Columbia has a similar "core," as does Reed (I think).</p>
<p>I think USNWR might have a list of schools that offer small seminars specifically for freshman-- it's become quite popular to make sure that freshman have some sort of contact with professors their first year, when they are new to the school and might be taking many large intro classes . I know both Cornell and Harvard have writing seminars where they offer interesting elective-y topics and have you write about them.</p>
<p>Reed's "core" is one full-year course, Hum 110, in the "great books" mold, with three large lectures and two small (~15) conferences per week. Freshmen typically take two or three other courses of their choosing. Except for Hum 110's large lectures, almost all other classes are conference-style, most commonly 10 to 19 students.</p>
<p>Duke's FOCUS program, you can read about it here:
<a href="http://focus.aas.duke.edu/introduction/%5B/url%5D">http://focus.aas.duke.edu/introduction/</a></p>
<p>Generally, I think First Year Experience programs are a huge turn-off for most freshmen. They are worthless. They waste your tuition money. They are empty credit hours. I know students who refused to attend FYE classes and received an F on their record. The reasons for FYEs must be political or financial because they are certainly not educational.</p>
<p>If you REALLY want to know about First Year Experience programs, ask a freshman who has recently been through one.</p>
<p>I think FYE means something different than first year curriculum, as some of the above posters seem to think.</p>