<p>I was told that to post here b/c some of the parents may have insight on the Five Colleges...</p>
<p>I'll be attending Amherst College next year and want to pursue two of the Five College Study Programs, International Relations and Swahilli. The Five College System is an immense resource, but I'm just wondering if taking classes at the other four schools (Smith, UMASS, Hampshire, & Holyoke) will have draw backs...</p>
<p>I could really use any other commentary, feedback, and advice from anyone who has taken off-campus courses, particularly if you've taken multiple.</p>
<p>For students that have taken courses off-campus, what do you typically do when you need to speak with a professor or go to office hours? On-campus help, commute back to the school?</p>
<p>Do any of you find it a hastle having to routinely leave campus or do you think the classes are worth the hastle?</p>
<p>How many is too many? If you take 4 classes a quarter, is more than one pushing it?</p>
<p>My d. is at Smith; the supervisor of her research is a 5-College prof. based at Mt. Holyoke, and as part of her work, she has been on all the campuses except Hampshire. It really is all about scheduling. To UMass, it is one mile and an easy bike ride. To Smith it is around 20 minutes if you hit the buses right and it isn't 5 p.m., but it can be longer if you don't plan the buses right; Mt. Holyoke is a bit further. As I remember, African Langauges is centered at U.Mass, international relations is at all 5-colleges, but centered around Vincent Ferraro at Mount Holyoke, but William Taubman is an Amherst, so you can't go wrong if you use him as your advisor. The international relations program is pretty large, and the offerings deep, taking the 5 colleges together. Michael Klare, professor of Peace and World Security, is based out of Hampshire. </p>
<p>My d. says there are some students who take lots of courses on different campuses, and some who never set foot off their own. It is 100% certain that you are in the first group if you do Swahili, so you'll learn how to plan as you go.</p>
<p>Many students prefer to talk to profs right after class instead of going to office hours. If you need to talk to a prof, send an email asking if it's okay to talk after class (or before, as the case may be) in case the prof has an appointment or another class right after or before yours. Contact by email is also very useful. If you want to attend office hours but the timing is not convenient, usually profs are very willing to make an appointment for some other time.</p>
<p>D hasn't taken classes off-campus but has many friends who do. Scheduling is the worst of the hassles, everything else. Taking more than one course off campus is easiest, of course, if they're on roughly the same schedule, e.g., MWF morning, TTh afternoon, etc. and on the same campus. Taking classes at two different off-home locations in the same semester might require some neat timing. The general response is that it's worth it. The timing might nick your availability for some EC's.
Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your information, any other things I might want to know about the Five Colleges? Should I'd try to visit the other four before the Fall? Any other comments about the other schools outside of using their academic programs? I've already been told that Smith has the best dining halls to stop by at....</p>
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It is 100% certain that you are in the first group if you do Swahili, so you'll learn how to plan as you go.
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<p>I'm sorry mini, but I'm lost at what that means...</p>
<p>Mini meant that you're in the group that takes classes at different colleges.</p>
<p>I'm a student at Smith and I'm going to take a class at UMass next semester. I need to take calc III, and the only way I could make it fit into my schedule was by taking it tuesday/thursday, which is only an option at UMass. I'm allowing the whole morning for that one class (transportation both ways and the class itself). It does take a bit of schedule juggling, but if it's something you really want to pursue it's worth it. </p>
<p>Also, if you really need to speak to a professor and office hours are inconvenient, you may be able to schedule an appointment immediately before or after class.</p>
<p>Visiting the other campuses just to get a handle on things wouldn't be a waste of time.</p>
<p>By wide consensus, Smith does indeed have the best dining halls but even Smithies get tired of them and grab meals in NoHo on special occasions, which can included being merely Stressed and Bored.</p>