<p>for an incoming freshman, what would be a good courseload breakdown that's manageable and gives you a good feel for classes? 2 concentration + writing + elective?</p>
<p>My advice is based on graduating many eons ago, but I still think it's good.</p>
<p>Take at least one or two (semester long) courses in things you think you might like to concentrate in. Take one or two courses in something wild that you couldn't possibly have taken in high school. Don't take more than one or two full year courses. If you don't like a course there's nothing worse than be stuck in it. Take at least two semesters of courses that will fulfill general education requirements. And of course you'll have to take expos. </p>
<p>Also think about the mix of courses. There's nothing worse than taking nothing but courses that have homework every day, or nothing but ones that have giant papers at the end.</p>
<p>^^^I emailed your advice to my son. :)</p>
<p>You will get lotteried into Expos either fall or spring - no choice there. Think about a small freshman seminar - most have only about 12 students with great professors. If you have Expos first semester, you can take a seminar second semester - or vice versa. You do, however, have to apply for specific seminars. (It's waaay too early for that though!)</p>
<p>Most students take Expos during their first semester, though some (like my S) get assigned Expos for the second semester. If you do not place out of foreign languages, you'll need to take a full year (two semester-courses) of a foreign language. If you place out, it will free up a course in each semester.
Many freshmen take a freshman seminar (graded SAT/UNSAT). </p>
<p>My adivce to my S was to take a class in his intended major (which he already knew) and a Core course. Since he had no foreign languages requirements and was assigned Expos in the second semester, he took an elective as well as a freshman seminar (for which he worked extremely hard as he liked the subject). </p>
<p>I agree with mathmom about the mix of courses. Science and math courses tend to have weekly problem sets and often two midterms instead of just one. Many humanities and social sciences courses have weekly response papers or at least 2-3 response papers plus a longer paper due at the beginning of reading period. Readings in these courses can easily be 150-200 pages per week.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation to take a freshman seminar if you possibly can.</p>
<p>do i need to have a tighter course schedule if i'm a premed with the intention of applying to med schools the summer before my senior year?</p>
<p>I don't know about applying to med school during the summer after junior year.</p>
<p>But I believe that prospective pre-meds are encouraged to take the new Life Sciences course sequence.</p>
<p>Most pre-meds take Life Sciences 1A followed by 1B. A huge percentage of the freshman class (not necessarily Pre-Med) takes Ec 10 (Economics) which can be taken for one semester or continued as a full year course. A lot of people do get Expos the second semester. The nice thing about the seminars, as mentioned above, is that they are P/F ... while they still may be a good deal of work, a non-graded course eases the pressure.</p>
<p>It's a good idea to keep an eye on the Core requirements (though they may be different for your year - not sure if that's been changed yet) so that you can distribute them throughout your four years.</p>
<p>And remember ... one of the best parts of Harvard is that you can shop classes and see what you like and don't like. Definitely take advantage of the shopping period! (There is no pre-registration like at most schools.)</p>
<p>Does anyone know if/when the new general education program is to take effect? How much will it effect class of 2011?</p>
<p>It's still being debated, so the chance of its passing in time for next year is somewhat slim. I would expect that it would begin to apply the following year, in whatever form it emerges from the current debates (just as my S is graduating :() But it is likely that the new provisions would apply to the class of 2011 as well as subsequent classes. That's my best guess.</p>
<p>Of course, once the legislation has passed, there's an awful lot of work needed to make it work: what courses will count, who will decide? who will vet new courses? and so on.</p>
<p>Why would Harvard pass a general education program? Any thoughts on this one?</p>
<p>It already has one. It's called the CORE curriculum. The CORE curriculum replaced the old General Education Requirements. How to reform the CORE curriculum is what is currently being debated.</p>
<p>I haven't seen any official announcements about the start date of the new policy, nor about plans to handle the transition. but if I had to guess, I'd guess that the plans will either not apply at all to the class of 2011 or perhaps that there will be some sort of transitional compromise.</p>
<p>From the way it's going now, it most likely won't affect '11ers. However, you may get caught in the transitional process or something, like Aedar mentioned. No one can really predict now. Just when something seems to be set, FAS votes to reject it...ugg...</p>
<p>The moms are on top of things!</p>
<p>This has been touched on already-but the "secret" to a good first year (as well as the following years) is balance. The things I keep in mind each semester are:</p>
<p>Large lecture classes vs. small seminars
Easy classes vs. hard classes
Problem sets + exams vs. papers
Science/Math vs. English/Social science
Areas where you have a background vs. new areas of study
Classes with other frosh vs. classes with upperclassmen/grad students
Cores vs. concentration classes/electives</p>
<p>And don't take a class if you don't like the professor!</p>
<p>All of this is good advice. Definitely take a freshman seminar! And don't get obessessed with getting into a particular one (or particular ten). If you get a chance to take one in something you've never studied before, it's a fabulous opportunity to experiment, without a letter grade, in what is likely to be a great class.</p>
<p>It's hard to know how to factor it in. I like the proposed plan MUCH more than the current one. And frankly I preferred the freedom of what I had to either. :)</p>
<p>And remember to check the CUE Guide!</p>