Freshman course selection and housing

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>Hello everyone!
I was wondering if it is useful to read up on what courses freshman can take so that I might have an idea of what I want to do. However, I don’t really understand the course descriptions on the website. Also, what’s normal/expected in college is different from high school. So should I just wait until freshman orientation to think about next year’s courses?</p>

<p>Housing: If anyone has opinions/observations on comparing sub-free with normal dorms, that would be helpful too. :)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>I definitely think it would be helpful to have a good idea of what you want to take when you go to register at orientation. Putting some time into planning your semester will make things much easier in the long run. Freshmen can take almost any course, unless it requires a prerequisite you can’t fulfill or it is explicitly restricted to upperclassmen; either way, the descriptions will tell you. Keep in mind that many courses need a prereq “or consent of the instructor,” and that consent isn’t always that hard to get if you email the professor before the semester starts. The online catalog is really helpful for scheduling things, but you can also check out scrutiny (<a href=“https://www3.amherst.edu/~scrutiny/[/url]”>https://www3.amherst.edu/~scrutiny/&lt;/a&gt;) which is great for finding out what workloads are like in most classes. Your advisor at the beginning of the year should theoretically be able to keep you from taking classes that will overwhelm you, but some professors just don’t really know. Another possibly helpful tool is to check out what courses are required for the majors you might be interested in. Taking a few intro classes in various areas of study can keep your workload reasonable and hopefully help you figure out what you want for your major(s).</p>

<p>I can offer less information about sub-free housing (which for freshman usually means the dorm North College). All of the freshman dorms end up being very cliquey, and North is no exception. Not so many people in sub-free end up going on to the Health and Wellness theme house after freshman year, but most continue to live with people from North. I never lived in sub-free though, so I can’t say anything about the culture inside the dorm.</p>

3

<p>Katbenc is entirely correct on looking through the course catalog before registration. Most people have a general idea of what they want to study over their four years at Amherst when they arrive, and choose their first classes based on previous interests. Also, I was told by an upperclassman when I was concerned about registering that the catalog descriptions often sound a lot more convoluted and difficult than the class ends up being, which I found/heard to be mostly true. Take whatever you want to take-that’s the glory of Amherst.</p>

<p>As far as housing goes, I’ll be quite blunt and say that the sub free housing option is aimed towards students that are not interested in partying in the typical college ways (alcohol, loud music, etc.). It’s a strange setup, because alcohol is not allowed in any freshman dorm, so they are all technically “sub free.” However, there is always drinking in the other dorms, and as a result, there are loud, drunk people wandering the halls at times. As someone who did not live in sub free housing, but also did not become cliquey with my dorm, I know only one person who lived sub free, and that is only because we are on the same sports team. Generally, sub free and non sub free people don’t cross paths, just due to location and interests.</p>

4

<p>As a parent, I think one thing in freshman year, particularly first semester, don’t be tempted to jump into the most challenging classes right off. There is an adjustment and taking more ‘Intro to ____’ type classes can be a good idea.</p>

<p>My kid lived in the sub free hall this past year. He really loved it there, made great friends, is not moving to Heath&Wellness for sophomore year, but like katbenc said is moving into his sophomore dorm with a group of good friends from North.</p>

5

<p>Can the people in sub-free be generalized in anyway regarding their personalities, majors or goals?</p>

6

<p>What my son tells me is that there are quite a few international students in the sub-free hall, which he (as a non-international) really loved. He thinks probably a greater proportion of international students than in the other freshman dorms. For him it was a great opportunity to make friends from all over the world – although that possibility exists for all Amhest students, of course – it’s just easier when you live with so many.</p>

<p>He said that almost everyone in the sub-free hall this past year was really nice, very friendly, and that you don’t generally get the big-ego types in that hall. It’s just nice people who’ve made a choice to live together in an alcohol-free environment. He found it to be a happy, busy, social, fun place. I would not say it’s a particularly quiet dorm, so if that’s important to you it might not be something you can count on.</p>

<p>He said there isn’t any way to generalize about majors or goals – they were all over the map.</p>

<p>I think whether it’s the dorm for any particular student probably only depends on his or her feelings about alcohol and drinking. I don’t think the students are all that different in the sub-free hall from any other students, they just want a place and other people around who want to have fun without alcohol.</p>

<p>Many of them attend parties elsewhere on campus where there is drinking – and they may or may not imbibe a little themselves on occasion, from what I understand – but there isn’t any drinking at the dorm itself and rarely any real drunkeness on the part of the students that live there. Otherwise, it’s probably much like the other dorms, I guess.</p>

<p>My kid has friends (who lived elsewhere on campus) who did a great deal of drinking. He liked them a lot and had fun with them in many ways. He doesn’t mind a bit what other people choose to do, but he isn’t into drinking himself. He really loved having the sub-free hall as a home-base, and lots of friends there too that found sober ways to have a good time together.</p>

<p>It just depends on what you want. I think it only comes down to how you want to deal with the matter of drinking in your immediate environment (your dorm) – you’re either okay with it or you’d rather not have it – otherwise, I think the students that opt for the sub-free dorm aren’t any different from anyone else.</p>

7

<p>thanks for all your advice, everyone! if anyone has more to add, im looking forward to it too.</p>

8

<p>DD was in sub-free as a freshman. They are still friends, and virtually all graduated with honors this past weekend and did theses. They had lots of fun - movie nights, game nights, etc. Just no drinking in the dorm. Went to parties elsewhere, and made their own choices. DD said she wanted to live there, because she didn’t like to drink, and didn’t want to have to take care of someone slick from drinking in the middle of the night. Great kids, and the next year, they went on to theme housing - and they stuck and went together to 2-3 dorms. Virtually all fo the kids that started as freshmen on her floor did theses and graduated with honors this past weekend.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the answers guys! </p>

<p>Unfortunately :), I have a few more questions. I don’t like to drink, but wouldn’t mind going to parties once in a while. </p>

<p>If I opt for a “normal” dorm, on the weekends, will everyone be off to parties, leaving the dorms deserted? I would like sub-free entertainment…most of the time. What would a typical sub-free weekend be like? </p>

<p>How strict is the sub-free policy? I mean, if I go to a party once in a while, and come back a little drunk, are there repercussions? </p>

<p>How many % of the class opt for sub-free? Is there distinct and/or uncomfortable segregation between the sub-free guys and the rest of the class?</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

10

<p>Nadash, the students in the sub-free dorm don’t live on another planet or anything. As for the percentage, I don’t know for sure. Last year there was one sub-free dorm with some sub-free floors in a few other dorms. There are, I think, 8 freshman dorms (?) so you can get a rough idea from that. The largest and newest dorm is not sub-free. You don’t get to choose exactly which physical building you will live in though. You can opt for a sub-free or regular dorm, but beyond that it’s up to the housing office where they put you that first year.</p>

<p>Students from the sub-free dorms go to parties elsewhere on campus, and according to my son occassionally come home having imbibed a bit. However, students are there mostly because they aren’t interested in that so it’s not something that happens often from what I understand. You won’t be forced to sleep out in the quad, but you may come to realize the sub-free hall is not for you and ask to be placed elsewhere.</p>

<p>On the other hand, it’s not like you have to be a roaring drunk to fit into the other dorms. I’m sure you’d find friends who enjoy doing other things, or who are fine with occassional drinking but don’t do it to excess.</p>

<p>No one can tell you if it’s right for you, but I think if it doesn’t seem like a clear decision to you, you’re probably better off in one of the other dorms.</p>

<p>My son ended up choosing it for a couple reasons, probably the main one was that his best friend from home went to college a year ahead of him. He was at a super-selective school, and his freshman year was really unpleasant because of all the drinking on campus. He wasn’t a sub-free person completely, but he didn’t drink much. He wasn’t prepared, though, for the very heavy drinking he found himself surrounded by. He ended up feeling very alienated and disliked the experience so much that he left the school after the first year. (He has since been accepted to an even more selective school as a transfer student.)</p>

<p>My son talked to him a lot through that first year, and he just didn’t want to end up in the same situation. He wanted friends, and lots of them, that found other ways to have fun together. He is also an athlete and so he was surrounded by heavy drinking outside his dorm, but he found the sub-free hall to be a haven from all that and a place where he was much happier. He’s fine with people drinking if that’s what they want, but it just isn’t his scene. However, had his best friend not had that disastrous year just before my son started college, he might not have made the same decision. In retrospect he’s incredibly glad he did, but it’s a completely personal thing.</p>

<p>It’s probably a mistake though to think of the sub-free hall as the place for students who only drink a little. While, like I said, you wouldn’t be forced to sleep out in the quad, nonetheless the substance-free choice is kind of like an agreement the residents make between themselves about their living space, and thinking of it as only a loose agreement or “sub-lite” rather than “sub-free” suggests it might not be the best fit for you.</p>

11

<p>Thanks rentof2! I will still probably choose sub-free though–I don’t like alcohol and I really don’t like getting drunk. I prefer keeping my sanity, thank you very much. </p>

<p>What you have said sounds really great, but now I’m just worried that there would be a segregation between the sub-free guys and the rest. I’ll be joining a lot of activities though, so hopefully, my social circle wouldn’t be so isolated. </p>

<p>What are you guys putting for Question 14 (Any other comments)?</p>

12

<p>Any comments on sub-free segregation?</p>

13

<p>for #14, probably something like, prefers non-carpeted floors because of allergies and health, does not like loud music, but not completely silent either.
i hope sub-free is not too isolated from the rest of the freshmen…</p>

14

<p>I know the people in North are very tight, but what about people in South or Appleton, where subs and sub-frees are mixed together?</p>

15

<p>North has been the only subfree dorm for the past few years. I think South and Appleton were partially subfree before the freshman quad got finished, when a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t went sub free to avoid living in the mods.</p>

16

<p>The 2009-2010 incoming first-year students will be housed in Appleton, Charles Pratt, James, Stearns, North, South and Williston. </p>

<p>Information regarding first-year dorms:</p>

<pre><code>* Substance-free housing is currently in all of North, the 1st and 2nd floors of South, & 1st floor of Appleton. note: substance-free dorm assignments may be changed by Residential Life based on level of student interest
</code></pre>