<p>Goucher offers much of what D is looking for in a college: small school, small classes, supportive environment, decent black enrollment, not isolate or rural, coed (even if unbalanced), and a match/safety in terms of admission. The only sticking point - - all those gen ed requirements. I know that a single course can satisfy more than one requirement, but there are 11 separate requirements - - and the English requirement must be satisfied by taking 2 courses, then there's the foreign lang requirement (3 sems for D) and the study abroad.</p>
<p>HOW DO YOU HANDLE IT!!!!! Just thinking about it makes my head spin . . . .</p>
<p>Hi,
I’m currently a junior at Goucher College.
First, the gen-eds are NOT as intense as they seem! There is a small enough number to spread them out or pack them into a couple of years if need be.
If your daughter has taken a foreign language already, she can likely test into a higher level and take less classes. (For example she may be able to take Spanish 120 and 130 instead of 110,120, & 130.) As you said, many classes count for more than 1 gen-ed requirement. Also, taking gen-eds as a freshman or sophomore can really help your daughter develop a clearer idea of what she wants to study. (Even if she thinks she knows already, there’s always room for change and exploration at Goucher.) This way, some of your gen-eds will count towards a possible major and kill two birds with one stone. Your daughter has to take a placement test for English, and it is possible that she could place in 105 or 106, where she would only have to take that one semester (and receive Writing Proficiency) to fill the English requirement. If she places in 104 (this is where most people start), she would still only need one English class for each semester of her freshman year.
From my understanding, most schools have similar general requirements. I have found that Goucher’s are rather easy to complete- if you take a look at the course catalog on Goucher’s website you’ll see that there are SO many classes that can fill any one requirement. It’s nice to have so many options, so the classes don’t feel like required course, but more like elective courses.
Please let me know if you have any more questions about Goucher and good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Goucher’s geneds may be similar to those of other southern schools, but many colleges in the northeast (and several in the midwest) have far fewer requirements. And I know that it is possible for students to place out of up to 4 semesters of requirements (1 Eng, 3 lang), D hasn’t studies a foreign lang since soph year and, as you acknowledge, most students place into the first Eng course (and, therefore must take 2 sems of Eng).</p>
<p>And while a lot of the courses satisfy more than one requirement, those courses satisfy the same two requirements. In D’s case, even accounting for the occasional course that satisfies 2 reqs, she’d still be looking at 10+ different semester courses PLUS study abroad (though I don’t really consider study abroad a restrictive requirement)!</p>
<p>I agree that there are lots of courses that satisfy each requirement, and in that way the geneds are not as restrictive as at some other schools. But there are 11 (I’ve checked the catalogue and counted) individual requirements!!</p>
<p>I guess there’s just no way to do it - - except to do it. I’m glad though, that you haven’t found the geneds to be as onerous as they appear to be.</p>