<p>LiT, it seems very strange that a first-year adviser would up all those courses -- except in French because of her fluency. (My own D was told based on placement tests to take only 300 level French courses, and she was really glad that her adviser acquiesced and let her take a mid-200 course.) </p>
<p>As others have pointed out, she can always switch courses in the spring. I'm all for the students challenging themselves academically, but you also don't want to set them up for failure, particularly this early in a Smith education. Is your D confident with the classes? Is she excited about them? Or is she dreading them? As someone else pointed out, the course number should not be frightening in itself. Last year, as a first year, my D took mostly 200 and 300 level courses; this semester, she is taking mostly 100 level courses because of a change in major. This year's courses demand much more of her time (two lab sciences, plus another science and a humanities), so, if you asked her, she might say that this year is harder academically even though she is taking lower level courses. </p>
<p>I would talk to your D to make sure that she is looking forward to next semester.</p>
<p>SmithieGR: I picked up D at the airport last night and asked her about the Calc classes and the way that Smith teaches it over dinner. She has opinions (on almost everything) and thus:</p>
<p>First of all, she thinks students are at a disadvantage if they don't take Calc in high school. For AP Calc, she maps three semesters at five days a week in high school to two semesters at three days a week at Smith. You can't probe as deeply, do as many examples, etc., in the lesser amount of time. (I observed a parallel to language, which Math kinda is, where you kinda need the clock hours no matter what.) Of course, unless you take summer school, this means you're taking Algebra in 8th grade and you're generally not on track to do that unless you were regarded as having fast-track Math potential in fifth grade or so. [In retrospect, D says the fifth- and sixth-grade Math were wastes for her and she wishes she'd explored some of the Math enrichment programs, which at the time she discounted. Might have been an unsolvable conflict with ballet anyway.]</p>
<p>She did not take Calc at Smith nor has she graded or TA'd it. But her understanding is that it's geared a lot more towards discovering concepts than manipulating formulae...which aligns with what you're saying with some of your engineering profs. E.g., she thinks they give you the Chain Rule and the Product Rule but leave discovering the Quotient Rule to yourself.</p>
<p>She thinks that as a method it provides a stronger basis for the students who actually "get it" but that it's far too easy to "not get it" and thus, if it were her, she'd not choose to teach it that way.</p>
<p>At least this is what my memory of last night's conversation now ways.</p>
<p>Mwfn: My D reported the phone call with the French prof in front of the advisor, during which Prof flatly said she didn't want an 18 y-old, however proficient in French, along with more mature seniors. Advisor grabbed the phone and insisted, upon which prof said (loosely translated from French): "I'll wipe the floor with you!" I have advised D to enroll in another course as well, and drop this one if she feels uncomfortable, either with the level or with Prof's attitude. What else can I say?
As for the other courses, I think she was looking forward to an easy semester, and is now feeling both flattered and apprehensive at being "upgraded". I don't know anything about college in the US, so I feel unable to advise D (I was hoping, and still am, that that was what advisors were for!). In her Lit 200 and FYS this year, she has moved from C to B+ which makes me very proud, as she is still struggling with English. In Art History(her intended major) and Philosophy, her grades are 95+, which, if I have understood correctly is A+. However, let's wait for finals, as I don't know how much outside help she's getting.
As I said in an earlier post, she was told, probably by this D***** advisor that first year grades don't count. Well, I understand now that they do for grad school, although that is so far ahead that I won't even think about it. This has encouraged her to take the tough courses whereas a month ago, she specifically told me that the "easy" semester was mainly to get as many straight As as possible to bring up her GPA.
Well, there you are, folks. What can I do except pray that Mr Bloom knows what he is doing?</p>
<p>I wouldn't want my daughter in a class where the professor didn't want her! She'll start out having to prove herself, and that's not fair for a first year student. If she <em>really</em> wanted to take that class, then it would be worth fighting for, but I got the impression from you that she was reluctant to take the class in the first place. (BTW, my daughter has gone against her original advisor, who wanted her to major in her department, so they are indeed free to take what they want, when they want.)</p>
<p>Smith excels at encouraging its students to take chances and to challenge themselves. That's one reason why we're paying all that money. Your daughter should be allowed to take what she wants, but she should also be discouraged from "easy" semesters, something I think her advisor was trying
to do. My own D is majoring in a field that shocks everyone she knows since they never considered her a "science" person. (She was always the creative, literary, foreign language loving one of her group.) It turns out that she just never thought she could handle such an intense major. Now, she knows she can do it and do it with excellent grades. If that's the only thing she gets out of her Smith education (and of course, it won't be), then our money will be well spent.</p>
<p>You should indeed be proud of your daughter for her grades. As a side note, colleges don't give out A+'s, only As, although a high A ensures that a small slip up won't affect her final grade.</p>
<p>D's profs and advisors have waved her past some easier courses, including a couple of pre-requisites, without any negative repercussions so far but this is a case where mileage may vary according to student and course.</p>
<p>I agree with MWFN: I would not want my D to be in a course where the prof didn't want her. I find that attitude to be curiously hostile and un-Smith-like.</p>
<p>LiT, your D's grades in Art & Philosophy reassure me about taking her prospect in taking the Art course. How <em>is</em> her German, apropos of the German course. Ditto Music. </p>
<p>I'd definitely find a substitute for the French class. The prof's attitude <em>really</em> bothers me...but you know how persnickety the French can be about their language. :)</p>