<p>Sorry, I'm still trying to familiarize myself with Stanford. What exactly are SLE and IHUM? How do both affect your course schedule and requirements? What is the diference between both? What is required from both? Who should be taking SLE and IHUM? Are they challenging? How are they different from regular courses?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>i dunno much either, but i do kno that sle is supposed to be a sort of "honors" program that is extremely demanding and oriented in the liberal arts</p>
<p>ihum is the humanities requirement that all freshman are required to take</p>
<p>SLE is a program called Structured Liberal Education. It is worth 9-10 credits/quarter. Most students take about 15 credits/quarter, the max is 20 so that means SLE takes up a lot of your time. It also happens to conflict with several intro seminars. The students do a lot of reading. They all live in East FloMo and I believe some of the program takes place in the dorm. The students in the program all seem to think it's a rewarding experience. Many people not in SLE see SLE as social suicide. It is possible to still party if you are in SLE, but be prepared for weird looks if people ask you what dorm you are in and you reply that you are in a SLE dorm. If you like the idea of doing a lot of reading of classics and don't mind giving up about 10 credits/quarter to the program and like the idea of a potentially more intellectual environment where people discuss books over dinner, SLE just might be for you. </p>
<p>Most people, however, take IHUM. Many of these people would never be caught dead in SLE. There are about 10 options for the fall sequence of IHUM and about 10 more for the 2-quarter winter/spring classes. The quality of IHUM classes and seminars (previously called sections) varies. Some IHUMs are known for being rather dull (Old World Encounters wasn't all that popular) and some are known for having little work. By far the most important part of IHUM is what your section is like. I didn't really like the lectures or texts for my IHUM, but I loved my section. My TF (teaching fellow, like a TA but with a PhD) was really awesome as were all the people in my seminar, so I actually looked forward to the seminar. You'll have 2 1-hour lectures and 2 1.5-hour seminars. If you can take a class with Chris Bobonich do it. I'm in Fate of Reason for the winter/spring quarter and he's the prof for the winter quarter. He is incredible. When it comes time to choose IHUMs I can give you more info about specific IHUMs. </p>
<p>If you don't do SLE, you also have to take PWR 1 (program in writing in rhetoric). I've met 1 person who liked there pwr class last quarter. Just one. Pretty much everyone else hated it. PWR 1 is very writing intensive, all about rhetoric, many people think it's just a bunch of bs. Sophomore year you get to take PWR 2 which is more focused on giving presentations. I don't know if you still have to take PWR 2 if you're in SLE. </p>
<p>Hopefully that answers your question.</p>
<p>I see the thing about SLE being social suicide as being more of a joke than anything else. It's a stereotype, for sure, but I'm not sure that many people actually believe it. Don't be afraid to take SLE, as long as you're a hard-core fuzzy. But do be prepared to take some ribbing about being a SLE kid.</p>
<p>There are a lot of kids in SLE this year who are premeds or physics types. </p>
<p>Don't overstereotype SLE. </p>
<p>The SLE stigma is real, but people don't go around asking what IHUM you're in, so it's not really a big deal. To a certain extent, SLE creates its own social circle, but that is more due to the residential nature of the program than to the program itself.</p>