<p>College success is based on one of two things: effort and intelligence. Preparation takes a backseat to both. If you want to assure success, simply put in as much effort as possible. You will not fail if you do.</p>
<p>Alchemy--</p>
<p>A lot of students get cold feet the summer before college and worry about the level of work they will be expected to do. Your feelings are normal !</p>
<p>But your LAC would not have accepted you if it did not believe you could handle the level of work that is the norm.</p>
<p>When you get to your first classes this fall, just take a deep breath, go over your syllabus for each class, note the assignments and due dates, and break each down into manageable pieces.</p>
<p>At the beginning, give yourself plenty of time in advance to do each assignment, and if you can, finish a draft of your assignments early enough to go in to office hours and have the professor or TA look at what you have to make sure you are on the right track. Advice on how to improve a piece of work before you turn it in is a good thing! and may also reduce your stress level a bit.</p>
<p>In the mean time, just enjoy yor summer and don't stress too much!</p>
<p>Alchemy - are you saying that the college you are about to attend "advertises" itself as having a rigorous curriculum? If so, how do they flesh out that concept?</p>
<p>I think your worry about how you will fare is a normal one. You don't know until you get there how much different college-level work will or won't be compared to high school level work. I think some high schools do a much better job than others of preparing kids for college level work - with the type of reading they expect, the level of written reports they expect. </p>
<p>My S attended a top 30 LAC for one semester due to Katrina. It is known in some circles as a grade-deflated school. He did very well. I think that many LAC environments pave the way for doing well because classes are relatively small, profs are accessible and many/most of them have a true love of teaching.</p>
<p>My S now attends a "cc top university." He finds it much more "rigorous" in the sense of the difficulty of achieving top grades. Part of it is the intensity of his peer students. Part of it is his major. Part of it is that, in his observation, more of the faculty care about research more than teaching. At this school, it is much for of a struggle for him to do well - ie, achieve grades at his own standard of success. Still, while he puts in a lot of hours, I don't think he finds it busy work. Rather just the time it takes to master the material (he is in Engineering).</p>
<p>Tips to navigate the first semester so that you do well even in a rigorous curriculum:</p>
<p>Choose your first term courses to have some balance. Don't choose all heavy reading or writing-intensive courses. Choose, maybe, some courses which build on a foundation in a subject you already know and love; along with some you may be exploring for the first time.</p>
<p>Take advantage of the "shopping" period for course selection (this varies at different schools as to how much time you have to drop/add courses): attend the first session of several courses, get a feel for the prof, the syllabus, the reading, the assignments (homework, tests, papers, ...). I think you will begin to get a sense of what is manageable.</p>
<p>Keep a steady pace. Do the reading/homework/problem sets as they are assigned. Don't fall behind.</p>
<p>Find study groups. Helps if there are concepts you don't understand to have others to bounce that around with.</p>
<p>Take advantage of TA/prof office hours. Most faculty really do want to be available to you.</p>
<p>marite: Your logic only applies if there are two Linear Algebra courses offered at Berkeley - one for non-techie majors and one for techie majors. Indeed, there are two courses (54 and 110), but, unfortunately, only 54 (the easier course) is required for the EE/CS. I didn't check the other engineering majors. So, 110 is probably only required for math majors whereas all the engineers at CalTech get the equivalent of 110. In my experience, I have found that the difficulty of courses varies widely from school to school. I have taken the same course at different schools as has oaklandmom's son.</p>
<p>ricegal:</p>
<p>There are actually different versions of Linear Algebra: 54 and H54 (Honors) as well as the 110. There are as well various math courses intended for prospective science majors.
<a href="http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_descripts.html%5B/url%5D">http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_descripts.html</a></p>
<p>Because Berkeley has a much wider range of students than Caltech, it has to offer a much wider range of courses. But that does not make its curriculum less rigorous, just more diverse. </p>
<p>Basically, I would suggest disregarding section headings such as "upper-level" courses and looking for the courses that best fit one's preparation and interests. </p>
<p>Alchemy:
Sorry for misunderstanding your original post and launching a digression. Still, my overall point is that students can find courses with different degrees of difficulty. And what is easy for some students is harder for others. Profs also vary in their pedagogy, grading practices, expectations, lengths and frequency of assignments, and so on.
Jmmom has extremely helpful tips. My S found study groups particularly helpful in math & science. He also learned to go to profs' office hours and email them when some assignment was unclear. He now wishes he'd done more of that when he was a freshman. The important things are: don't fall behind; don't be afraid to ask for help either from the prof or TA, or from support services such as writing and math centers, and bureaus of study skills, or your advisor.</p>
<p>Alchemy, years ago I went from a high school that I believed to be inferior to a very rigorous university.</p>
<p>A few suggestions based on my experience:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't take the hardest courseload possible your first semester. Give yourself time to adjust.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to include at least one course for which you are very well qualified in your first-semester schedule. For example, if you took AP Chemistry in high school and got less than a 5on the test, consider taking the college's introductory chemistry course (for which you would be well qualified) rather than moving on to organic chemistry, even if the college would have allowed you to move on to organic.</p></li>
<li><p>If the rules will allow you to take one course pass-fail, do so.</p></li>
<li><p>If there is a particular subject about which you are especially nervous, consider postponing it for a semester. Also, consider asking for permission to sit in on the class without enrolling in it (this will probably be allowed in a large lecture course but perhaps not in a small seminar), so that you can get an idea of just how difficult it is.</p></li>
<li><p>Find out everything you can about office hours, tutoring, writing centers, math centers, and extra help of every variety. And use these services!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you want to determine whether or not the course load will be challenging--go online and research teh course offerings in your feild of interest. Assume core courses, the bulk of your freshman year, will be fairly easy --IF you show up to class, do the reading and study for the tests. You can verify the degree of 'easy' by checking the core professors reviews on ratemyprofessors.com.</p>
<p>An astounding number of freshman skip too many classes, skip the reading and the studying. Then they find the course 'difficult'. Duh.</p>
<p>The real moments of 'challenge' comes in the upper years. 400 and 500 level courses will be more challenging and more exciting. You can check how many higher level courses are available in your major--and in your specific field of interest. The results of your search may surprise you. Again, you can check the difficulty of upper level courses by checking the professor teaching the course on ratemyprofessors.com. That site may have it's downsides but it does predict the tougher classes fairly well.</p>
<p>Challenge is a double edged sword at American unis. Many college students shy away from upper level courses and tough professors becuase they don't want to ruin their GPAs for grad schools. However, those challenging courses are most likely the ones that will broaden your intellect the furthest. It's a bit of a Catch-22.</p>
<p>My advice is to sieze the opportunity--take the challenging upper level courses with the tough professors. Chances are that you will be inspired to do your best work in those classes. Chances are you will be able to maintain a decent GPA even with a B or two, LOL. Assume there will be a grad school for you--somewhere.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>One of the greatest strengths of an LAC education is the accessibility of the professors and the support network. If they admitted you, they don't want you to fail either and will put a lot of effort into seeing that you succeed.</p>
<p>Rigorous in the sense of challenging and challenging in the sense of being outside your comfort level is a good thing. You're in college to learn for heaven's sake. Just be aware of the safety nets that your school will most likely offer. These include the writing center, study groups, remedial sessions, tutoring and most importantly easy access -- either by e-mail or in person -- to the professor. If you feel lost or that you are slipping behind, be sure to take advantage of the available resources.</p>
<p>Also, academic success is relative to your own expectations. If you need to get all A's, then yes, you're going to be highly stressed. B's are not difficult to achieve with reasonable effort.</p>
<p>PS, No one does ALL the reading. After a while you learn to manage.</p>
<p>Alchemy, if you are worried about coming from a high school that has not prepared you adequately to compete with kids from the top prep schools... I can assure you it will be o.k.</p>
<p>My daughter comes from a so-so public high school where she was easily able to pull A's even while slacking off most of the time. She also had relatively mediocre test scores -- with ~1200 level SATs we figured she'd have to work to keep up among all the kids with scores that were actually in range for her school when she managed to put herself onto an Ivy League campus. My d. did not follow Marian's excellent advice --instead she plunged right in and signed up for an advanced level psych course at Barnard and a 3000-level class at Columbia, on top of the required first year seminar. The Columbia course was the hardest, most challenging experience of her life -- she regularly attended the TA's office hours and found other students to study with to keep up...and she ended up with an A. Her first semester overall was a learning experience, partly just getting used to the higher expectations of college -- she learned that she had to put out a lot more effort in college level writing and exams. But her lowest grade was a B. Anyway, once she had a sense of what was expected and what she had to do, she found that she was competitive -- she finished off spring semester with straight A's.</p>
<p>I do think that the colleges know what they are doing with admissions. You will probably find that it takes extra effort at first -- don't be afraid to ask for help early on. But you are also going to find that once you get the hang of things, you are as competitive and capable as most of the other kids. In some ways I think that my public-school kid was at an advantage, because at least she is used to figuring out things on her own without a lot of hand-holding, and she knew from the start that she would have to be disciplined about her studies. She was not at all shy about meeting with profs to discuss areas of concern -- and she was careful to keep up with her reading and keep the social life in check for the first semester. </p>
<p>So don't worry... you'll do fine as long as you take a serious attitude toward your classes. You will also have time for fun -- but you just have to maintain a balance between school and social life that favors school.</p>
<p>There are multiple senses of the word "rigorous." Many people here are just using it to mean "hard" or "challenging". In math and in technical fields relying on math, it also means -- tending towards use of formal proofs in a systematic fashion. This is usually not relevant for the vast majority of kids even at the top universities. However for some subjects and for some grad schools it makes a big difference.</p>
<p>For example, even if you went to a top 10 school majored in econ and graduated with honors, if you took only the minimally required math courses and usually the less proof-based sections, your background would not be considered rigorous enough for the top Phd programs and would tend to get you rejected often by places in the top 30.</p>
<p>Rigor could also mean sheer difficulty and grading style.</p>
<p>A professor whose tests pretty closely mirror the lectures and homework is not going to challenge students as much as one who asks questions that go beyond a simple replication of what's already been worked out.</p>
<p>Also the pace at which the material is covered is relevant.</p>
<p>And programs with a much higher minimum level of difficulty and course requirements are usually IMHO more rigorous than those that let you pick and choose. </p>
<p>Less rigorous is not necessarily worse. If you want to be a poet, it doesn't matter if you don't take linear algebra in a math sequence. But to my mind, any math sequence that doesn't require linear algebra in a proof-based fashion is less rigorous.</p>
<p>Similarly a physics course that's just based on "crank the formula" is less rigorous than one with many conceptual problems requiring you to derive the formula.</p>
<p>marite said:</p>
<p>for what it's worth, the 2005 USN&WR ranks UCB's math department #2, jointly with Harvard, Princeton, & Stanford, and Caltech at 8 (below Yale!).
I am of the opinion that such a difference in rankings is meaningless. But by the same token, UCB has to be as "rigorous" as Caltech. It's a matter of students finding and being admitted to the right courses. That's why I think that the idea of a "rigorous curriculum" a bit baffling</p>
<p>This may be sidetracking matters but marite's equation of faculty quality with program rigor is misleading. Departments are ranked mostly by the quality of their research faculty and often by the total quality not necessarily the average (so larger departments get a boost vs small departments with high average quality). However, top researchers do not guarantee that the program itself -- what courses are required and how they are taught -- is rigorous. Indeed, in many cases top profs don't teach the undergrads at all. Similarly, a school with profs who don't produce as much top research -- like Harvey Mudd -- might have a curriculum that's much more rigorous (in the sense of both challenging and mathematically rigorous) than many top departments whose professors clearly sit higher on the academic totem pole.</p>
<p>That doesn't make it necessary to succeed of course.</p>
<p>But I think most math profs at Berkeley would agree that a program like Berkeley's with a more diverse set of math courses is in fact less rigorous than a program like Caltech's. But they would also agree that a well-motivated individual could do just as well or possibly better at Cal.</p>
<p>I still don't understand the meaning of "rigorous curriculum" as opposed to a more challenging set of courses chosen by a student.<br>
Again, since I'm more familiar with Harvard's math curriculum, thanks to my S, I'll use an example drawn from its offerings. A prospective math major could start with Math 21a &b (MV-Calc and LA) which is plug & chug, and has sections for majors in different fields (econ, bio, physics). If that is so, the student will probably need to take a proof-writing course. More likely, though, s/he will start with Math 23a&b (not proof-based), or Math 25a&b (introduces proof) or Math 55a&b (assumes familiarity with proofs). Students who've done Math 55a&b will be equipped to take grad courses starting in their sophomore year. Those who've taken non-proof-based courses will take the undergraduate version of those courses and should be able to fulfill their field requirements without taking a grad course. Does this make the Harvard math curriculum more or less rigorous? Doesn't it depend on which set of courses a
Now, there are many colleges that have lower expectations of their students than others. It is not unknown at some colleges that in the humanities and social sciences, students could be assigned 1,000 pages of reading per week. I was told by a friend who was hired to teach a course at a lesser-known college not to assign more than 25 pages of reading per week. But that college is not among the top 30, which is the category of schools the OP was wondering about.</p>
<p>Regarding rankings of departments:
S did not know much about faculty quality when he visited Brown. But he got a sense of the range of interests of the faculty and the type of courses that were being offered. He found that the Brown math department was much stronger in applied math than in pure math, that its physics department was heavily titled toward experimental physics than theoretical physics. In fact, the chair of the Physics department advised him to apply to Harvard, given his interests in pure math and theoretical physics. It was a bit of a disappointment since in every other respects, S loved Brown. But this doesn't say anything about rigor.</p>
<p>Having checked prior posts, this kid is not talking about CalTech or higher level math courses.</p>
<p>First, remember that if the school accepted you, it thinks you can do the work. The odds are 99.0% that it is right. </p>
<p>Second, instead of worrying, do a few proactive things this summer. If you don't have much experience writing papers, head to your library or bookstore and pick up somthing like Strunk & White--think those are the authors? There's also an agreed upon system of citation/footnoting for humanities courses--I'm not an academic, but if your college uses it, it's probably posted somewhere, maybe on the English department's website. Get a copy of the rules, sit down and try to understand them. You don't want to start reading and trying to understand them the night before your first paper is due.<br>
A "style sheet" is handed out by some profs at the beginning of the course. But you'll be in class with folks who have been following these rules for years, and you may not have. It takes time to read and understand them. </p>
<p>I went to a mediocre high school where I wrote one term paper a year to a college where I wrote more the first month than I had in high school. While I had learned how to research term papers, I didn't know how to use citations in short essays. For example, if asked to write an essay contrasting the views of two philosophers, I didn't say in X book philosopher Jones said this and footnote it with a reference to the third edition of his work at p. X. I had never been expected to do that in high school. I named the particular book, so my first paper earned a C. Folks who didn't do that much earned a D. Prof told me my thoughts were great--but I didn't follow the rules. If a prof didn't agree with my interpretation of what the philospher meant, he had to go back to the actual words which I was interpreting to see if there was some basis for my interpretation. He wasn't going to sit there with a book and reread it to try to find the part I was referring to. </p>
<p>How is your vocabulary? I'm serious. Studies have shown that the majority of kids who TRY in college but struggle have deficient vocabularies. You read the text and you don't know half the words in the book. So if you are worried about it, doing a little brushing up. Get one of those build your vocabulary books. And in the fall, when school starts, it might help to keep a little notebook. When you come across a word you don't know, look it up then or later when you have time. Write out the meaning or do whatever will help you remember. Fields tend to use the same vocabulary over and over. Look it up in the beginning and you'll save yourself a lot of time in the long run. </p>
<p>How quickly do you read? How's your reading comprehension? You probably took the SAT or ACT. Did you do okay on the reading portions? If not, do something about it now. </p>
<p>When you start college, keep up and go to class. That may sound obvious, but freshman year can be so exciting and there are so many wonderful things to do and there's always a group to hang out with. Let things slide the first few weeks and you will soon find yourself in a bind. You are facing three midterms in the same week and you have 3,000 pages of reading to do in a week. </p>
<p>Finally, if you need help, ASK for it and do it soon. The day before a paper is due is not the time to contact the prof and ask him whether what you plan to do is what he has in mind for the assignment. The day before an econ exam is not the time to ask the prof to explain the concept of inferior goods because you really don't understand it. If your college provides writing tutors, take a draft of your first paper in well before the due date and run it by the tutor. </p>
<p>You'll be fine!</p>
<p>My alma mater, supposedly with a "rigorous curriculum" (and the "number one LAC") was substantially easier than my high school. I was close to top of my class there; I was 115th at my high school. There was much less work, too.</p>
<p>I think reading is one of my strengths. I read quickly and retain info well. I didn't take the SAT(I'm from the Midwest, after all) but my ACT reading score was a respectable 32. My writing abilities worry me more than anything. It's an art form that I don't understand. I understand all the underlying mechanics, the parts of speech, and proper syntax. But that understanding fails me in practice. Things like cadence, and style don't register with me. If writing has a rhythm like music, I'm completely deaf. </p>
<p>A friend of mine has tried teaching me the difference between and good and bad writing. I get it. One's clear and concise, the other's verbose and confusing. My understanding of what makes good prose ends there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My alma mater, supposedly with a "rigorous curriculum" (and the "number one LAC") was substantially easier than my high school. I was close to top of my class there; I was 115th at my high school. There was much less work, too.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I wish my school was that great. But I doubt any college could be easier than my high school. We did coloring assignments in biology, crosswords puzzles in sociology and word searches and English. It was daycare.</p>
<p>Alchemy - your writing here is clear and concise. Not only that, the rhythm of your writing is fine - better than fine. Take a look at this passage by you:
[quote]
I understand all the underlying mechanics, the parts of speech, and proper syntax. But that understanding fails me in practice. Things like cadence, and style don't register with me. If writing has a rhythm like music, I'm completely deaf.
[/quote]
I like it. It flows. And it is creative. Don't be too hard on yourself. I think your understanding of good prose is better than you think. Anyway, once you're at your new school, look around/ask around about profs who are really good at teaching writing. Take one of their classes. </p>
<p>I think your high school was "beneath" you; so I understand your worry. But I think you will find that you do fine if you follow the tips given by myself, Marian, cheers and jonri.</p>
<p>Make sure you come back and tell us how it goes.</p>
<p>Alchemy:</p>
<p>I agree with jmmom that your writing looks fine.</p>
<p>Different kinds of writing are required for different fields. Ciceronian cadences would not be effective in advertising. Hemingway's style would not work in a paper on, say, international trade. An English prof would be more impressed with a paper that had cadence and rhythm than a prof of history who would prefer a well-organized and well-presented argument buttressed by evidence. Many college websites have writing guides. Some that I have seen linked to are from Purdue and Cornell. I have also seen commercially available guides to writing in History. Does your college have a freshman English course? This is where you would get help with your writing. Make the most of the resources available in that class. Submit preliminary drafts, ask for feedback, go to the prof's office hours, proofread carefully. Read your paper aloud. Sometimes, it helps to do so to find out that a sentence is too convoluted or unclear. Or ask someone else to read it and give you their reaction to what you wrote.
Hope this helps (and sorry, again, for the detour into math!)</p>
<p>I didn't comment on your writing because , based on your posts, I didn't think it was an issue. You'll be fine.</p>
<p>Virtually all decent colleges have writing centers, writing tutors, and writing assistance. (If they don't, they should.)</p>
<p>My d's college, where self-assessment among students of the COHFE schools (Ivies, top LACs, etc.) says they think they have the highest writing ability of any school in the country, has a very, very extensive writing center and program, complete with its own professional faculty. <a href="http://www.smith.edu/jacobsoncenter/writingcounseling.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/jacobsoncenter/writingcounseling.html</a></p>