<p>Don’t feel like you have to take a first-year seminar just for the principle of the thing. I’ve talked to quite a few people who regret filling one of their precious few spots for courses at Brown with a random first-year seminar they took for the heck of it. Obviously, you should definitely take one if you’re actually interested in it, though.</p>
<p>And bdude, not all math classes are large. The section of Math 18 I was in had fewer than 20 people.</p>
<p>RoyalFlush, I’ll put in a good word for Biotechnology in Medicine. I haven’t taken the class, but I’m in another course taught by Zielinski (Biomaterials), and she’s a great professor. Very engaging, animated lectures.</p>
<p>While the size of math classes does vary (my pure math ones have both been between 20 and 30, though APMA1650 was about 135), it’s a very different atmosphere because they’re primarily, if not exclusively, lecture-driven, making them very different from other small courses. I personally find it best to have a mixture of classes with respect to how they grade…I would not want to have all of my classes be those where 85% of my grade is based on 3 exams, but I also would not want them all to be those where 50% of my grade is based on participation.</p>
<p>I’d be shocked if anyone has an answer to this question, but I recently reworked my schedule to read:
1- PHIL 0700 - Philosophy of Religion
2- TAPS 0030 - Introduction to Acting and Directing
3- HIST 0970M - World of Walden Pond: Transcendentalism as a Social and Intellectual Movement-FYS
4- TAPS 0310 - Beginning Modern Dance</p>
<p>The site says that enrollment in acting/directing is done by interview, and that they will schedule you for the fall and spring. Does anyone know how hard it is to get scheduled into this class, and how all that works?</p>
<p>^I took Intro to Acting/Directing last semester so I can help! There is NO interview! All you do is go to the Theatre Arts concentration meeting in Stuart Theatre at the very beginning of the semester (you’ll hear about it when you get to campus). There, you get a form that you fill out and give back (indicating which semester you prefer to take the class and at which time of day–morning or afternoon). You go to the section that you most want to attend for like the first few class periods before Connie (the person in charge of organizing the two sections and one of the profs) makes the final class list. Last semester, only a few people had to wait until spring semester to take the course and only a few people had to switch sections. Other than that, everyone got into the class. And even if you have to wait until next semester, you are guarenteed to get in. It’s nice because it’s very easy to get a spot because it’s freshmen only so I really wouldn’t be concerned at all about it! Have fuuun!!!</p>
<p>MATH0170: Advanced Placement Calculus
NEUR0100: Introduction to Neuroscience
ECON0110: Principles of Economics
LITR0170: Writers on Writing FYS (there are two sections offered, one with Joanna Howard and the other with Annette Gladman…any recommendations?)/LITR0110: Fiction I/CLAS1120: The Idea of Self (I hear Pucci is AMAZING)</p>
<p>Not too overbearing a first semester, right?</p>
<p>My friend took The Idea of the Self freshman fall. Several essays, a decent amount of reading. Pucci is nice; I haven’t had him for a teacher, but I’ve heard he’s laid back (his idea of participation is apparently being engaged rather than how much you say). As I’ve said in other places, intro to Neuro is memorization intensive, and that math course has the potential to steal all of your time, depending on what the teacher wants to do.</p>
<p>Ambitions Mind: Thank you! It’s good to hear that I will be able to get into that class, because I was really worried!
Do you think that two theater courses is too much? I thought it would probably be okay because one is acting and the other is dance, but I would love to hear other opinions on that.
Also, I am a singer, and I would really like to do chorus. On the course selection page it says that it is by audition. Does anyone know if it is extremely competitive or how the audition works? Also, does chorus make it more difficult to do theater or a capella groups?</p>
<p>Uroogla, thanks so much for all your help! The thorough response you gave really exemplified the vibe I got at Brown of community and kindness that made me choose the school. Good call on the writing designation on Introduction to Cognitive Science which has helped me cross it off my list because I was looking for more of a biology-based analysis of the brain. Thecomisar, Biotechnology in Medicine is definitely growing on me and I think it’s a guaranteed in my final four after your positive comments about the professor.</p>
<p>In response to some of your remarks Uroogla, I just wanted to add a little background information in hope you could give me one last bit of advice. The introductory Russian course you advised against and I originally planned to take is a bit out of context. I was born in Belarus (USSR at the time) and not only was Russian my first language, I am fluent in it and can read it decently. I came to the States when I was less than a year old so although my speaking skills are fairly strong, my grammar is non-existent since I had no educational training in the language. My intention was to take introductory Russian as a review of the basics, but I believe this would be superfluous and probably a higher level course would be more fitting if I reviewed on my own a little over the summer. Do you think intermediate Russian would be a bit less of a time commitment, especially considering my background in the subject?</p>
<p>Lastly, although your advice to take Intro to Econ S/NC is undoubtedly well-intentioned, I intend to be an Applied Math & Economics concentrator so taking that course Pass/Fail is strongly advised against. I may just take it in the spring because I plan to take a math course this fall but simply left it off because I am not sure of placement. Finally, how can you tell by looking at the course description whether a class is a two-semester course with a corresponding class in the spring (like most of the math classes) or just a class taken in and of itself like Biotech in Medicine?</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your help everyone. Hope I will be meeting some of you in person this upcoming school year!</p>
<p>Intermediate Russian would be less time (I think it’s only 5 hours a week, but I don’t quite have the time to check to be sure). It would be best to speak with the department, but I would be unsurprised if that’s the appropriate level for your unique circumstances, since it would undoubtedly have a grammar review throughout the term. Another possibility would be to purchase the introduction Russian textbook and go through it beforehand; unlike your peers, who might forget what they’ve learned with a year off, you would likely not be hurt if you take Russian after a semester or even a year “off” while going through the grammar in a book. I think either approach, intermediate or getting a textbook, would be appropriate, though you might struggle more than you’d like in writing assignments in the former approach, depending on the problems you have grammatically. Taking a placement exam, assuming one is offered, and speaking with someone in the department would likely ensure optimal placement.</p>
<p>If it’s related to your concentration, by all means take it for a grade. If you were, on the other hand, considering pre-med and wished to take the course just for a simple background in the area, then S/NC would be something to consider after taking the class for a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean about corresponding classes in the spring. Do you mean like Math 54, which is offered both in the fall and the spring, or like math 9/math 10, where 10 is the logical course to take after 9? If so, the physical course of study book has that information, and you could likely tell by looking at Mocha, which would have this term’s courses and next fall’s courses. If you have a question about any particular course with respect to this, I’d gladly answer (and even more gladly once my finals are over).</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck, and feel free to contact me if you have any further questions!</p>
<p>Hannah, I took both Intro to Acting and Beginning Modern Dance last semester (along with another one of my closest friends)–taking both classes at the same time is definitely not “too much”. Seriously, if you enjoy them, you’ll be fine. Besides, acting only has a few written assignments and a few monologue preparation—then again, the syllabus changes from year to year. Modern Dance has practically no assignments—just 2 journal entries for written work (including dance articles) and two final dance compositions (one of which is choreographed by the instructor…the other you and a small group make up); it’s loads of fun!</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the chorus auditions. Just audition and try your best. And being in chorus and being in a cappella (and doing theatre) will not matter; I know people who do it all very easily.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, Ambitious!! I am so excited to go to Brown, I just can not stop coming up with different ideas and new questions, and you have helped me so much! Thanks again!!!</p>
<p>Could someone provide some insight into the Swedish Program at Brown? I’ve read a little about it here and there, but there seems to be no official departmental endorsement other than on the German Studies home page that has one sentence describing the program, just to let you know it exists. The reason I ask is because I’m thinking about Comparative Lit, and I wanted to study a language that was off the beaten path and has a truly exceptional literary heritage.</p>
<p>The other courses I was thinking about taking were:</p>
<p>COLT 1210 - Introduction to the Theory of Literature
POBS 0610 - Mapping Portuguese-Speaking Cultures: Brazil (3rd Yr Portuguese)
MATH 1060 - Differential Geometry
CLPS 1800 - Language Processing</p>
<p>I feel like this selection is a little 2-D, namely focusing on language and literature. I am totally open to suggestions! I’d like to try something far afield of my intended concentrations (Math and Comparative Lit). If it’s relevant I’m a sophomore transfer, if that has any bearing on course selection besides concentration requirements. Fire away!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Swedish doesn’t advance far enough to be relevant to the Comparative Lit program. No Swedish course appears to be offered next fall, and there’s only 1 teacher in total. It appears that this term, 400 was offered, but 300 was not last fall. If you were to e-mail the professor, something might be arranged, but there doesn’t seem to be a particular desire among students to learn Swedish.</p>
<p>What part of mathematics interests you? There are always fields like the sciences/computer science/econ to try, or as far off as history (or art history). As you are a transfer, I don’t know what you’ve completed for which Brown will grant you credit. By the end of the year you’ll have to declare at least one concentration, but you won’t need to declare both. It might be worth counting up the remaining requirements in your two intended concentrations and comparing with the number of courses you have left to take in 3 years to get a sense of what number of electives you’ll have and if they’re enough for you. If not, you might consider completing one concentration and the majority of the courses for the other.</p>
<p>Dang, that’s too bad. But thanks for doing the research, Uroogla! </p>
<p>Since both math and comparative lit are fairly light concentrations once prereqs are out of the way, I actually have a surprising amount of lee-way in my course selection. Are there any particularly good classes or departments I should know about? I was thinking about trying out a class in the theatre department, but at the same time was contemplating courses in Earth Science. ARGH there are just so many to choose from!</p>
<p>Re: CLPS1800 Language Processing. Be aware! Should be a good class, but the CogSci/Linguistics department often assumes a certain background in upper-level courses, even if there are no formal prerequisites listed. I haven’t actually seen this class before, but I’d expect that you would want some exposure to linguistic theory if you don’t have it already. Definitely shop the class, check out the syllabus, and talk to the professor, but just a heads up that this course might be relatively technical and theory-heavy.</p>
<p>IdreamofEA190: Just go to whichever theatre classes interests you! I took three theatre classes this year (shopped playwriting, but dropped it) and loved all of them. My favorite has been Beginning Modern Dance because it’s just a fun and energetic class that gets you moving and in-tune with your body. Plus you become really close with the people in your class. Even if you don’t talk to everyone, you’ll still acknowledge each other on the streets and such. Furthermore, your education is really in your hands and you pretty much have so much freedom in that class—you basically take what you learned and in small groups choreograph some pretty neat dances at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>I would also take Intro to Acting/Directing. It’s a great way to get to know some of your fellow freshmen actors! If you’re interested in persuing the theatre concentration, it also wouldn’t hurt to take Intro to Tech Theatre freshmen year as well; you totally don’t have to, but it’s certainly a class I wish I got out of the way. Shop a few playwriting courses also (check them out in the theatre arts dept, africana studies has a few, and the literary arts dept). If you’re interested, you could also take a theatre history class–a lot of reading, but I’m sure interesting stuff!</p>
<p>Just shop around and check out whatever interests you!</p>
<p>@ thefunnything:
Thanks for the heads-up! I have a good deal of linguistic theory background (it was my original major), but I have no idea if my former school’s and Brown’s systems are at all congruent in terms of progression courses. I will definitely look into it when I get there.</p>
<p>@ Ambitiousmind07:
Can sophomore transfers get into Intro to acting/directing? I thought it was a freshman only class.</p>
<p>Ah, I didn’t know you were a sophomore transfer. Then you are correct; Intro to acting/directing is freshmen only. In that case, definitely sign up to take Acting in the fall with Lowry Marshall or you can take it in the spring with Kym Moore! Both are fantastic instructors and you’ll definitely learn a lot!</p>
<p>MATH0200- Intermediate Calculus
NEUR0010- The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience
PHIL0120- Freedom and Responsibility
PHYS0110- Excursion to Biophysics</p>