<p>I have two kids considering Cornell College in Iowa which has a OCAAT program. As the final decisions are being made, I'm looking for input, good or bad, from people who might have had first hand experience or a family member who attended either Cornell College or Colorado College. I'm not sure if any other schools around the U.S. have a OCAAT program.</p>
<p>D is a potential Music or Theater Major and S is a likely Pre-med (Biology) major.</p>
<p>Kids either really like it or intensely dislike it. I’ve known kids who went to both schools and who absolutely adored this – particularly for hard classes where it really helped to be able to simply focus on the material for a single class, intensely. Some classes (geology, archeology) use the system as a way to integrate a fair amount of fieldwork into the course that would be harder to do in a regular semester setting.</p>
<p>I believe CC has modified the program somewhat so that language students (for example, not sure it is limited to that) can take a language course stretching across several blocks in addition to their block course.</p>
<p>Overall it seems to be a lot like summer school – great intensity, but over pretty quickly. I’ve heard that kids taking lab science really, really like the approach – O Chem is a lot more manageable when it is the only thing you’re doing for the block.</p>
<p>Sounds cool in that you could focus on just one class, but it kind of kills customization of your schedule. For instance, if a normal load is 4x4 credit classes, or 5x3 credit classes, but someone wants to be a little more intensive, they can throw one more class on and still be fine. Or if they need a break and want to take it easy for a semester, they can knock a class off. Can’t really do either with 1 class at a time.</p>
<p>I actually heard of some other place that does this, but it was some sort of specialized college (by which they only taught in one field… I think it was business but don’t remember).</p>
<p>I would be so bored with taking one class at a time.</p>
<p>Last quarter, I took five classes. Three at a local community college. Two graduate courses at a university. And then proceeded to work 7 days a week at my day job.</p>
<p>I believe they have 9 “Blocks” in a school year. Each block has 3 1/2 weeks of school then a final exam. After each Block, the students get a 4 1/2 day break until the start of the next Block. With 9 Blocks in a year, most students graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>I believe the students have class from 9am until 11am and then again from 1pm until 3pm. Doesn’t seem like a bad schedule but I’ve heard the school loses a fair number of kids in the first couple years due to them not like the program. I don’t know where to find the numbers to know for sure.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion – by CC I meant Colorado College.</p>
<p>One other thing I’ve heard from students who’ve attended either school – the intense block means that you really get to know your professor, and your professor really gets to know you. Apparently that leads to quicker research opportunities and much more in-depth letters of recommendation.</p>