<p>Now we've talked about Smith being flexible with giving students the option of pursuing distribution requirements or not, and their merits either way, and how distribution requirements are necessary for Latin Honors. We've had lots of discussion about what GPA it takes to be recognized for Latin Honors, so I'm not interested in that topic either. I just want to know if there are any statistics (on the website?) on the percentage of Smith students who actually fulfill the distribution requirements, despite their not being required for graduation.</p>
<p>According to the published catalogue, approximately 25%.</p>
<p>Thanks. I was curious.</p>
<p>That’s interesting: what it says to me is that not many students fulfill the distribution requirements unless they <em>are</em> going for Latin Honors (20 percent through cum laude).</p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, it seems that most people have a decent idea of whether or not they have the grades to possibly get Latin Honors, and when it comes down to “I have 2 classes left for Latin Honors” base the decision off of that.</p>
<p>Also, there are people who set out to fulfill them from day one (or have advisors push them) and there are people in the “NO WAY am I taking a _____ class”</p>
<p>Do advisors really “push” students to fulfull distrib reqs, or do they suggest that students keep their options open, in case they decide to “go” for Latin Honors?</p>
<p>It depends on the advisor. Some advisors are very intense and will refuse to sign off on course schedules or other paperwork unless the student goes along with whatever the advisor thinks best. Some advisors will offer suggestions, but then abide by the student’s decision. Some advisors will just sign any old thing you put in front of them and let you just run the show completely.</p>
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<p>According to Ms. Doherty they do. I’ve heard the same sentiment from numerous others.</p>
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<p>[Latin</a> Honors, it’s not for everyone - Opinions](<a href=“http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2009/10/29/Opinions/Latin.Honors.Its.Not.For.Everyone-3816256.shtml]Latin”>http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2009/10/29/Opinions/Latin.Honors.Its.Not.For.Everyone-3816256.shtml)</p>
<p>I don’t know. I can say that in my experience and in the experience of the Smithies that I know, it was not pushed on us. Those of us that wanted to pursue it did so. Those that didn’t, did not.</p>
<p>I would have a problem with advisor not signing off on a schedule without good and sufficient reason, more than just the advisor wants the student to take distribution requirements. If an advisor tried that my D, I think my D would have been having a frank and comradely talk with the advisor and his/her superior, up the line as far as necessary.</p>
<p>I’ve got to say, the multi-layered advising and counseling is one of the great things about Smith.</p>
<p>Well, i’ve known people whose advisors would not sign off on things for one reason or another. Usually the answer is just to get a different advisor.</p>
<p>I think, as S&P says, it depends. My advisor will sign anything, the choices are mine alone. My best friend’s advisor suggestions latin honors, or creative ways to fulfill them. My gf’s advisor, however, has been INSISTENT upon her doing Latin Honors. She brought him a schedule she wanted to do(she wants to double major) and he was like “I’m not giving you your REG code until you attempt to find a class to fill X requirement” But, there is a bit of a pressure (whether from other Smithies, internal, or from advisors) to do Latin Honors.</p>
<p>Given this discussion, getting the right adviser seems far more important than particular professors or even housing. I had not known they could refuse a students plan of action/course schedule. I am all for challenging students, but a refusal? What a power trip.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of a source for adviser ratings or do I trust in my D’s ability to navigate past the bullies?</p>
<p>Sometimes, the refusal is for the best. One of my friends, for example, wanted to sign up for six classes for next semester. This semester, she’s taking the standard four and sleeps very little as it is because she hasn’t quite figured out how to manage her time. Her adviser, realizing this and fearing for her health and sanity, refused to give her the registration code until she promised to whittle it down to four classes.</p>
<p>Other than health reasons, though, I think advisers here are generally pretty good at understanding their boundaries.</p>
<p>@brie – This should really be something your daughter should be responsible for. This is all part of her taking charge of her own education. If she needs help, I"m sure she’ll ask. </p>
<p>And anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it. Unless things have changed since I was a first-year, first years are assigned an advisor based on their list of potential academic interests. Once you declare a major, you get to pick an advisor in your major department, and most people pick a professor that they’ve had classes with and like, someone they know pretty well, and/or someone who has advised someone they know. </p>
<p>For the very first advisor, if she gets a real dud, she can always do what I did and declare her major early. I put down as one of my interests something that I by no means something I was all that interested in and I got, yes, a prof from that discipline as my first advisor. She was great, but I quickly developed a strong interest in Government and that was just not her specialty, she couldn’t advise me what to take. So she suggested that I declare early because it’s just a matter of filling out some paperwork and you can change your major as often as you want, so if I decided later I wanted to major in something else, that would be no problem. I picked Government and asked the one government professor who had taught me to be my advisor. He ended up staying my advisor all four years and I never switched majors. </p>
<p>He was one of the “sign whatever you put in front of me” types though, and I often wished I had a prof who was a little more involved. He never obstructed me, which was good, because I always had a very definite plan for what I wanted to do. But he also never really took a deep interest either. We were cordial and he did whatever I asked of him (wrote recommendations, whatever), but we were not close and I felt like, had I not been so self directed, I might have been a little lost. </p>
<p>Some students really need advisors to push them outside of their comfort zone, or to keep them from overdoing it. Students like to think they always know best, but an advisor’s job is to help them see the big picture, and encourage them to think about things they might otherwise not want to. Remember that most students do not discuss their course schedule with their parents in advance, they’re just doing what they think is best and what appeals to them, so the advisors try to temper that a little.</p>
<p>Phanatic’s example is why an advisor saying “No!” is sometimes helpful. S&P’s is why an advisor is who is too compliant isn’t good. Like a well-paid fortune teller, you want a happy medium. </p>
<p>I will say that D’s informal advisors were at least as influential as her formal one in terms of course selection, etc. I think she picked up several whose opinions she really respected and who took the interest in her.</p>
<p>D’s first advisor (Stride prof) was very demanding. He boosted up all her chosen second semester classes to a higher level, telling her that she wasn’t pushing herself enough, and despite the fact that she still wasn’t completely confident in written English. In retrospect, he was absolutely right and she did fine.
Her major advisor was the absolute opposite, and never questioned her choices. But very supportive and going out of his way to get her into classes which were already full or reserved for upper level students (i.e. sign language). Apart from her first and last semester, she never took less than 22 credits, and he seemed fine with that.
On the other hand, when she tried to create her own minor, the Dean refused. One of her friends had the same problem with a major and they came to the conclusion that the admin is far less open and liberal than they advertize on their website: they much prefer their students to stay within the given curriculum.</p>
<p>My D’s first year advisor was very hands-off; she was one of those “I’ll sign anything” types. Her major advisor told her every semester that she had too demanding of a schedule and advised against it. My daughter insisted, got good grades, and then went through the same thing the following semester. Because my daughter was in an interdisciplinary major, she got wrong advice from her major advisor, time after time. (Who ever heard of a neuroscience major being advised AGAINST taking Calculus? I can only surmise that a psychology-based one doesn’t need it.) I’m obviously very critical of the advising my D got. She should have switched advisors but is the type not to want to hurt someone’s feelings.</p>
<p>I’m shocked that only 25% complete Latin Honors requirements. That means that almost everyone who completes them gets Latin Honors.</p>
<p>I would agree with the general consensus and add that especially if you’re doing a lot (i.e. major, minor + study abroad or the like), your advisors can and should be key.</p>
<p>My pre-major advisor was the “sign anything” kind, which was fine considering I didn’t really need her help but it still would have been nice to hear some opinions from her. It was her first time having advisees, though.</p>
<p>My major and minor advisor are actually the same person, as it worked out, which is good for me because I need someone who knows all the requirements for the gazillion things I want to do (major, minor, study abroad, intern in D.C. and get my teaching license), so for me it’s immensely helpful just to have someone who knows what I have to do to get to where I want to be.</p>