<p>I heard that Brown University has an open curriculum, without required introduction courses, along with a couple other universities like Amherst. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for getting into grad school? What are the pros and cons of open curriculum?</p>
<p>Pros:
Free to take any class you are interested in
Best for people who know how to organize what they want to do
If you organize your schedule right, it can look very good for graduate schools
You can test out all of your interests
You can avoid classes that are not at all for you
Teaches you how to be more independent</p>
<p>Cons:
Bad if you are bad at organization
Easy to mess up your schedule and look bad for graduate schools</p>
<p>Overall, it is a great system</p>
<p>This post runs a bit long, but I think deferring to modestmelody here is the appropriate move before I make any comments: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/4606975-post1.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/4606975-post1.html</a></p>
<p>I am not and will never be the number 1 supporter of the Open Curriculum. I believe that it’s well intentioned, and I couldn’t pursue this program of mine elsewhere (not even at other schools with an open curriculum, like Grinnell). More often than not, though, I’ve seen my classmates abuse the S/NC option rather than use it to explore (that is, they’ll do the minimal amount of work required to pass rather than try to learn the material as best they can). Not everyone is like this, and just because your classmates do so doesn’t mean you have to. A few days ago, I recall several posters on this board mentioned that they work just as hard in an S/NC course as in one taken for a grade. It may be that I’ve been stuck viewing a non-representative cross-section of Brown. Regardless, I don’t trust myself to not misuse S/NC, so I have not and do not plan to take a course S/NC in my time at Brown.</p>
<p>Not having any requirements or distribution requirements at all is detrimental to some people. It’s just as easy to get lost searching as it is to gain from exploration. On the one hand, I know many people who found their field of interest through exploration. On the other, I know people who had no idea what they wanted to do come the time to choose concentrations, in part because they pursued a field in depth and then realized it wasn’t for them. 32 courses (or even 40 if you take 5 a term) are probably not going to be enough to test out all of your interests. The choices can become infuriating. It’s quite easy to not give yourself a wide enough background, since it’s hard to resist the temptation to take things you’re comfortable with.</p>
<p>The Open Curriculum is right for a certain sort of mind (and seems to be focused more on academic inquiry than grad school prep, though I see nothing suggesting it’s harmful to grad school), but horribly wrong for others. This article was published in the Brown Daily Herald my freshman year - [The</a> Brown Daily Herald - Your Brown transcript, off College Hill](<a href=“http://www.browndailyherald.com/your-brown-transcript-off-college-hill-1.1722969]The”>http://www.browndailyherald.com/your-brown-transcript-off-college-hill-1.1722969). It’s a good read and provides a few different perspectives, including from a graduate admissions rep from Yale. There are links to 3 other articles on the Daily Herald there, too. This editorial struck me this spring and is also another perspective: [The</a> Brown Daily Herald - Kshitij Lauria '13: (Ab)using the Open Curriculum](<a href=“http://www.browndailyherald.com/k****ij-lauria-13-ab-using-the-open-curriculum-1.2188313]The”>http://www.browndailyherald.com/k****ij-lauria-13-ab-using-the-open-curriculum-1.2188313).</p>
<p>Hopefully this is helpful; I’m more than glad to speak of my own personal experiences with anyone interested; feel free to send me a PM and I’ll try to respond as quickly as possible.</p>