Questions about the Freshman Seminar

<p>Hi, I’m new here and I’ve learned a lot from the discussion here.</p>

<p>I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Freshman seminar. But I had hard time understanding how it works. Here are my questions:</p>

<li>How many seminars can a freshman attend provided he or she can get in?</li>
<li>I’ve heard that the space is limited, how do they decide who gets in, is it first come first serve? Is it necessary to contact the professor first?</li>
<li>Do kids usually choose seminars in his or her intended concentration or entirely different just to explore and broden their view?</li>
</ol>

<p>You can do a maximum of two freshman seminars, one each semester freshman year. They release this book that lists all of the seminars, and then you can apply to as many as you want that interest you (you apply for fall seminars at the beginning of the year and spring seminars during winter break I think, so there are two separate application processes). Space is limited because it keeps the seminars intimate, which is great. You fill out an application about why you want whichever seminars you want, and then you rank them. The professors or whoever teaches the seminar then reads all of the application and, based on strength of application and how badly the student wants that seminar, chooses who they want to be in it. Some seminars have interviews, some just online apps, it all depends. I emailed the professors of my #1 and #2 ranked seminars just to check in and let them know my interest, but it's unnecessary. Most professors choose people who rank the seminar #1, since they want people who are interested, so it's rare to find people who get into their #2 seminar unless its unpopular. I got my #1 ranked seminar fall semester. Some are more popular than others, and after the professors have chosen who they want, Harvard sends out a list of seminars with open spots that people can apply to if they didn't get any and still want to take one.</p>

<p>You can do whatever you want for your seminar subject--some of them have prerequisite-type deals I think, but I think they're pretty open for exploration. I'm an English type person, and I happened to take an English/History based seminar, but I know English people who have taken government-type seminars or science ones. It all depends on what you're interested in. You can certainly take one that has no relevance to your intended concentration, though! Hope this helps--seminars are a great way to have an intimate learning environment and also become close with a dozen or so other freshmen.</p>

<p>I'll add that seminars are great because they are Pass/Fail, which eases the stress a bit the first year.</p>

<p>Many freshmen take a seminar one semester and Expos (required) the other semester.</p>

<p>Thanks, harvard1636 for your explanation. Very helpful. Looks like it is not that difficult to get in desired seminars.</p>

<p>Twinmom, thank you for your additional comment on the grading method and Expos. Good suggestions.</p>

<p>Actually, it can be a bit tricky to get into desired seminars. As harvard1636 said, it's difficult to be picked for your 2nd or 3rd choice. If there are many requests for your first choice, you may not get in. Sometimes, however, a student can speak to the professor and an exception is made, though they like to keep the classes to about twelve. </p>

<p>My daughter's freshman seminar was one of her favorite classes.</p>