Our daughter is considering Scripps. She loves everything about it, except the socratic discussion aspect.
She will speak in class when she has to, and she is okay with giving presentations and doing socratics from time to time, but she feels it will stress her out to have to participate all the time. I understand because I was like that… Since she loved it aside from this one issue, I wonder if it’s worth another look. I wonder if she will gain confidence in that setting. Are profs understanding of students like her or would it be too intimidating? Would it adversely affect her grades?
She is also not the type to get chummy with teachers, unless she has a specific question. To give you an idea, when she heard that students lunch with profs, her reaction was… why??
She is a very strong student, so it would be a good match academically.
I am a current student at Scripps who feels the same way as your daughter! Participation does count for part of your grade in some courses (mostly humanities courses). I’ve spoken to teachers in private about how uncomfortable I was speaking in class and for the most part they are understanding, but this won’t exempt you from needing to participate. The Core classes in particular are all very discussion oriented, and my teachers took count of how many times I spoke each class and this was factored into my grade. However, when speaking in class I find everyone very encouraging, so I would not let this single factor scare you away from Scripps.
Most liberal arts colleges will be similar to this. She probably will end up getting to know some of her profs pretty well at any LAC, too. They really like talking with students and spending time with them. Profs are mostly pretty cool and interesting, can be great mentors, and also really helpful in writing recommendations for jobs or grad school. Your D will want to get to know a few profs in her major well no matter where she goes – she might as well go someplace where it is easy to do. Did she attend a class while she was there?
Thanks for the very helpful feedback! I do think these are important life skills that everyone needs to master, not just for school, but I know it’s harder for some and she would be stretching beyond her comfort level. It’s good to hear that people are encouraging. I asked if she would be willing to sit in on a class to see what it’s like, but I think this whole issue is making her nervous. She sat in on a UC class and enjoyed the anonymity, though I think the teaching at a LAC will be far superior, especially in introductory courses. Such a hard decision!
Good point about mentors/recommendations. She is having the same issue in high school now, as she has a hard time approaching teachers, though she is a stellar student so at least she stands out in that way.
