<p>Last minute worries from parent as S. prepares to apply ED--
He loves the course offerings at Tufts, but I notice it has the most extensive core requirements of any school he's looked at. Does this leave enough room to take the courses you really need (and want)? Also, does Tufts accept credits for required classes if a student is able to take them at other colleges during summers?</p>
<p>Yes, Tufts accepts credits from most schools if your son wants to use summers to fulfill his distribution requirements.</p>
<p>However, I don't know anyone at Tufts (I'm a senior now) that has had a significant amount of trouble fulfilling them if they plan ahead (my boyfriend, for one, left both math classes until next semester--his last at Tufts--which is a shame for him but that was his fault). A good portion of the students here follow Route A: they are double-majors, which shows that not only did they have time to get all their requirements down, they also had time to major in two subjects that interested them. I, for one, chose Route B: I majored in one subject (International Relations) and then have dabbled in about four subjects (English, Art History, and am 2 credits shy of a French major) I am really interested in but don't necessarily feel I have to major in. I have also finished all my distribution requirements, I went abroad for a year, and I am involved in many ECs. It's doable.</p>
<p>I shoudl also point out that two classes I would never have taken were it not for the distribution requirements, ended up being two of my best classes at Tufts. My Epidemiology class with Dr. Gute in the Civil Engineering Dept, which I took as one of my two Natural Sci requirements, turned out to be fascinating. As is my current math class (yes, math!) called Math of Social Choice -- it's the first time I've ever taken a math class I feel I can apply to my everyday life and even social conversations (yay, nerd). A rigorous core curriculum only emphasizes the liberal arts education.</p>
<p>Thanks, lolabelle-- I hadn't thought of the double-major students as good indicators--
I esp like your Route B plan-- I wish I could go back in time and take some of those classics, music and lit courses I didn't have time for in college!</p>
<p>I do think that there's enough offerings so that the core isn't bad (but then again, I was an engineer!). About 1/3 of students double-major. </p>
<p>The foreign language is the most extensive of the cores, but a student can do something like take three semesters of Spanish and three semesters of Japanese. You can also take culture classes to make up the difference (3 of 6), and they let you do things like Roman literature in translation for that. The best thing to do is for your son to, before selecting classes, find all of the (very extensive) options for satisfying his core requirements.</p>
<p>The language requirement does seem the most off-putting at first, though now he says he wants to start a new language anyway-- IF he gets in. He's working on his last essay right now...</p>
<p>lolabelle : Just curious - what do you plan to do after graduation with your IR degree? Where did you study abroad? My D is also IR/women's studies major , currently abroad for a year.</p>
<p>Crabbylady (haha) -</p>
<p>I went abroad to Paris, and studied the year at Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris, aka "Sciences Po". It's a very rigorous, full-immersion (you study with all French students) political science school. It was a great experience.</p>
<p>I plan on being a journalist, because it combines my love of writing with my passion for current events, socio-political issues, and the like. I'm applying to jobs now... the ideal job would be at the Washington Post, as a DC reporter or in a foreign bureau.... we'll see! :-)</p>
<p>Where is your daughter studying abroad and what would she like to do after graduating?</p>
<p>The required liberal arts and sciences curriculum is supposed to produce students who actually care about Western values and American society instead of just churning out a bunch of math nerds that don't give a **** about anyone but themselves much less Western values (see MIT). </p>
<p>I only wish Tufts would take it much further, perhaps making the requirements so heavy that students would only be capable of chosing one major. </p>
<p>I'm not so sure about the language requirement though. Somehow the phrase "well rounded" doesn't seem like a compelling enough reason to be bogged down in 6 semesters of courses. Marx, Shakespeare, Homer, etc...I can see the relevance of these courses in producing dedicated and cultured citizens. I don't see how 6 semesters of German is going to produce the same effect. Just buy a dictionary of 'Latin Phrases' and memorize it...you'll be all set :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I only wish Tufts would take it much further, perhaps making the requirements so heavy that students would only be capable of chosing one major.
[/quote]
Well, the engineers barely have time for our one major anyway. ;) Besides that, some of us take our electives to learn about Western Civ instead of the use of alcohol in sub-Saharan Africa and its impact on twenty-first century black authors (hypothetically). </p>
<p>Some 55% of Tufts students go abroad for at least one semester (this includes summers; the Talloires programme is pretty big). I presume the language requirement is tailored to work with the Jumbo tendancy to go abroad.</p>
<p>Frankly, I have a differing view from those who posted above. I feel that I would prefer to design my own curriculum and requirements for the $30,000+ in tuition!</p>
<p>It is true that if there is a lot of requred courses, you might take things that you might surprisingly like.However, with no required core curriculum, you can also take these courses too. Wouldn't you want to take courses that you chose instead of those chosen for you?</p>
<p>Also, I never did see the need for certain required courses in developing a strong liberal arts base. Science, for example, will be forgetten within one year of taking it. The same applies to many math courses such as Calculus. Frankly, I think taking some philosophy and more english would be more useful to most kids. However, this is my opinion. </p>
<p>The advantage of not having core requirements is that it appeals to both like-minded people as me as well as accomodating those who have posted above.
In addition, taking courses that you like and chose to take will arguably produce a better GPA for you, which means easier access to graduate and professional schools.</p>
<p>Bottom Line: If I had to do it again, I would attend schools that have a much more flexible curriculum and as little required courses as possible.</p>
<p>"Besides that, some of us take our electives to learn about Western Civ instead of the use of alcohol in sub-Saharan Africa and its impact on twenty-first century black authors"</p>
<p>Two words: Asian Studies</p>
<p>Two more words: basket weaving</p>
<p>I like the core requirements a lot. Luckily, I got out of some things with AP scores, and it's not too hard to test out of a lot of your language requirement (though I may major in French, so...so much for having less courses). If the requirement wasn't there, I would never bother to take a math class, but now that I'm actually looking for one, I'm finding some stuff I might actually find interesting.</p>
<p>I also like the requirements. Where Brown has NO requirements, which is frankly scary, and Columbia has (in my opinion) too demanding requirements (two years of math, science, etc., - Tufts only asks for one year), I think Tufts is right in-between, and in a good way. The distribution requirements try to produce a somewhat well-rounded group. Sure, my science classes were Plants and Humanity and Environmental Biology, but hey, those surprisingly are the classes whose material comes up MOST in daily life and is most useful. It also helps kids who aren't necessarily sure what they're interested poke around in random departments, or in subjects they thought they'd be interested in but weren't offered in high school. It's also nice to know that everyone in Arts and Sciences has had some math, some science, some humanities and some social sciences. It makes a common thread between the people here.</p>
<p>Also, I've found that filling requirements is really easy. For example, I wanted to fill my Science and World Civ requirements this semester, and signed up for Environmental Biology and Democracy and Capitalism in Japan. Turns out, they BOTH fill requirements for my IR major. </p>
<p>Plus, you can use the requirement classes by taking something a little less demanding if you're not really into that subject area. For example, since I'm taking an "easier" science course (Bio 7) this semester, I was able to do 5.5 credits no problem, since that class does not require virtually any work. I can concentrate much more on my other, more difficult classes that are contributing to my major. Or, you can use them just to do something completely fun - like my neighbor who's doing African Dance for her Fine Arts requirement, or my two friends who decided to take an art class together.</p>
<p>Also, ITA with sam927. I'd never have looked around to try to find science classes, but turns out there are some that just sound really interesting, like Anthro 20 (Physical Anthropology), Bio 2 (Biology and the American Social Contract) and History of Math, which I may take even though I already filled my Math and Science requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks - all helpful.
How can freshmen at Tufts (or any other college) find out the reputation of different courses - tough ones, ones with great professors, etc.??</p>
<p>Thanks - all helpful.
How can freshmen at Tufts (or any other college) find out the reputation of different courses - tough ones, ones with great professors, etc.??</p>
<p>Well, for Tufts there's tuftsreviews.com</p>
<p>word of mouth is certainly a good one. there are also websites like ratemyprofessors.com and tuftsreviews.com (the latter actually releases the OFFICIAL reviews, so it may be somewhat more reliable/accurate), but of course you can't 100% trust any of those sources. The opinion of a course or professor is subjective. I may respond really well to a certain teaching style, or appreciate certain things about my professor, that you don't really respond to. Which is why it's okay to get opinions, but take them with a grain of salt, come to class expecting that you may have been mislead, and if the prof/class doesn't deliver, drop it and take a different one, no big deal. I heard good things about a Poli Sci professor, took his class, was bored to death, and switched into an Advanced Russian class with a prof I had had before and thought was amazing. No harm done!</p>
<p>ETA: oh yeah, and initially freshman have orientation leaders who in THEORY are supposed to act as registration resources, telling them which requirements to fill and which classes are good choices. I know I told my freshmen which Math 12 prof was supposed to be good, which Poli Sci course that was still open had a good professor, based on reviews and the opinions of people I knew, and of course my own experiences. I hope my fellow orientation leaders did the same :)</p>
<p>Thanks -- very helpful. I think it's definitely worth it to try to make well-informed choices</p>
<p>ps. Blurinka is the illest person on the planet at this very moment.</p>
<p>haha aww, why? (...i think it's a compliment? I hate this whole "nasty" and "sick" and "ill" are a good thing now)</p>