<p>For anyone in or familiar with RC, what can you tell me about it? What are your experiences? Pros and cons? </p>
<p>I've been looking into it, but I can't decide if I want to stick with just LSA or if I want to go with RC....</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior in the RC and absolutely loves it. She is doing a double major, one in LSA and other in the RC. She also has done UROP and is a peer adviser this year. You can always apply for the RC and later drop out of it, if you decide it’s not for you. Here’s some basic pros and cons, if you have more detailed questions…I’ll pass them on to my daughter to answer.</p>
<p>Pros:
RC classes are small, usually 8 to 15 people and the RC professors are absolutely amazing. Students have the opportunity to really establish solid relationships with the faculty, since it’s likely you will have the same professor more than once over the years. This can be really helpful when getting recommendations for internships, fellowships, etc.</p>
<p>If you are interested in languages and the arts, not only are the RC classes in these areas exceptional, but there are also extracurricular groups such as the RC players, Art Forum, etc. that have a lot going on.</p>
<p>East Quad is a nice dorm in a great Central Campus location. You live in the same building where your RC classes are held, really nice in the winter months.</p>
<p>Cons:
From my point of view, there aren’t many…but I know there are some on CC who have a negative view of the RC kids and this kind of stereotyping is really not reflective of the students I have met in the program.</p>
<p>If you have no interest in the arts or languages, the RC will not be right for you. RC graduation requirements include proficiency in a foreign language and art courses. The RC language courses are intense and are pass/fail. You are required to sit at your language groups lunch tables several days a week until you reach proficiency. Some could view that as a negative, but my daughter loved it. She made great friends, bonded with the professors, became fluent in her language and had fun.</p>
<p>Let me know if you need additional info, I’ll try to get it for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information! The college sounds like it would really play off of my interests, but I suppose it’s the actual experience of it all that has me on the fence still.</p>
<p>I do have a couple of questions:</p>
<p>First of all, how would your daughter describe her workload? I don’t plan on double majoring like she is, but I’d appreciate an idea of what the load for classes are. </p>
<p>My friend also wanted to know about how RC affects study abroad. She wants to do a study abroad her sophomore year, but I know there is a two year live-in requirement for the RC, so I’m not sure how that might work out. I’m sure I could convince her to just do study abroad her junior year…</p>
<p>And if I end up not applying to RC this time around, would I be able to transfer in the year after? I kind of want to see how I like the big school experience first.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>My daughter does have a relatively heavy workload, but she takes 18 credits every semester…her choice, not because she has to, but due to there being so many courses she’s interested in taking. I think most students aiming for 4.0 put in a lot of work at UM, but also manage to balance it with fun and activities, like she does. Most students take 14 to 16 credit hours. When you are taking the RC intensive language courses, those can take up to 9 credit hours (I think Japanese is even more). The language courses meet twice a day and include lunch or coffee at least 3 or 4 times a week…so it can really take over your life for one or two semesters (if you have had the language before, they will test you for proficiency…so it is possible to test out of the two semesters of intensive language). Most RC students complete the language requirement during the freshman & sophomore years while they are living in East Quad. </p>
<p>The other RC courses do require a lot of reading and writing papers. Since classes are small, you need to be prepared to participate in discussions…but as my daughter says, if the class is interesting, it doesn’t seem like too much work. In fact, she says that most of her RC homework helps her appreciate what she’s learning as opposed to the “busy work” she sometimes gets from LSA classes.</p>
<p>I think you can still study abroad sophomore year in the RC (if I remember right, one of my daughter’s friends did), but she would probably have to have completed the language requirement and work with her adviser to arrange it. Most RC (and LSA, for that matter) students study abroad junior year. There are also opportunities during the summer. For example, my daughter’s professor recommended her for a fellowship at a university in Europe her freshman year…we only had to pay for part of the airfare. And last spring she went with her class for 3 weeks in Europe…also with part of the expenses covered by a grant. She has opted not to study abroad due to commitments to UROP and her lab, but at least has been able to go abroad with these other opportunities through the RC.</p>
<p>It is much easier to start as a freshman in the RC, than to transfer in. In fact it’s very difficult to transfer into the program. My daughter has several friends that tried to, but couldn’t due to their need to take additional RC courses to graduate. My advice is if you are at all interested in the program, start as a freshman. If it’s not for you, it’s very easy to drop out of it and just be an LSA student. And the big bonus is that you’ll get to live in East Quad, not North Campus like so many other freshmen. You will get a feel for the big school experience in the RC, just as you would as an LSA student. My daughter has friends all over campus and participates in several non-RC organizations. RC kids go to the games, take the huge LSA lecture courses, rush frats/sororities, etc. just like any other U Michigan student…they just have the benefit of the small LAC program when they want it.</p>
<p>How would my RC experience be affected if I decided to take a non-RC language (Chinese) as my foreign language? Where do you take the science courses if you are in RC? Is it not a good choice for science majors (I am thinking of taking psych). Also, what is the social scene like? I am pretty socially conservative (don’t drink, take mind-altering subjects, no pot, don’t smoke etc.).</p>
<p>My D is a psych major in the RC and it has worked-out perfectly for her. There are some great RC courses that she really enjoyed, including her 1st year seminar course that had some relation to psychology, though they don’t count toward a psych major. Psych classes are on central campus, many in East Hall very close to East Quad. She’s also been in UROP, which I highly recommend for a psych major.</p>
<p>As far as Chinese goes, I only know that there are some RC students that take LSA only languages and it works fine for them. But I would really encourage you to take one of the ones offered in the RC. The program is really amazing if you want to really learn the language. Your classes will be in the building where you live, you’ll have the opportunity to bond with professors and classmates at language lunch tables, coffees, plays, etc. and you’ll become fairly fluent in the language you choose. My D took one language all through high school, then started completely from scratch with a new one when she entered the RC.</p>
<p>I’m not a student, just a mom, so all I can tell you of the social scene is what I know from my D. She’s not much of a drinker, etc., but has a very active social life with both RC and non-RC groups of friends. There are so many clubs, activities, concerts, etc. that you will really have no trouble finding “non-party” things to do.</p>