<p>Is there an average number of courses that a student shops? Can students shop two courses that are offered at the exact same time, say M-W-F, going to one Mon, the other Wed, etc. Or will you get too far behind in class work for the ones you end up with? I read on an older thread that students can simply walk in or out of classes during that time period–seems a little rude? I realize all of this will be revealed in a few days, but am just trying to get my head around this wonderful yet confusing Brown process. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’ve shopped 1 course in my year at Brown (a course I ended up not taking). On the other hand, many others will shop 4 or even more courses in addition to what they sign up for. I expect to start shopping more once I get the low level courses out of the way in my intended disciplines. Students can shop 2 classes at the same time by alternating, though doing so too late in shopping period would be a mistake - teachers expect you’ve been attending classes if you are going to take the course, although not necessarily all of them - they understand how shopping period works. Although it does seem rude to me that students come in and out of classes at will during this time, it’s not too different from normal, at least for lectures. It would likely be more disruptive in small discussion settings, but students try their best not to be disruptive in doing so.</p>
<p>That’s my take, at least. I’ve had a class where maybe 35 people showed up on day one and half had walked out after 20 minutes because of the teacher, which is likely not the norm.</p>
<p>You can definitely shop two classes that are at the same time, but I wouldn’t go back and forth more than once. After seeing one lecture from each you should probably commit to one-- missing two classes is certainly manageable, but probably unnecessary to make a good choice.</p>
<p>Thanks much to both of you!</p>
<p>Also try to tell your daughter/son to attend the first class of the class they think they are pretty sure about enrolling in. I find the first classes to be the best for figuring out if a Professor/class will meet one’s expectations.</p>