<p>Does anyone know anything about this program like what requirements it fulfills and what exactly it entails?</p>
<p>I’m not sure but I just got an e-mail inviting me to apply for the program. I’m not sure whether or not I should since I’ll already be in the Honors Program and the Elliott School and don’t want to kill myself the first semester of college…</p>
<p>I got an email inviting me too! it sounds really interesting but I’d like to know more about it too, so if anyone can provide us with details?</p>
<p>The only thing that the program entails is taking a year-long course that counts as credit for PSC 001, 002, and 003. It</p>
<p>The pros:
If these are required classes for you anyway, it’s nice to fit 3 classes in 2
The professor who teaches it is awesome- I had him for another class
It’s something to put on your resume</p>
<p>The cons:
If these aren’t required classes for you, I think it’s rather pointless
If you had AP credits that you could apply to any of those classes, they would be void (that’s why I ended up not applying for the program)
I believe it meets more frequently than other classes, so it might interfere with scheduling for other classes you want to take</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>S did it this year. It’s a double credit class, so it does meet more than a 3 credit class. The prof is really good. S was motivated to do it because he’s planning to major in poli sci & it’s a great way to fulfill those intro classes. He’s not home right now, but if you have more specific questions, I can ask him.</p>
<p>Do you have to live in Thurston? That is what holds me back, not my first choice. Also, is the program just freshman year? Sorry if this was covered in the email…no time to get into my email right now.</p>
<p>So over the course of both semesters you only get credit for those three classes even though it equals 12 credit hours? Is it worth it for students in Elliott?</p>
<p>I’ve been invited also but I’m an Elliot student and general political science isn’t my most important area of concentration, although I understand that I will be required to take some intro polisci courses. But my biggest concern is living in Thurston, which I am NOT interested in doing. I wonder if this prof knows that that might be a deal breaker for some freshmen, which is a shame since the program sounds very appealing.</p>
<p>I have also been asked to join. </p>
<p>does anyone know the admission rate to this program, though? I am highly interested but my stats aren’t the best. Is the application basically just the due process of admission or is actually competitive?</p>
<p>God knows I can’t handle another process of application submission, waiting, worrying and disappointment.</p>
<p>Only 16 students get into the class & there will be enough of them who are willing to live in Thurston. The prof who teaches the course is the one who does the selection…don’t really know how he weighs things to determine who gets in. S wasn’t excited about applying for the course last year either, but he had an essay from a poli sci class he was taking in HS that he was able to adapt for the application. He’s glad he took the course, but for him it did fulfill requirements for his major.</p>
<p>I decided to go thru the Elliot School materials and find out just what courses I would need. I want to be an Int’l Affairs major and take the functional group concentrations, even though my primary interest is the Middle East (i thought the regional concentration might box me in later). Anyway, it looks like the P&V program might not help me because I don’t have to take all three polisci intro courses. So if I’m understanding all the stuff on the Elliot site, I’ll probably not apply for the program. I hope I’m not totally wrong on this.</p>
<p>waves, I think that’s a good decision. Really, I’d even hesitate to call it a “program”- it’s really just a more intensive class. I don’t think it makes sense for non-poli sci majors to do it.</p>
<p>gwsenior - I appreciate your input, I’ve relied on your thoughts throughout this whole process and you haven’t steered me wrong yet. Thank you!</p>
<p>is this only open to freshmen?</p>
<p>I took P&V, it is an excellent program. It has actually facilitated my transfer to an Ivy league school. If anyone has any questions about the program, PM me. I have already personally emailed other interested students, who my professor directed to me and some other PVers. He has that type of relationship with his students.</p>
<p>gwsenior, I think it is difficult to evaluate the pros and cons of a program like P&V when you haven’t taken it. It is much more than an intensive class. It changed the course of my life and many of my peers.</p>
<p>For anyone who is interested, find a former PV student to email, or email Prof. Kelts. He will direct you to some students who would be happy to give you honest feedback, good and bad, about the program.</p>
<p>This is one of those courses that you simply cannot judge based on a one paragraph description. </p>
<p>It’s a bit of a paradox that they offer it to students who have the least opportunity to ask someone about it.</p>
<p>And just to answer a couple of general questions, while I’m hanging out.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>This course fulfills the equiv of 12 credits, PSC001-003 and also IAFF intro</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re in Honors and Elliot, you would probably be OK. It won’t kill you. That said, no one in the Honors program was in my class. I don’t know if the two are related. It could be that they didn’t send out invites to Honors ppl in the past.</p></li>
<li><p>Thurston has its ups and downs, but overall is a good experience. Also, the floor the PVers are placed on tends to be a better floor in Thurston. I had a great time, and was a bit wary going in. It’s a great GW tradition to be a part of and live and Thurston, don’t be afraid of it! Also, it is a worthy sacrifice for a class like P&V.</p></li>
<li><p>If you think poly sci is not an area you need to/want to/will be focusing on, you don’t yet understand what poly sci is. I know I didn’t going into college. Let me assure that it is, as Aristotle calls it, the master science, and you will use it and love it, especially as an Elliot student.</p></li>
<li><p>The application is mostly based on your writing abilities. Do not take this course if you are a poor writer. (as shellfell said, and as I also did, just adapt a high school gov. or history essay)</p></li>
<li><p>Slightly competitive process, though not painfully so. My year was about 1/4 of those who applied. I have been told that the class size will double next year, so expect more spots, but also (maybe) more applicants.</p></li>
<li><p>Only open to Freshmen.</p></li>
<li><p>Actually makes course selection easier, it meets at weird times and will rarely interfere. Plus you’re freshmen… you have plenty of time to take all the courses you want.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Aristororty: I know that the class was really great for a lot of people, and you’re right, having not taken it I can’t comment on how it impacted the students who did. I do know Prof. Kelts very well, and he is an amazing prof that has helped me out a lot in applications and such; I’d recommend taking one of his classes to anyone. However, I stand by my comment that from a scheduling standpoint, I don’t think it’s worth it for a non-poli sci major to take it; it really could interfere with their other courses, and it’s credit they don’t need. If someone is truly interested though I would absolutely encourage them to talk to you, Prof Kelts, or anyone else with more experience with the program.</p>
<p>I respect that, and would even say that for some people, the class was just not a good fit at all. These were mostly people who weren’t prepared to the work or the reading.</p>
<p>However, I will continue to disagree about the scheduling matter. The course is relevant to the Elliot school, SMPA, and CAS, and my peers came from each of those programs. Not everyone in the program was planning on being a poly sci major, one didn’t even plan on a minor. There was even an English/Bio major, who was one of the most active students in the class. As a growing experience - small class, an early chance at a deep look into great material, presented in a great way - it really changes the outlook of any major.</p>
<p>It is a general rule that freshmen really can’t know for sure, in most cases, what their major will ultimately be. They need time to grow and explore different facets of academia to actually understand what they would like to focus on, and, as a freshman, PV is hands down the best way to do this. There is no such thing as “credit that you don’t need.” I don’t think it should really be thought of in that way.</p>
<p>I would only say don’t take it if you can’t stand politics/philosophy/political philosophy/world affairs. But that would seem to apply to very few people at GW!</p>