<p>hey there..i'm a member of the swat class of '09 and i have a few questions about my school.</p>
<p>1) is it possible to graduate with latin honors at swat? if so, how are latin honors determined/distributed? does it only come through the honors program?</p>
<p>2) i'm a possible english major at swarthmore, and i am very concerned about the low number of advanced courses (courses number 011 through 096) at swat fall 05. i just don't think that i have that many options in the english department. is this true? i'm beginning to become more interested in majoring in history because there seem to be more courses offered (and more i'm interested in).</p>
<p>3) i heard at ride the tide that swarthmore will essentially "pay you back" if you decide to volunteer over the summer instead of getting a summer job. do you have to start a program in order to qualify for this opportunity, or can you just be a regular volunteer at an organization? (i.e. do i have to create a children's program in central los angeles, or can i volunteer with an established organization like habitat for humanity?)</p>
<p>4) will swarthmore allow me to take one class at upenn freshman year?</p>
<p>[three and four are related questions. i have a dear friend in india who founded a program in chennai to help tb patients. i would love to volunteer with her over freshman summer. i could help the patients more if i took beginning tamil (popular language in chennai) at upenn. would swarthmore be interested in allowing me to do this instead of getting a summer job?]</p>
<p>1) Honors can be earned only through Honors Program.
2) You are very unlikely to run out of classes to take, but if you are interested in taking a certain particular class, it might take some planning ahead, since not every class is offered every semester, as you've noticed. Here is a list of classes in the English dept through spring 2007:
<a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/english/offer.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/english/offer.htm</a>
3) You may be able to get grants from Swarthmore to cover your summer volunteering costs. You have to apply for it, and it is not guaranteed that you'll get it.
4) You should be able to register for classes at Pen, though may be not in the fall of your freshman year. You can probably call Swat and ask them about it...</p>
<p>Hmm... well they say the common Swattie bond is our friendly ambition to do everything all at once. ^_^ </p>
<p>I'm sure interesteddad will kick in soon and respond will a brillantly eloquent as well as detailed epic that contains all the answers you seek. ;-) But in the meanwhile:</p>
<p>I don't know about paying back for volunteering, but Swat does offer a large number (80ish, I think) of 3-4k summer scholarships for volunteerwork. Something about an application...</p>
<p>a) On course selection, I would just focus on the first year for now. Specifically, make a list of the pre-reqs for two or three or four departments you are considering for a major and try to preserve as many of those options as possible with your first year classes. Also, it's a good idea to have a list of a half-dozen or so classes you think you might want to take "sometime". These can be very handy if you get lotteried out of a class.</p>
<p>When it comes time to select a major, you write a "sophmore paper" which outlines the course of study you intend to pursue for your major. This would be the point in time that you switch advisors to someone in your department (if you haven't already) and work out the timing of course offerings and stuff.</p>
<p>b) On Penn: I don't see why they wouldn't let you take a language course, but I don't think I'd recommend it fall semester first year. That really is a time to get your feet on the ground and running at Swarthmore, IMO. I feel the same way about not signing up for extra courses fall-semester. Give yourself a chance to get acclimated.</p>
<p>c) On community service grants: There are several categories. The Philips Evans Scholars automatically receive funding for a project each summer and these often involve overseas travel. For example, one Evans scholar is spending the summer in Africa. </p>
<p>There are Lang Scholar grants that are relatively large grants awarded to students starting community service projects. There are not available to rising sophmores as far as I know.</p>
<p>There are Summer of Service grants available to rising sophmores and they can be used for work in existing programs, subject to certain restrictions. I don't know the details, but I don't think these grants can be used to fund a "stipend" (although separate work-study funds may be available for that). I would guess that your India idea would be the kind of thing these Summer of Service grants would support. Pat James or Debra Kardon-Brown at the Lang Center (in the train station) can walk you through these various options.</p>
<p>As a first-semester frosh, you are not allowed to take advanced English courses. You must either take a First Year Seminar (FYS) or a Core Course (CC). CC's usually have high numbers (like 71D "Short Story in the US" or 54 "Faulkner, Morrison"), but the classes are big (up to 40 students). I would highly recommend any of the FYS's. Enrollment is limited to 12 and, if you are lotteried in, you'll definitely benefit from close interaction with your professor.</p>
<p>Unless you are an absolutely stunning (as in, no room for improvement) writer of both academic and creative English papers, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the rigour or intensity of Swat English courses. Even if your classmates aren't always up to your standards, you'll find that the professors are willing to push you as far as you can go. Key professors to know and study with: Peter Schmidt, Nathalie Anderson, Phil Weinstein.</p>
<p>Also, I would hesitate to judge the quality or intrigue of a course by it's course title, description, or number alone. I took Professor Nathalie Anderson's "Subverting Verses" in my first semester (despite its somewhat dry course description and relatively low course number). That course was single-handedly the best English course I have ever taken and Prof. Anderson's insights pushed me further than all four years of high school English combined.</p>
<p>Bottom line: The lack of advanced courses shouldn't concern you and there will definitely be other course options for Spring semester. Your student-professor relationships will determine how far and how fast you go. Develop a couple strong relationships and you'll find that the projected course material is only minimally relevant to your growth.</p>
<p>"Unless you are an absolutely stunning (as in, no room for improvement) writer of both academic and creative English papers, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the rigour or intensity of Swat English courses."</p>
<p>Yup, my son would agree with that assessment. He got a B+ on an English course last semester and is VERY happy with it. He also enjoyed the course more than he has ever enjoyed anything in his life.</p>