<p>Hi all - As part of My D's ,class of 2013, FAP she received work study. Any current Smithies or parents have advice on what a reasonable number of hours would be? We are trying to figure out her non academic budget for the year and were hoping she could pretty much use the work study money for non tuition costs. She is planning to take at least one science with a lab and an advanced language class and toying (against our advice ) with a beginning language as well.Thanks!</p>
<p>I think 10 hours a week is fairly typical for work study jobs. And I concur with your suggestion to avoid doing two languages and a lab science in the first semester (unless your D is completely fluent in the advanced language). I didn’t do any lab sciences while I was at Smith but they are quite time-consuming, and I definitely spent more time on language classes than any of the other subjects I took (I did a year and a half of intermediate Spanish classes, and a year of beginning Latin).</p>
<p>She is going to do Spanish and would probably be intermediate when she starts. She has had 4 years of intensive Spanish in HS and did a 4 on the AP as a junior but definitely not fluent. How did you like the Spanish dept?
Thanks for the work study tip. 10 hours seems pretty reasonable1</p>
<p>My daughter did two languages her first semester, one advanced and one 5-credit (intensive) intermediate, but she did not have a lab class on top of it. I asked her about the comparison between a 5-credit language and a 5-credit lab since she has taken both. She thinks the 5-credit lab is MUCH more demanding, but she also said that some of her friends thought the intensive languages were the most difficult courses at Smith. (These friends don’t take science, however.)</p>
<p>From what I understand, you need to take language instruction both semesters once you start. She might want to save the second language for sophomore year, especially since she does not yet have a feel for the workload. Note that language instruction is different from courses taught in a specific language. If she tests out in Spanish, then she could take a Spanish lit course for one semester.</p>
<p>There’s one other factor she hasn’t considered when she says she wants to take a lab course and a new language: schedule. Language instruction generally takes place five mornings a week. Sciences are generally scheduled for mornings. In fact, taking any lab science makes scheduling difficult since the lab will take up one whole afternoon a week.</p>
<p>Some intro languages are more intensive than others (this is usually reflected in the number of credits, but not always). I took Elementary German as a sophomore and didn’t find it very intensive or difficult (I had eight years of French by the time I finished high school and lived in Berlin from ages 3 to 5, went to a bilingual kindergarten but the only German I remembered were numbers up to 20 and JFK’s misspoken sentence) but I had classmates who struggled. It was suggested that the prior exposure to German helped (I could, apparently, understand it pretty well in kindergarten) but I’m not sure if that’s true.</p>
<p>Some languages meet 4 or 5 times a week, and they’re expected to be more intensive. German only met three times, and was only 4 credits.</p>
<p>She is hoping to make it into Spanish Lit but the scheduling with labs makes a difference. I think the sophomore year advice is good!</p>
<p>Your D could also sign up for maybe 5 hours a week, and as she gets a feel for what she can/can’t do, pick up/drop hours as needed.</p>
<p>Re: scheduling. I think that getting the language and lab in would be fine. It’s trying to add the other two classes in that’ll be tough, since you have so many hours blocked off already, and the ones that fit may not be enjoyable.</p>